Film Club Previous Offerings and Reviews 2020-2022
Previous Offerings and Reviews 2020-2022
WYRMWOOD: APOCALYPSE
Out Digitally In The U.S. April 14
Get more info here: https://xyzfilms.com/films/wyrmwood-apocalypse/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rClY9Vp4kCs ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3162935440648327&id=1718261665115719
Description: Outrageous And Acclaimed Zombie Action-Horror from xyz films! The latest explosively gory feature from Kiah Roache-Turner and Tristan Roache-Turner, the filmmaking duo behind the 2015 breakout sensation WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD and the 2018 TIFF Midnight Madness hit NEKROTRONIC. Rhys (Luke McKenzie) lives in Australia’s zombie-infested wasteland. He’s dedicated his life to tracking and capturing survivors for the Surgeon General in hopes of finding a cure. When Rhys captures a half-zombie-half-human named Grace, he comes to believe she is the key to ending the apocalypse. The film, which has been hailed as “Mad Max meets Dawn Of the Dead”, is the sequel to Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead.
DESPERATE WATERS
Opens April 22, 2022. at Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills CA 90211
Get more info here: https://lumierecinemala.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkmstUdkFVI
Description: Coming soon to the Lumiere cinema…a thriller on the open seas! A newly widowed older man embarking on a sailing trip from L.A. to Hawaii hires an eager young couple as his crew. Shortly after setting sail, the chemistry of the three sailors begins to shift, as do their original motivations.
PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT
OPENS APRIL 15, 2022, IN SELECT THEATERS AND ON DEMAND
Get more info at the film’s IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/paris-13th-district
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSRww3PRyLI ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3162787520663119&id=1718261665115719
Description: IFC PRESENTS…Adapted from Adrian Tomine’s acclaimed graphic novel, PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT weaves a breezy tapestry of modern love stories. Beautifully realized in crisp black-and-white cinematography, the electrifying, multicultural 13th arrondissement sets the stage for a panoramic tale of four young lovers. Lucie Zhang delivers a breakout performance as free-spirited Émilie, who begins a casual relationship with new roommate Camille (Makita Samba). Noémie Merlant (PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE) plays wide-eyed student Nora, whose new life in Paris is complicated when she is accidentally mistaken for cam girl Amber Sweet (Jehnny Beth). Stepping away from his usual genre fare, Jacques Audiard, along with script collaborators Céline Sciamma and Léa Mysius, brings to life the sprawling dreams of desire and human connection in the city of love. DIRECTED BY Jacques Audiard.
LA MAMI
Opens on April 7 at the Maysles Cinema in New York City, Followed by Other Cities
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/announcing-the-us-theatrical-release-of-la-mami-opens-april-7
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVIE6ovpS3o ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3157897191152152&id=1718261665115719
Description: A Potent Exploration of Female Solidarity! The critically-acclaimed second feature documentary by Laura Herrero Garvín, and the winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Film, La Mami takes us inside the ladies’ bathroom-turned-cloakroom of a legendary Mexico City nightclub, the Cabaret Barba Azul. Inside the fluorescently-lit upstairs refuge we meet Doña Olga, known as "La Mami" to the dancers and hostesses of the discotheque below, who keeps watch over the dressing room while remaining a tough-loving confidante and vigilant protector of the girls themselves. La Mami has worked in the cabaret world for more than 45 years: as a party girl, a waitress, and a seller of songs. Now that her body has aged, she takes care of the mythical Barba Azul Cabaret from her nightly post in the cloakroom. When newcomer Priscilla arrives, Herrero Garvín’s camera quietly observes as the other girls introduce her to the secrets of the night and La Mami takes her under her wing, offering much needed advice and comfort to combat the crude machismo that surrounds them. In their world, La Mami warns, "men are only good for two things: for nothing, and for money."
COW
OPENS APRIL 8, 2022 IN SELECT THEATERS AND ON DEMAND
Screening at the Laemmle Theaters: https://www.laemmle.com/film/cow
Get more info at : https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/cow
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOghmGzdjwY ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3157158734559331&id=1718261665115719
Description: An award winning IFC Films Release! Made over a six-year period, Andrea Arnold’s first feature-length documentary immerses us in the days and nights of Luma, a dairy cow. When Luma gives birth, she seems the happiest she can be. But Luma’s devastated when separated from her calf—she seems to be looking for her lost child for the rest of the film. Her next impregnation is shorter than a one-night stand. The human beings monitoring and milking Luma, and leading her to graze, are seen on the edge of the frame, their voices a constant off-screen chorus of mainly affectionate, yet insistently controlling, encouragement. Through Arnold’s dispassionate perspective, we might imagine Luma as noble and dignified. Yet, we also might wonder about the state of her soul. A sensuous and heartbreakingly beautiful film, COW provokes a conversation about the emotional lives of animals. Directed by Andrea Arnold (AMERICAN HONEY, FISH TANK, RED ROAD)
MUBI PRESENTS: THREE SHORTS BY OSCAR-WINNER ANDREA ARNOLD
Ahead of the release of her forthcoming documentary Cow (opening April 8), three of Andrea Arnold's breathtaking shorts are presented on the MUBI screening service: https://mubi.com/
WASP- April 4. A poor single mother of four must figure out what to do with her children after the guy she fancies asks her on a date, determined not to let them become an obstacle in her pursuit of a relationship. Winner: Best Live Action Short Film at the 2005 Academy Awards.
MILK- April 13. Following a miscarriage, Hetty decides not to attend the funeral for her child, despite her husband’s pleading. After wandering around town, she meets Martin, and together they embark on an impulsive, drunken joyride.
DOG- April 2. A teenage girl gets ready to go out to meet her boyfriend, despite her mother’s disapproval of how she’s dressed. She heads out to a deserted area with him and they have sex. However, an encounter with a stray dog reveals the true nature of her partner.
THE WOBBLIES, A FILM BY STEWART BIRD & DEBORAH SHAFFER
OPENS APRIL 29 IN NYC AT METROGRAPH and….
SCREENING NATIONWIDE FOR INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY (MAY 1) INCLUDING AT THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE IN LA
Available 5/31 to rent or own on all major VOD including Apple TV, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube, and Kino Now.
Get more info from the Kino Lorber website: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/5219
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obfIweejag8 ; Read the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3174829462792258&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber presents a New 4k Restoration of the Landmark Labor Movement Documentary, and a 2021 Library of Congress National Film Registry Inductee! “A vivid look into America’s radical past.” – Pulitzer Prize Winner, Studs Terkel. The Wobblies premiered at the 1979 New York Film Festival and tells the story of the radical labor union, the Industrial Workers of the World or IWW, better known as the Wobblies, which championed the formation of “one big union” for all unskilled laborers, regardless of their race and gender. This story is brought to life through a combination of rare archival footage, period artwork, and songs including many written by Joe Hill, complemented by illuminating interviews with surviving Union members.
THERE ARE NO SAINTS
Screening May 27th In Theatres, On Digital and On Demand!
Experience the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4KijhfK7CY
Description: PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SABAN FILM PRESENT A NEW THRILLER WRITTEN BY PAUL SCHRADER (TAXI DRIVER)! Looking to start a new life, a former hitman nicknamed The Jesuit (Jose Maria Yazpik) is unable to escape the sins of his past. With enemies on both sides of the law, he has nowhere to turn when his only son is kidnapped by a ruthless cartel boss (Ron Perlman). He'll stop at nothing to save his boy in this gritty action-thriller from the writer of TAXI DRIVER. Directed by Alfonso Ulloa, stars Jose Yazpik, Shannyn Sossamon, and Paz Vega, with Ron Perlman and Tim Roth.
AHED'S KNEE
Opens on Friday, March 18 in New York (Film at Lincoln Center) before expanding to select cities on Friday, April 1, including Los Angeles (Laemmle Royal- https://www.laemmle.com/film/aheds-knee )
Get more info at the film’s Kino Lorber website: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/5112
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6lnWirRxhQ ;Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3153271521614719&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber PRESENTS a Blistering Drama From director Nadav Lapid
A celebrated Israeli filmmaker named Y. arrives in a remote desert village to present one of his films at a local library. Struggling to cope with the recent news of his mother’s terminal illness, he is pushed into a spiral of rage when the host of the screening, a government employee, asks him to sign a form placing restrictions on what he can say at the film’s Q&A. Told over the course of one day, the film depicts Y. as he battles against the loss of freedom in his country and the fear of losing his mother. Nadav Lapid (Synonyms, The Kindergarten Teacher) wrote the film soon after the death of his own mother, who worked as an editor on many of his works. It offers a sharp critique of the censorship, hypocrisy, and violence instigated by Israel and repressive governments everywhere.
PUSHING HANDS
Premiering at Brooklyn’s BAM Rose Cinemas 4/1/22, with Additional Openings to Follow
Get more info from the Film Movement website: https://filmmovement.com/pushing-hands
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GJ9OTI4GSY&t=1s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3153997914875413&id=1718261665115719
Description: Film Movement Classics presents a New 2K Restoration of Ang Lee's highly Acclaimed Debut! Having just moved from Beijing, elderly tai chi master Mr. Chu (Sihung Lung) struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex (Ye-tong Wang). Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha (Deb Snyder), a writer who seems to blame him for her own paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways. PUSHING HANDS is the debut film from Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.)
AFRICA
Opening April 29th at Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/africa )
Get more info here: https://strandreleasing.com/films/africa/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tylyKnA4XcQ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3172703836338154&id=1718261665115719
Description: Strand Releasing presents a loving Film By Oren Gerner. Nominated for 5 Ophir Awards including Best Picture and winner of 3 Haifa International Film Festival Awards including Best Film, Best Debut Film and Best Actor, the touching and heartwarming film AFRICA finds 68-year-old Meir discovering that his 30 years of planning the annual village celebration have been summarily discarded and the job has been given to inexperienced local teens instead. In his effort to restore a sense of meaning and vitality, Meir begins to rebel against the inevitable: the betrayal of his physical body, the growing distance from his children, and the loss of relevance. Reconstructing fiction from real life, AFRICA is the cinematic journey of an ageing parent crafted by the hands of his loving son, in this deeply personal story on reinventing oneself. Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival.
FROM CHANGLINGS TO WITCHES, FOLKLORE COMES TO THE BIG SCREEN THIS SPRING!
Two Exciting Thrillers Coming…Soon…your way!!!
YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER, March 25 via Magnolia. It’s the week before Halloween and Char’s mother, Angela, has inexplicably disappeared. All that remains is her abandoned car. When she returns home without explanation the following evening, it becomes clear to Char and her grandmother, Rita, that something is amiss. She might look and sound the same but Angela’s behavior has become increasingly frightening, as if she has been replaced by a malevolent force. When Halloween arrives, a night steeped in ancient myth and legend, Char realizes that she is the only one who can save her, even if it means potentially losing her forever.
More info here: http://magnetreleasing.com/youarenotmymother/ ; enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoNbm72YLqA&t=2s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
YOU WON'T BE ALONE, April 1 via Focus Features. Set in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia, YOU WON’T BE ALONE follows a young girl who is kidnapped and then transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. Curious about life as a human, the young witch accidentally kills a peasant in the nearby village and then takes her victim’s shape to live life in her skin. Her curiosity ignited, she continues to wield this horrific power in order to understand what it means to be human. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3151191271822744&id=1718261665115719 More info here: https://www.focusfeatures.com/you-wont-be-alone ; enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-G39n2sCVU
SURVIVING SEX TRAFFICKING
In Theaters March 25 and releasing in VOD on April 15th!
Get more info here: https://survivingsextraffickingfilm.com/
Witness the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O847AF84juU ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3151419835133221&id=1718261665115719
Description: a timely documentary that highlights escaped victims’ stories! With 45 million sex trafficking victims worldwide, only 1% manage to escape or be rescued. Surviving Sex Trafficking examines the ongoing struggles of those survivors as they desperately fight to break free of their past, heal their bodies and minds, reconnect with a world of hope, and reclaim their lost humanity. Jain monk Sadhvi Siddhali Shree, the filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Traffic, uncovers the depth of pain felt by survivors as well as if and how they can truly recover. Through conversations with victims and trips to women’s shelters around the world, Surviving Sex Trafficking reveals their stories and how they escaped, how they continue to survive, and how they live day to day with the repressed trauma from the horrific events they experienced.
DANCE CAMERA WEST AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!
INK & LINDA--A lovely doc about an unexpected artistic collaboration between a young street artist and a septuagenarian dancer, premiering as the Opening Night film on March 24 at the Dance Camera West Festival. More info here: http://www.dancecamerawest.org/ , enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/460412667 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3148958958712642&id=1718261665115719
ROYALTY FREE--A musician has more music on film and video than anyone else because he gives it away for free. FirstRunFeatures.com has the doc film which is coming out on DVD and VOD on March 29, enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/618159227 . You can also enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3110145569260648&id=1718261665115719
DEADLY TROPICS--A fun female -driven mysteries set on the island of Martinique. March 22. More info here: https://mhzchoice.com/?s=deadly+tropics, enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEGIA7dOpQk; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3147559512185920&id=1718261665115719
CHERIF: SEASON 2--The addictive, long-running French language mystery series set in Lyon on MHzChoice. Get info here: https://mhzchoice.com/premieres/cherif-season-2/ , enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/lo72zgzpE-4
RED LIGHT--A new Dutch Noir series, coming out on Amazon the same day on March 22. More info here: https://fedent.com/portfolio/red-light/ , enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPRN8AriD9Q
ÎNTREGALDE
Opens at Laemmle Royal Theater on Friday, March 25.
Get more info here: https://www.laemmle.com/film/intregalde
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9icB1lfkAFE ' Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: In a gripping tale of best intentions gone wrong, leading Romanian filmmaker Radu Muntean (Tuesday, After Christmas) follows a trio of well-meaning aid workers from Bucharest on a food delivery mission to the rural hinterlands of the Întregalde area of Transylvania. Guided off the beaten path by an elderly villager looking for a local sawmill, they find themselves trapped in an unfamiliar, dangerous place and facing the outer limits of their goodwill for each other and for strangers. An inquiry into the contemporary humanitarian impulse that moves like a suspense thriller—but which never quite goes where you expect it to—Muntean’s film knowingly plays off and subverts conventions of both horror films and social realist drama. Directed by Radu Muntean, stars Maria Popistasu, Ilona Brezoianu and Alex Bogdan.
THE RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD
Available on VOD March 15th
Get more info here: https://www.theracetosavetheworld.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_L6yFAfBLE
Description: Uplifting and Inspiring Film Spotlighting Climate Activists Risking their Lives for Change/ The Race To Save The World is a climate change film like no other. Instead of focusing on paralyzing facts and numbers this inspiring feature takes a unique approach by following passionate activists, ages 15-72, who are in the trenches fighting for a livable future. These brave climate warriors put their lives on the line to push for change, regardless of the personal cost. Emmy award-winning filmmaker Joe Gantz brings an urgent and intimate portrait of the protests, arrests, courtroom drama and family turmoil these activists endure as they single mindedly focus their attention on the goal of creating a more sustainable world for future generations. The Race To Save The World is an inspiring and energizing call-to-action to quit waiting on the sidelines and make our voices heard. DIRECTED BY: Joe Gantz
SPIRITWALKER
Debuting exclusively on the martial arts streaming service Hi-YAH! (https://www.hiyahtv.com/spiritwalker ) on March 18, before hitting Digital, Blu-ray™ and DVD April 12 from your friends at Well Go USA (https://www.wellgousa.com/films/spiritwalker )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--L6rZjgZuE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3159324147676123&id=1718261665115719
Description: An Award-Winning, Action-Packed Thriller coming your way From Well Go USA!! “… an intense, fun, and entertaining thriller filled with amazing action from beginning to end”-easternKicks.com. Director Yoon Jae-keun (Heartbeat), along with award-winning martial arts choreographers Park Young-sik and Chung Seong-Ho (SAG Awards, Best Stunt Ensemble, “Squid Game”), bring to life the action-packed thriller about a man who wakes up from a car crash, unable to remember anything about his life…he begins regaining consciousness in a new body every 12 hours! Now, he must piece together his identity, all while evading attacks from pursuing agents and dangerous criminals alike. But with no memory—and no allies—his time is running out. Winner of the Daniel A. Craft award for Excellence in Action Cinema at the 2021 New York Asian Film Festival, SPIRITWALKER stars former K-pop singer Yoon Kye-Sang (Chocolate, The Outlaws), Park Yong-Woo (Nailed), Lim Ji-Yeon (Obsessed, High Society) and Park Ji-Hwan (The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure). The bonus features include an all-new English dub and behind-the-scenes content.
AFTER YANG
Coming March, 4, 2022, from A24, in Select Theaters and on Showtime
Get more info at the film’s A24 website: https://a24films.com/films/after-yang
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwp32zLc08c
Description: WORLD PREMIERE OF CANNES AND SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNER! When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to repair him. In the process, he discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife (Jodie Turner-Smith) and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.
Written and directed by Kogonada, stars Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min. Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Haley Lu Richardson, Sarita Choudhury, and Clifton Collins Jr.
UNTIL THE WHEELS COME OFF
Releasing on VOD on April 5
Get more info from the film’s official website: https://untilthewheelscomeoffmovie.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/355405030
Description: Gravitas ventures presents…50 year old cyclist, John Tarlton, enters his second Race Across America, the most grueling bike race in the world. In a race, where more than half of the participants don’t even finish, John is dead set on winning his division. With his loyal family and friends serving as his support crew, they embark on their 12 day odyssey, stressing not only their physical limits, but their emotional limits as well. Directed by Matt Dearborn, Rick Weis.
TOPSIDE
March 25, 2022, In Select Theaters and On Demand
Description: Vertical Entertainment is proud to present … WINNER - SXSW 2020 - Special Jury Recognition for Directing; 2020 Venice International Film Festival -Mario Serandrei Award for Technical Achievement. Underneath the streets of New York City, a five-year old girl and her mother live among a community that has claimed long-abandoned subway tunnels as home. When the pair is forced to flee above ground into a cold winter night, mother and daughter are plunged into a challenging world of chaos and tragedy that makes their uncertain underground life seem idyllic in comparison. TOPSIDE deftly weaves escalating suspense with sharp bursts of humanity in a nocturnal urban tangle. Written and directed by Logan George & Celine Held, starring Zhaila Farmer, Celine Held, Jared Abrahamson, and Fatlip.
FILM MOVEMENT PLUS--MARCH STREAMING HIGHLIGHTS
Starting March 4; Info and viewing details at https://www.filmmovementplus.com/
Description: This March, FILM MOVEMENT PLUS comes in like a lion with a cornucopia of acclaimed, award-winning films certain to thrill cineastes of all walks. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3139055333036338&id=1718261665115719
Friday, March 4--FM+ PREMIERES: RIFIFI IN THE CITY, DEATH WHISTLES THE BLUES, THE ALEX VAN WARMERDAM COLLECTION, ABEL, THE NORTHERNERS, WAITER, THE LAST DAYS OF EMMA BLANK, GRIMM (RE-EDIT), SCHNEIDER VS. BAX
Friday, March 11--FM+ EXCLUSIVE: THE WAITER, SWORD OF GOD, LOKIS: A MANUSCRIPT OF PROFESSOR WITTEMBACH
Friday, March 18--FM+ EXCLUSIVE: THE LAMB, A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND, IL DEMONIO
Friday, March 25--FM+ EXCLUSIVE: BILLE, THE SQUARE
BLOODY ORANGES
Releasing theatrically 3/18, and VOD 4/19
Description: WHAT ARE ORANGES SANGUINES YOU MAY ASK? Ah, that’s the secret you’ll discover when you watch the multi-strand dark comedy from Dark Star Pictures. The film is about a retired couple who enter a dance contest, a corrupt politician, a girl eager to lose her virginity, and a young lawyer obsessed with social status - a seemingly benign look into these daily lives goes haywire in this shocking black comedy. Directed By Jean-Christophe Meurisse, and starring Alexandre Steiger, Christophe Paou, Lilith Grasmug.
Enjoy our KPFK Film Club Review of the film’s stunning screening at 2022’s FILM MAUDIT 2.0: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3095320794076459&id=1718261665115719
HUDA'S SALON
Opens March 4, 2022, In Select Theaters and On Demand
Get more info at the film’s official IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/hudas-salon
Enjoy the first look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv7VqpoX4b8 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3132288000379738&id=1718261665115719
Description: IFC FILMS is proud to present the riveting new thriller from two-time Academy Award-nominee Hany Abu-Assad! Based on real events, HUDA’S SALON is a timely political drama about two women who find themselves in a dangerous and complex web of betrayal. Nadia, a young mother married to a jealous man, goes to Huda's salon in Bethlehem. But this ordinary visit turns sour when Huda, after having put Nadia in a shameful situation, blackmails her to have her work for the secret service of the occupiers, and thus betray her people. Written and directed by Hany Abu-Assad (PARADISE NOW, OMAR, THE IDOL), starring Ali Suliman (TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN, PARADISE NOW), Maisa Abd Elhadi (BAGHDAD CENTRAL) and Manal Awad (GAZA MON AMOUR).
FEAR (2020)
PREMIERING VIA VIRTUAL CINEMA, VOD & DIGITAL ON MARCH 11, 2022
Get more info at the Film Movement website: https://www.filmmovement.com/fear
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2HZHmyI-vI ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3136356833306188&id=1718261665115719
Description: Film Movement presents… SMALL-TOWN XENOPHOBIA MEETS ABSURDIST HUMOR. BULGARIA’S OFFICIAL OSCAR SUBMISSION & GRAND PRIZE WINNER AT TALINN BLACK NIGHTS. Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva), a strong-willed widow, lives alone in a small Bulgarian village close to the Turkish border. She has recently lost her job as a teacher due to the lack of families with young children. One day, while hunting in a forest, she encounters an African refugee, Bamba (Michael Fleming), who is trying to reach Germany, and will bring about a dramatic turn in her life. Reluctantly, she offers him hospitality, but day after day, a bond develops as Bamba learns the language and takes part in her daily life. Svetla will make life-changing choices that go against her traditional community creating a revolt among the villagers. Absurd, comic and tragic situations ensue as she breaks barriers of loneliness, close mindedness and fear of the outsider. Written and directed by Ivaylo Hristov, starring Svetlana Yancheva, Michael Flemming, Ivan Savov, Stoyan Bochev, Krassimir Dokov, and Miroslava Gogovska.
LA LA LAND WITH PRESHOW PRESENTATION ABOUT MOVIES FILMED IN LONG BEACH!
At the Art Theatre of Long Beach 4/25/22, One Night Only, Pre-Show at 6:30pm, Intermission at 7:15pm, Feature at 7:30pm
Info and tickets here: https://arttheatre.easy-ware-ticketing.com/events?mc_cid=ffc5b1486d&mc_eid=677004b84b
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pdqf4P9MB8
Description: Nichole East from @loveyoulongbeach brings a 45-minute presentation showing you Long Beach history through the lens of Hollywood. This is a MUST for Long Beach lovers - you won’t believe all the movies that were filmed in Long Beach, from the Queen Mary, The Beach, The West Side and North Side—Nichole will show you all the clips from decades of movies. La La Land is one of them and you get to enjoy the film right after this fun presentation by Nicole! In La La Land, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart. Directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, and J.K. Simmons.
I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING
Opens at Metrograph in New York - March 11 and the Alamo Drafthouse in Los Angeles - March 18
Get more info at the Kino Lorber website: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/5128
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-TU9CoxAx0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3145410105734194&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber Presents…Winner of the Prix de la Jeunesse at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING became a Queer and indie cinema classic. The film opened the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win numerous awards and was ranked in TIFF’s list of Top 10 Canadian Films of all time. A charming and whimsical story about a daydreamer with artistic aspirations, Patricia Rozema’s fanciful character study follows an amateur photographer Polly (Sheila McCarthy) as she lands a temp job at a Toronto art gallery run by elegant and sophisticated Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle’s paintings, but as Polly gets to know Gabrielle’s lover, Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald), and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes that Gabrielle isn’t exactly who she appears to be. The absent-minded temp with spiky orange hair and the polished curator with a gift for gab are like night and day, yet a strong connection builds between these two women through their shared love of art, and their genuine curiosity and need for love.
A TALE OF LOVE AND DESIRE
Opens on https://watch.laemmle.com/ on Friday, March 11.
Info and tickets at https://www.laemmle.com/film/tale-love-and-desire
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShBbalC64qo&t=2s; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3140868892854982&id=1718261665115719
Description: Ahmed, an 18-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin, grew up in the suburbs of Paris. At the university, he meets Farah, a live wire young Tunisian woman who has just arrived in Paris. While discovering a corpus of sensual and erotic Arabic literature he never imagined existed, Ahmed falls deeply in love with Farah, and although literally overwhelmed with desire, he tries to resist it. Lead actor Sami Outalbali was nominated for the Most Promising Actor César Award for his performance.
THE EVENT WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR…
THE 2022 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORTS
Presented by ShortsTV, In Theaters February 25th (Online and VOD Screenings Coming Soon)
Get more info from the ShortsTV website: https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/ and…
At the Laemmle Theaters, where screenings start Friday, 2/25/22: https://www.laemmle.com/series/2022-oscar-nominated-shorts
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GGdYKrc8vY; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Reviews of all three categories here:
Pt. 1 Animated Shorts-https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3127331424208729&id=1718261665115719
Pt. 2 Live Action Shorts- https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3128126867462518&id=1718261665115719
Pt. 3 Documentary Shorts-
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3128602747414930&id=1718261665115719 Description: For the 17th consecutive year, Shorts HD and Magnolia Pictures present the Oscar-Nominated Short Films, opening on Feb. 25th. With all three categories offered – Animated, Live Action and Documentary – this is your annual chance to predict the winners (and have the edge in your Oscar pool)! A perennial hit with audiences around the country and the world, don’t miss this year’s selection of shorts. The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 27th.
ANIMATED SHORTS
Affairs of the Art – Joanna Quinn and Les Mills, UK/Canada, 16 min.
Bestia – Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz, Chile, 15 min.
Boxballet – Anton Dyakov, Russia, 15 min.
Robin Robin – Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, UK, 32 min.
The Windshield Wiper – Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez, USA/Spain, 14 min.
LIVE ACTION SHORTS
Ala Kachuu - Take and Run – Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger, Kyrgyzstan/Switzerland, 38 min.
The Dress – Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki, Poland, 30 min.
The Long Goodbye – Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed, UK/Netherlands, 12 min.
On My Mind – Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson, Denmark, 18 min.
Please Hold – K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse, USA, 19 min.
DOCUMENTARY
Audible – Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean, USA, 39 min.
Lead Me Home – Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk, USA, 39 min.
The Queen of Basketball – Ben Proudfoot, USA, 22 min.
Three Songs for Benazir – Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei, Afghanistan, 22 min.
When We Were Bullies – Jay Rosenblatt, USA/Germany, 36 min.
A THRILLING CINEMA TROPICAL AND FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCEMENT!
THE 7TH ANNUAL NEIGHBORING SCENES FESTIVAL
The annual wide-ranging showcase of contemporary Latin American cinema featuring established auteurs as well as fresh talent from the international festival scene!
Discover the complete lineup, as well as the details on how to enjoy the festival, here: https://www.filmlinc.org/daily/neighboring-scenes-returns-to-theaters-february-24-28/
February 24—28 at Film at Lincoln Center; All screenings will take place in the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.) unless otherwise noted.
Tickets will go on sale on February 11 at noon with discounts for students, seniors (62+), persons with disabilities, and Cinema Tropical subscribers and Film at Lincoln Center members. Discounted All-Access Passes also available: learn more at https://www.filmlinc.org/
Description: The festival includes one international premiere, seven North American premieres, and six U.S. premieres! The selections in this year's slate of premieres exhibit the expansive styles, techniques, and approaches of Latin American filmmakers today, representing a wide variety of countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
--Opening Night: THE OTHER TOM / EL OTRO TOM (Rodrigo Plá and Laura Santullo). A working-class single mom risks losing custody of her nine-year-old son, diagnosed with ADHD when she refuses to continue medicating him. Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTyAqZxa5G0; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3129275714014300&id=1718261665115719
--Centerpiece: THE BOX / LA CAJA (Lorenzo Vigas.) A complex psychological thriller offering a critical look at Mexico’s maquiladora system. A teenager from Mexico City travels to the north to collect the remains of his estranged father, who died under unknown circumstances. Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H0zOrnrfF8
--Two Cannes 2021 Directors' Fortnight selections to be presented are The Employer and the Employee, writer-director Manolo Nieto's provocative Brazilian border-set drama starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart [BPM (Beats Per Minute)]; and Medusa, Anita Rocha da Silveira's visionary follow-up to Kill Me Please, a reinterpretation of the mythological Greek figure of the title in a misogynistic, Bolsonarist Brazil. Additional notable presentations include Aurora, director Paz Fábrega's delicate drama on motherhood and maternity; and Red Star, Sofía Bordenave's film essay revisiting the locations where the Russian Revolution occurred 100 years earlier.
A VANISHING FOG
North American Premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, In Person and Online, March 11 to 19, 2022.
Get info and screening tix here: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2022/films/2053946
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEmvV7vV1B0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3140921419516396&id=1718261665115719
Description: Cinema Tropical presents a North American Premiere of an Evocative and Audacious film. A visually-exquisite social parable, with echoes of Buñuel and Jodorowsky, and the first feature film to be shot in the mysterious and formidable Páramo of Sumapaz—the largest swath of alpine moorland in the world—A Vanishing Fog draws on longstanding Latin American traditions of cinematic surrealism and innovative applications of science fiction to tell the story of F, a solitary explorer and guardian of the mountains, condemned by his fate, who strives to protect the mystical and fragile ecosystem he inhabits while caring for his ailing father. A Vanishing Fog invites audiences to immerse in a sensorial experience of images and sounds that come together to comment on Colombia’s pained histories of human and environmental rights abuses with bold cinematic precision, sensitivity, and innovation. A deeply personal film, perhaps a song or a poem caught between past and future, sanity and delirium, or bliss and tragedy, A Vanishing Fog marks Sandino as an emerging filmmaker to watch on the international festival circuit masterfully mixing sci-fi, arthouse, and genre cinematic elements.
CHANGING OF THE GODS…. FREE VIP ACCESS!
Join this world premiere during its FREE viewing period which starts Tuesday, February 22nd.
REGISTER NOW to get your VIP invite to watch live, plus access to sneak previews and unseen content before it goes live: https://changingofthegodsseries.com/trailer/?sub4=7081298fe8fc403d9bdd0657460efe23&afid=159
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piZYhMx8rfk
Description: Fantastic Fungi director Louie Schwartzberg co-directs a new docuseries! Watch this epic new documentary series co-directed by Louie Schwartzberg, that reveals what top astrologers and researchers say about the connection between the cosmos and the revolutionary human behavior we’re witnessing.
SEOBOK: PROJECT CLONE
Explodes onto Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD February 15, as well as on mobile and connected devices through Martial Arts Movie App Hi-YAH! (www.hiyahtv.com )
Get more info at the Well Go USA website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/seobok-project-clon
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3118530438422161&id=1718261665115719
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbU7onyLWJ4
Description: A SCI-FI ACTION THRILLER FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT WELL GO USA. A former special agent (GONG Yoo) is called in for a secret mission: safely escort the world’s first human clone (PARK Bo Gum), whose body may hold the key to defeating death itself. Evil organizations are bent on kidnapping him to extract the dark secret. As the enemy closes in, the pair is forced to make an impossible choice.Directed by LEE Yong Zoo (Possessed), SEOBOK: PROJECT CLONE stars GONG Yoo (Train to Busan, Squid Game) and PARK Bo Gum (Love in the Moonlight, Hello Monster).
6:45
Debuting on Digital & Blu-ray March 22.
Get more info from the film’s WELL GO website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/645
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VivQxpbRbkc ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3146936735581531&id=1718261665115719
Description: An award-winning horror thriller from your friends at Well Go USA! What if one of the best days of your life suddenly turned into your very worst nightmare? And what if you were forced to relive that same day again and again? A couple embarks on a weekend getaway only to find the island curiously deserted. After stumbling upon the town’s dark secret, they trigger a time loop, forcing them to relive a demented cycle of terror with seemingly no means of escape. 6:45 stars Michael Reed (Brides of Satan), Augie Duke (The Amityville Moon), Armen Garo (“Dexter: New Blood”), and Thomas G. Waites (The Thing, Money Train).9-9801
OUR (ALMOST COMPLETELY TRUE) STORY
FIRST watch the film in advance in an online screening format from Friday, February 11 – 14: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/watch-our-almost-completely-true-story-premiere-qa-wmariette-hartley-tickets-262762217867 , or visit www.LAJFilmFest.org
THEN join the LAJFF for a FREE Exclusive Live Virtual Conversation with MARIETTE HARTLEY, JERRY SROKA and DON SCARDINO
Monday, February 14, 2022 5:00 pm PST / 8:00 pm EST
Q&A zoom webinar is included in your ticket purchase, or visit www.LAJFilmFest.org .
To register for the FREE webinar only: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lKr2M-ejT964yie6ISmxDw
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/659114925 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival presents a SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY PROGRAM! An aging screen legend (Mariette Hartley) and jobless voiceover actor (Jerry Sroka) navigate the LA senior dating scene, in this (mostly) true-life romantic dramedy. Who would expect anything to come from two people who first meet in a bird store? She’s tall, famous and classy. He’s short and hides behind Groucho Marx and Woody Allen impressions. Out-of-work actors of a certain age face the indignities of Gen Z Hollywood assistants, oblivious to names, and agents who ignore calls. Despite their baggage, early life traumas and a serious health crisis, as these opposites attract, they find it’s never too late for love. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Los Angeles, this adorable crowd-pleaser is also a love letter to Hollywood. Directed by Emmy winner Don Scardino (30 Rock), starring MARIETTE HARTLEY, JERRY SROKA, MORGAN FAIRCHILD, TESS HARPER, BERNIE KOPELL, and PETER MCNICHOL
THE NEED TO GROW…A documentary that centers around the urgent issue of topsoil depletion.
For just a few days, you can watch this award-winning documentary for free; click here for info and access: https://grow.foodrevolution.org/?orid=3162651&opid=314&mc_cid=d897317132&mc_eid=10ba287cb0
Get more info here: https://www.earthconsciouslife.org/theneedtogrow
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pBYu4U525Y
Description: “If we take care of Mother Nature, Mother Nature takes care of us.” A deeply moving 90-minute documentary — the kind that gives you chills, opens your heart, and leaves you informed about some of the most critical issues of our times. The focus of this film is on soil, food, and the future of our species — told through the lens of three extraordinary and very likable characters and their journeys as solutionaries: Alicia Serratos—An 8-year-old girl challenges the ethics of a global organization. Erik Cutter—A renegade farmer struggles to keep his land as he revolutionizes resource-efficient agriculture. Michael Smith—A visionary inventor faces catastrophe in the midst of developing a game-changing technology. THE NEED TO GROW is narrated by top-notch celebrity activist Rosario Dawson and brings a non-divisive message about the stake we all have in humanity’s ability to sustainably grow food for future generations. Fantastic Fungi director, Louie Schwartzberg was a mentor to the film's director, Rob Herring.
SOMEWHERE WITH NO BRIDGES
Streaming begins February 15 on Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon & Vimeo
Get more info from the film’s website: https://somewherewithnobridges.com/home-1
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/592749285 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: First Run Features presents Charles Frank's Award-Winning Documentary. Heralded as "a celebration of life like you've never seen," the film is a stirring, lyrical journey beneath the brusque, reticent surface of a New England fishing community. Twenty years after a beloved local fisherman, Richie Madeiras, goes missing off the shores of Martha's Vineyard, a distant cousin locates Richie's kind, indelible spirit in the stories of family, friends, and the sweeping sea which has defined their lives. "Told with the reverence and grace of Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life."-Graffiti with Punctuation. Named a "Best Documentary of 2021" by Video Librarian! "A celebration of life like you’ve never seen."-Screentology
ROYALTY FREE: THE MUSIC OF KEVIN MACLEOD
The streaming & DVD premiere begins March 29, 2022.
Get more info from the films website: https://royaltyfreedoc.com/about.html
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPAsEervC9M ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3110145569260648&id=1718261665115719
Description: FIRST RUN PRESENTS RYAN CAMARDA'S NEW FASCINATING DOCUMENTARY! Royalty Free tells the story of the internet legend whose music has become the soundtrack of the digital world. Composer Kevin MacLeod released thousands of his songs for free and unwittingly became one of the most heard composers in the world, with his work ending up in millions of videos, thousands of films, and more than a few odd places – such as theme parks and rocket launches. By releasing his music royalty free, anyone can use his music in their productions, from Martin Scorsese’s Hugo to cat videos on YouTube.The film also delves into the digital audio revolution, where one person with a synthesizer can become an entire orchestra. This democratization of music has enabled great creativity, but has also threatened the livelihood of analog musicians, from recording artists to orchestras and Broadway musicians.Ultimately, Royalty Free is about the value we as a society place on creative work, and how the evolving technological landscape influences our consumption, production, and distribution of the work itself.
THE OLIVE TREES OF JUSTICE
The film’s 60th anniversary re-release will play at the historic Los Feliz 3 Theater, in Cinema 1 programmed by the American Cinematheque, with screenings on Sunday, February 6th and Saturday, February 7th.
(https://www.americancinematheque.com/series/sunday-restorations/ )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SkK38OMQF0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3113203312288207&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber repertory PRESENTS… The Olive Trees of Justice holds the dual distinction of being the only French film to have been shot during the Algerian War, and to have been the inaugural winner of the Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962. Filmed under the pretext that it was a documentary about the wine industry, the film depicts the Algerian struggle for independence from the French by concentrating on a young “pied-noir” (Frenchman of Algerian descent) who returns to Algiers to visit his dying father. His memories of boyhood on his father's farm are told in flashbacks with a lush serenity that contrasts to the teeming, tank-filled streets of contemporary Algiers. Giving the film a neorealist tone by shooting in a documentary style and enrolling a cast that consisted largely of non-professional actors, Blue tells a powerful story of common people living and struggling in their daily lives while providing a valuable testimony to the complexity of the Algerian situation in that time period. Directed by James Blue, based on the novel by Jean Pélégri. Winner: Critics Prize – Cannes Film Festival (1962), Official Selection – New York Film Festival (1963) "Lush, Lyrical... Stunningly Evocative"–The New York Times.
A SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY EVENT!
--First watch the online LA Premiere of the Award-Winning Documentary—
How 'HOLOCAUST' Came to TV
A new film by Alice Agnerkirchner ("An Apartment in Berlin"); Winner of the 2020 Grimme-Preis for Best Non-Fiction Film (Equivalent to the Oscars!)
Streams Jan. 27 - 30: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-holocaust-came-to-tv-streaming-and-qa-for-holocaust-remembrance-day-tickets-249886847287 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3108522859422919&id=1718261665115719
--Then Join A Free Exclusive Live Virtual Conversation--
Sunday, January 30, 2022, 11:00 am PST / 2:00 pm EST
Q&A Webinar is included in your ticket purchase, or visit www.LAJFilmFest.org . The event includes: Alice Agneskirchner, Director/Producer, Moderated by Dr. Michael Berenbaum, Holocaust Scholar and Director of the Sigi Ziering Institute at American Jewish University. With a special introduction by Consul General Stefan Schneider of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany and Richard Hirschhaut, Director, AJC Los Angeles
More Information Available at: www.LAJFilmFest.org
Description: At the beginning of 1979, after more than 30 years of collective repression, a dramatized and emotional US television miniseries brought the horrors of Nazi crimes into German living rooms and ensured that the German population was suddenly reminded of the heinous crimes against the Jews. What is now expressed with the unknown word ‘Holocaust’, hits many millions of people in the heart. This was the first time that a major mainstream drama had portrayed the lives of Hitler’s victims.
SIMPLE PASSION
Opens January 28th at the Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/simple-passion .)
Get more info at the Strand Releasing website: https://strandreleasing.com/films/simple-passion/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPMYlazS3D4&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3106915379583667&id=1718261665115719
Description: An intense romantic drama from strand releasing In this sexually frank portrait of female lust and vulnerability, a young mother falls into an addictive relationship with a Russian diplomat with whom she has nothing in common. Directed by Danielle Arbid, stars Laetitia Dosch, Sergei Polunin, Lou-Teymour Thion, amd Caroline Ducey. Official Selection, Festival de Cannes 2020, Toronto International Film Festival 2020. Nominee, Golden Seashell ~ Best Film, San Sebastián International Film Festival
MOONFALL
In theaters February 4, 2022, from LIONSGATE.
Get more info from the MOONFALL’s official website: https://moonfall.movie/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivIwdQBlS10
Description: “EARTH, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…” In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) believes her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.Directed by Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY, DAY AFTER TOMORROW) and written by Roland Emmerich & Harald Kloser & Spenser Cohen, the film also stars Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Eme Ikwuakor, Carolina Bartczak, and Donald Sutherland.
WHY IS WE AMERICANS?
Premiering at the Laemmle Glendale Theater on 2/4/22 (https://www.laemmle.com/film/why-we-americans )
Get more info from the official CORINTH FILMS website: https://corinthfilms.com/films/why-is-we-americans/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpcmxSdVXPo&t=2s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3112570752351463&id=1718261665115719
Description: A WINDOW INTO THE POETIC, PROGRESSIVE AND COMPLEX WORLD OF NEWARK’S BARAKA FAMILY. From the Newark Rebellion of 1967 to current day, the city’s narrative has been one of revolution with each generation picking up where the previous had left off. WHY IS WE AMERICANS? weighs in on Newark’s struggle against oppression through the personal triumphs and tragedies of the Baraka family -- from Amiri’s civil rights leadership and ultimate artistic marginalization, to the horrific murder of his sister, Kimako, through the homicide of daughter Shani (one of the first openly gay black activists) to the historic election of Ras Baraka as mayor of Newark, NJ.
HEY JUDE PRODUCTIONS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!
HEY JUDE PRODUCTIONS is excited to announce that AULCIE, together with their other films, is now available to stream exclusively on their website: https://www.heyjudeproductions.com/
AULCIE—Aulcie Perry left the violence-filled streets of Newark, NJ to find his glory in leading Israel’s Maccabi basketball team to European championship, only to fall to drugs and jail time before his redemption and search for his biological daughter. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3032466100361929&id=1718261665115719
ON THE MAP—The story of the basketball team that brought the first European Cup to Israel and became “The Team of the Nation”, with the help of Jewish American athletes.
PICTURE OF HIS LIFE— Amos Nachoum, one of the greatest underwater photographers of all times, has swam with and photographed Anacondas, Giant Leopard Seals, Great White Sharks, Orcas and Crocodiles; now, at the age of 65, he is about to face his ultimate challenge: to swim, face face, unprotected with A Polar Bear. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2670653523209857/?type=3&theater
30 POUNDS OF LOVE—Ami, a man who while unable to move any part of his body, still manages to move each and every one of us, as he takes the journey of a lifetime.
JE T’AIME – I LOVE YOU TERMINAL —Ben travels from Israel, to marry his girlfriend in New York. When he misses his flight connection in Prague, he meets Emma, who has him re-evaluating his life and relationships.
IS THAT YOU? THE ROAD NOT TAKEN-Ronnie, a 60 year old man , looks for his old time girlfriend in upstate New York.
DOLPHIN BOY—Following a violent attack, a young man finds therapy in the Red Sea, with dolphins.
THE UNMAKING OF A COLLEGE
Opens at the IFC Center in New York on February 11 (https://www.ifccenter.com/films/the-unmaking-of-a-college/ ), and at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/unmaking-college ) on February 18. Other cities will follow.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6rpSHxRyzc ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: THE UNMAKING OF A COLLEGE delves into the 2019 crisis at Hampshire College when students led a 75-day sit-in – the longest in American college history – at the new president's office to thwart her underhanded attempt to shut down one of the most experimenting colleges in the United States. Hampshire College was founded 50 years ago based on the seminal book “The Making Of A College" to radically reimagine liberal arts education. Inspired by this philosophy of critical thinking, a collection of dedicated and charismatic students went on a rescue mission with a coalition of undergrads, faculty, staff, and alumni to find out who was leading the threat to their college, and why. The thrilleresque unfolding of this singular story goes beyond a single school, and foretells a looming crisis in higher education at a time when many colleges are failing. If Hampshire were to close, what would that mean for colleges and universities throughout the country? This is also a story of young people moved to action, how they were changed forever by their choices and how they are becoming our future leaders. The film is constructed from a mix of video captured by the students and their social media threads, traditional observational footage, press conferences, news footage, and radio broadcasts. Hampshire alum, Amy Goldstein, weaves their powerful documentation with interviews with students, professors, whistleblowers, and alumni including filmmaker Ken Burns, into a suspenseful and raucous ode to democracy in action.
FILM MAUDIT 2.0, THIRD EDITION
JANUARY 12 – 23, Virtual and live
Live at the legendary L.A. Performance Space and Gallery Highways (1651 18th St, Santa Monica, CA 90404)
Online at: https://www.filmmaudit.org/
Tickets available here: https://filmmaudit.eventive.org/films ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review, Part 1, here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3094969090778296&id=1718261665115719 ; Enjoy Part 2 Reviews here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3095320794076459&id=1718261665115719 : Part 3 Reviews here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: “A two-lane - virtual and physical - rebel highway of radical ‘cinema-sations’ that are guaranteed to not just entertain, but to challenge the mind and shock the senses!” The third edition of Film Maudit 2.0, a showcase and celebration of new (and some old) outré, unusual and startling films takes places January 12-23, 2022 at the legendary L.A. Performance Space and Gallery Highways. This year, Film Maudit 2.0 features over 100 genre, experimental, animated and documentary works of cinema from 23 countries including films rarely if ever, seen in festivals: works addressing socio-political issues and taboo subject matter that challenges conventional artistic assumptions and sexual mores. encompassing genre, experimental, animated and documentary works. The hybrid festival will present both live screenings @ Highways, as well virtual, online screenings of 12 feature films, 10 shorts programs, specially commissioned sections, and a collection of new scores to silent films starring the iconic Lon Chaney by artists who reflect the diversity of Los Angeles. Included in the festival are a range of narrative, documentary and experimental films that are deliberately bold, extreme, confrontational and unusual. Film Maudit 2.0 is inspired by French avant-garde filmmaker and writer Jean Cocteau who created the original Festival du Film Maudit (literally “cursed films”) in 1949 aiming to celebrate overlooked, shocking and experimental films. Feature Films making L.A. premieres, Shorts Programs BEHOLD! Queer Film + Performance Series (https://filmmaudit.eventive.org/films?mode=list&filterTags%5B61cd28c7abe18a0044411d13%5D=true ), and much, much, more!
BRIGHTON 4TH
Georgia's Official Submission to the 94th Academy Awards®
Opens in New York on Friday, January 28 (Village East Cinema) and in Los Angeles on Friday, February 11 (Laemmle Royal- https://www.laemmle.com/film/brighton-4th ), with a national rollout to follow.
Get more info at the film’s Kino Lorber site: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/5126
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/nZYJwHkJAKM ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3110441645897707&id=1718261665115719 Description: Triple Tribeca Winner Is a Colorful and Tragicomic Father and Son Tale Set in the Georgian Enclave of Brooklyn. Kino Lorber is pleased to present Levan Koguashvili’s portrait of parental sacrifice and the love of a father for his son. Former wrestler Kakhi (played by real-life Olympic champion Levan Tediashvili) embarks on a journey from his home in Tbilisi to visit his son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze) in the Russian-speaking neighborhood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. There he finds Soso living in a shabby boarding house populated by a colorful group of fellow Georgian immigrants (like most in the cast, played by non-actors). Soso is not studying medicine, as Kakhi believed, but is working for a moving company and has accrued a $14,000 gambling debt to a local Russian mob boss. Kakhi sets his mind to helping his hapless son out of his debt, leading to situations as often absurd as they are dire.“Bittersweet… Poignant… [With a] tender screenplay by Boris Frumin… It also offers a touching showcase for Levan Tediashvili… The melancholy-infused narrative neatly balances rueful humor with genuine sweetness.”– Alissa Simon, Variety.
THE BROKEN CANDLE
Watch the free film online, now, then attend the 12/16 free Q/A on zoom!
During the Q/A, writer/producer Michael Lam and director Felix Kiner will be in conversation with Kat Kramer, moderator, on December 16 on zoom, about the award-winning short film, The Broken Candle.
Register for the exclusive Q&A on Thu, Dec 16, 2021, 5:00 PM PST;
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fyc-screening-and-qa-for-the-broken-candle-tickets-227325275017
You will have access to the film in your Eventbrite confirmation.
Or reserve your ticket at www.LAJFilmFest.org
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB3FFuqXo48
Description: A FREE screening, In case you missed the Hanukkah Film Festival! THE BROKEN CANDLE is an inspirational 9-minute animated short film about friendship, diversity and inclusion. It tells the heartwarming tale of Nira, a broken Hanukkah candle whose dream is to become the shamash ("lead candle" of the menorah) on the last night of the Festival of Lights. “I think we are all a little bit broken with all that’s happening in the world. It doesn’t mean that we can’t fulfill our purpose. I loved showing kids that it doesn’t matter if sometimes you’re broken. You can fulfill your dream no matter what.”~Eugenio Derbez on “The Broken Candle.”
THE HATING GAME
Now screening, including the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/hating-game ) thru 12/16.
From Vertical Entertainment (https://www.vert-ent.com/ )
Get more info at the film’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hatinggamemovie/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hXbluAr1ms&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3077634482511757&id=1718261665115719
Description: Based on the best-selling book by Sally Thorne, THE HATING GAME tells the story of ambitious good girl Lucy Hutton (Lucy Hale) pitted against her cold, efficient work nemesis, Joshua Templeton (Austin Stowell), for a huge promotion at publishing company Bexley & Gamin. Trapped in a shared office, Lucy embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against Josh, a rivalry that turns increasingly complicated by her mounting attraction to him after an innocent elevator ride turns NSFW. Is it love or just another game in their never-ending pursuit for the top job? Directed by Peter Hutchings, the film co-stars Samon Daunno, Yasha Jackson, Sean Cullen with Sakina Jaffrey and Corbin Bernsen.
A SON (UN FILS)
Opens Friday, December 17 at Laemmle Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90025
More info at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/son-0 ; enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/557267742?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=19418010 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3079879812287224&id=1718261665115719
Description: In late summer 2011, following the Arab Spring and the fall of Tunisia’s 24-year-long corrupt regime, an affluent, French-educated family is weekending in the scenic southeast. When an attack by armed Islamic extremists thrusts Fares (Sami Bouajila in a 2021 César Best Actor award winning performance), Meriem (Najla Ben Abdallah), and their 11-year-old son into a series of intense shock waves both physical and emotional, Fares becomes quietly, wrenchingly torn between a father’s love, a man’s pride, and a thinking citizen’s moral center – amidst looming regional instability that does not discriminate. Director Mehdi M. Barsaoui’s debut narrative feature premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival (where Sami Bouajila won the “Horizons” section award for Best Actor), then featured at the 2019 BFI London Film Festival and 2020 International Film Festival Rotterdam. Previously, Sami Bouajila won the Award for Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival for DAYS OF GLORY (2006) and the César Award for Best Supporting Actor for THE WITNESSES (2007).“Superb. Deserves significant attention. Bring[s] subtlety and depth to a heart-rending subject. Barsaoui’s sensitive script delves into issues of masculinity and paternity without losing sight of the strong female character. Visual poetry.” – Jay Weissberg, Variety
AMERICAN GADFLY
Releasing on VOD January 4th
Get more info here: https://americangadflymovie.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG1nb8Dy8bw ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3091012261173979&id=1718261665115719
Description: A charming political documentary. After decades of quiet living, 89-year-old former U.S. senator Mike Gravel comes out of retirement when a group of teenagers convince him to run for president. Through Senator Gravel's official Twitter account, the Gravel teens embark on an unlikely adventure to qualify him for the Democratic debates in order to advance an anti-war, anti-corruption, and direct democracy agenda in the 2020 presidential race. Directed by Skye Wallin.
BOB SPIT – WE DO NOT LIKE PEOPLE (Bob Cuspe – Nós Não Gostamos de Gente)
Get more info at the Outsider website: https://www.outsiderpictures.us/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9KUZF6m84A ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
The Stop Motion Animation/Documentary/ Comedy/Road Movie Based on the Classic Comic Strips of
Legendary Brazilian Cartoonist Angeli opens on Wednesday, December 15 at the Laemmle NoHo 7 in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/bob-spit-we-do-not-people )
Description: Outsider Pictures is proud to announce the U.S. theatrical release. Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People tells the story of Bob Spit, an old punk trying to escape from a post-apocalyptic desert that is actually, a purgatory inside the mind of his creator, Angeli, a cartoonist going through a creative crisis. The story is freely inspired by the life and work of one of the most celebrated Brazilian cartoonists of all times, Angeli, who became famous in the seventies by releasing political cartoons in the midst of Brazil’s military dictatorship. In the eighties, he migrated to daily strips, showing an acid sense of humor to represent Brazil’s society, day-to-day life and customs. Angeli had editorial success with his monthly magazine “Chiclete com Banana”, which sold over 120 thousand copies per edition. During his time, the cartoonist has created some of his most famous characters: the bohemian diva Rê Bordosa, the hippie pair Wood & Stock, and the punk Bob Spit. "One of the year’s zaniest and best-received indie animated features"—Cartoon Brew. Winner of Top Awards at the Annecy and Ottawa Animation Film Festivals.
REVOLUTION OF OUR TIMES
Opens in New York (Stuart Cinema in Brooklyn) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Noho) December 10-16; in San Francisco (Roxie) on December 18 & 19
Get more info here: https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionofOurTimes
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBU1AZS8HA&t=1s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3074106502864555&id=1718261665115719
Description: A documentary from Hong Kong by Kiwi Chow. Over the past fifty years, Hongkongers have fought for freedom and democracy but have yet to succeed. In 2019, the “Extradition Bill” to China opened a Pandora’s box, turning Hong Kong into a battlefield against the Chinese authoritarian rule. The award-winning director of “Ten Years: Self Immolator,” Kiwi Chow, made this documentary to tell the story of the movement both with a macro view of its historical context and up close and personal on the front lines. The film covers seven teams of protestors with different stories which are put together as a comprehensive picture of the versatile movement. The film was the Official Selection at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and it won the Best Documentary Award at the 2021 Golden Horse Festival in Taiwan.
MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY
Now streaming on all Video on Demand sites.
Get more info and enjoy the trailer here: https://www.missinginbrookscounty.com/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3072709396337599&id=1718261665115719
Description: "A sobering piece of film about frustration with our nation’s systemic inhumanity"- Film International. Tackling the true struggles of life at the border, MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY takes an unflinching look at the realities facing migrants and the life-and-death consequences of our broken immigration system. This must-see documentary puts a human face on a political issue and showcases the complications of illegal border crossings. Two families arrive in Brooks County, Texas to look for their loved ones who went missing after crossing into the country from Mexico. On their search they meet vigilante ranchers, human smugglers, humanitarian activists, and Border Patrol agents, all of whom are locked in a proxy version of the national immigration debate. They also discover a sobering truth: the deadliest part of the journey was far from the border. A gripping investigative documentary, Missing in Brooks County is a portrait of a place that confronts the life-and-death consequences of a broken immigration system. Directed by Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss; Main Cast includes Eduardo Canales, Omar Roman & Michelle Roman, Moises Zavala, Dr. Kate Spradley, Dr. Mike Vickers.
PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN (NOCHE DE FUEGO)
Free With Registration: http://www.movingimage.us/visit/calendar/2021/11/30/detail/prayers-for-the-stolen
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 7PM, with Q&A with director Tatiana Huezo.
MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE, 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37th Street), Astoria, Queens
(718) 777-6888 / www.movingimage.us
A Netflix release (https://www.netflix.com/title/81499072 )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWzkfBY982Y
Description: Mexico's Official Submission for International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards! In her devastating and accomplished fiction feature debut, Tatiana Huezo adapts Jennifer Clement’s 2014 novel, nestling a tender, personal coming-of-age story within a terrifying depiction of a world fallen into chaos. In a solitary town in the Mexican mountains, the girls wear boyish haircuts and have underground hiding places. In the impenetrable universe of these young women, magic and joy abound; meanwhile, their mothers train them to flee from the men who turn them into slaves or ghosts. The follow-up to Huezo's masterwork of immersive nonfiction Tempestad is a bravura study in perspective, showing the daily joys and sorrows of the innocent living in the looming shadows of the merciless modern-day drug cartels.
WHITE ON WHITE
Opens Friday, December 10 at Cinema Village in New York City and the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles.
Get more info at the film’s Cinema Tropical website: https://www.cinematropical.com/new-events/us-theatrical-release-of-white-on-white
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkZwEmq60ZE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3074893516119187&id=1718261665115719
Description: CHILE’S OFFICIAL OSCAR® SUBMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM. Outsider Pictures is proud to announce the U.S. theatrical release of White on White (Blanco en blanco) the second feature by director Théo Court, winner of the Best Director and FIPRESCI Award in the Orizzonti competition at the Venice Film Festival. Set at the dawn of the twentieth century in Tierra del Fuego, a violent and hostile territory at the tip of Argentina where the continent meets the Straits of Magellan, White on White follows Pedro—played by Alfredo Castro, seen in many of Pablo Larraín's Chilean films, and star of From Afar and Rojo amongst many others—a middle aged photographer who arrives to take wedding portraits of Miss Sara (Esther Vega), the soon to be child-bride of the powerful landowner Mr. Porter (Lars Rudolph). Fascinated by the young girl's beauty he betrays the rules and becomes entrapped in the unsettled territory as a complicit witness to the genocide of the Selknam indigenous people. With an impressive cast and an elegant cinematography, White on White is a poignant slow-burn neo-western that delves on the dire effects of colonialism and the casual violence of its photographic representation.
MARGRETE QUEEN OF THE NORTH
Opens In Select Theaters and On Demand, Friday, December 17
Get more info here: http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/margrete-queen-of-the-north/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/-7OCX98JgGk ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3079171212358084&id=1718261665115719
Description: Epic Historical Drama from Samuel Goldwyn Films! The year is 1402. Margrete has achieved what no man has managed before. She has gathered Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peace-oriented union, which she single-handedly rules through her young, adopted son, Erik. The union is beset by enemies, however, and Margrete is therefore planning a marriage between Erik and an English princess. An alliance with England should secure the union’s status as an emerging European power but a breathtaking conspiracy is under way that can tear Margrete and all she believes in apart. An epic tale of power and lineage, with the fate of the modern world in the balance, MARGRETE is about a woman ahead of her time, who overcame adversaries and conspiracies, made sacrifices, and took great strides. Crucially, Queen Margrete is credited with establishing one of the longest peaceful alliances between Scandinavian countries. In MARGRETE— QUEEN OF THE NORTH, that very alliance is put to the test when enemies threaten to undo the fragile coalition. Directed by Charlotte Sieling (Lovecraft Country, The Americans, The Killing), stars Trine Dyrholm (THE CELEBRATION), Søren Malling (The Killing), Jakob Oftebro (KON-TIKI), Morten Hee Andersen (Deliver Us), and Paul Blackthorne (LAGAAN.)
BACK TO THE OUTBACK
December 10, On Netflix (https://www.netflix.com/title/81002813 )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PxRHBCHaF8
Description: Family fun coming soon to Netflix! They may be cute, but these moves are KILLER! The hunt is on when a group of deadly animals (with a celebrity koala named Pretty Boy) escape the Australian Wildlife Park and head BACK TO THE OUTBACK! Get ready to shake your “tail” in this new family comedy starring Isla Fisher, Tim Minchin, Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Miranda Tapsell, Angus Imrie, Keith Urban, Aislinn Derbez, and Jacki Weaver.
FRANCE
Opens in theaters in Los Angeles (Nuart Theatre) and New York (Film at Lincoln Center) on Friday, December 10, followed by a national rollout.
Get more info at: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/5029
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paC7nW8xJrY ;Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: "A star vehicle for Léa Seydoux, whose acting is these days hitting a new level of richness." – Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily. Léa Seydoux brilliantly holds the center of Bruno Dumont’s unexpected new film, which starts out as a satire of contemporary news media before steadily spiraling out into something richer and darker. Set in contemporary Paris, FRANCE stars Seydoux as France de Meurs, a seemingly unflappable superstar TV journalist juggling her studio show, reporting on a distant war, and the rush of family life. Her high-profile world is turned upside down after she injures a delivery man in a traffic accident, triggering a series of self-reckonings and a strange romance that proves impossible to shake. Never one to shy away from provoking his viewers, Dumont’s latest is tragicomic and deliciously ambivalent – a very 21st-century treatment of the difficulty of maintaining identity in a corrosive culture. Presented by Kino Lorber, written & directed by Bruno Dumont. Official Selection: 2021 Cannes International Film Festival, 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, 2021 New York Film Festival.
NO MAN OF GOD
Available now on streaming services, including Google Play, Amazon Prime Video's store, and Apple TV.
Get more info here: https://xyzfilms.com/films/no-man-of-god/ . See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFN2rvJOp0
Description: A two man CRIME drama starring Elijah Wood & Luke Kirby …directed by Amber Sealey. In 1980, Ted Bundy was sentenced to death by electrocution. In the years that followed, he agreed to disclose the details of his crimes…But only to one man. Devout Christian Bill Hagmaier is assigned by the FBI’s new profiling unit to try to get the recently convicted Ted Bundy to confess his crimes. Meeting sporadically over the course of several years, Hagmaier and Bundy build an intense and complicated bond as Hagmaier races against the clock to try to coax out a confession before Bundy is led to his state-sanctioned execution.
I WAS A SIMPLE MAN
Opens 11/19/21 in selected theaters in New York and Hawaii; 12/3 at Laemmle’s Royal in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/i-was-simple-man ); and On Demand 12/10
Get more info from the Strand Releasing website: https://strandreleasing.com/films/i-was-a-simple-man/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ISpED1kQg ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3059279147680624&id=1718261665115719
Description: Coming soon from strand releasing! “A gentle reflection on memory and death, featuring Constance Wu as the ghost of a woman who returns to comfort her Japanese Hawaiian husband near the end of his life.” – The Hollywood Reporter. I WAS A SIMPLE MAN is a ghost story set in the pastoral countryside of the north shore of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Revealed in four chapters, the film tells the story of an elderly man facing the end of his life, visited by the ghosts of his past. Incorporating familial history and mythology, dream logic and surrealism, I Was a Simple Man is a time-shifting, kaleidoscopic story of a fractured family facing the death of their patriarch that will take us from the high-rises of contemporary Honolulu to pre-WWII pastorals of O‘ahu and, finally, into the beyond.
THE SLEEPING NEGRO
Opens Dec. 3 at Cinema Village in New York, the Laemmle Glendale Cinema in L.A. (https://www.laemmle.com/film/sleeping-negro ) and the Plaza Cinema in Atlanta, before getting a wider theatrical release and a digital and home-video release.
Get more info at the film’s website: https://artmattanfilms.com/the-sleeping-negro
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/577324000 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3067255716882967&id=1718261665115719
Description: ArtMattan Films presents a social justice drama by award-winning filmmaker Skinner Myers. THE SLEEPING NEGRO opens with James Baldwin’s quote “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in rage almost all the time.” It tells the story of a young Black man, simply identified as “Man,” who must resolve the personal meaning of his blackness when his white boss orders him to commit fraud to benefit the corporation. Struggling with an overwhelming sense of shame for going through with the illegal demand, Man seeks consolation by discussing his unease with a black former friend and his white fiancé. This does not go well. “Following in the footsteps of the L.A. Rebellion filmmakers, Skinner Myers tells a very personal and intimate story in a radically non-traditional cinematic style as a means to express freely his feelings as a Black man in America.” says Dr. Reinaldo B. Spech, Principal at ArtMattan Films. He continues: “We are delighted to get behind this amazing independent production and all that it represents. It is completely in line with our own vision as independent film distributors spotlighting the human experience of people of color all over the world. This film is unapologetic, powerful and, in my view, a meaningful and relevant film about the African-American experience that should be seen by everyone.” "A superb character study of a black man, how he sees himself and how he was treated by society, it is surreal yet real and terrifying." ~ Ulkar Alakbarova, moviemovesme.com
AMIA ARCHIVAL SCREENING NIGHT ROADSHOW EDITION 2
Archival Screening Night programmer Brittan Dunham will introduce the November 18th screening, 7:30PM.
Laemmle’s Glendale (https://www.laemmle.com/film/amia-archival-screening-night-roadshow-edition-2 )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/638026912 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3057480007860538&id=1718261665115719
Description: AMIA PRESENTS TREASURES FROM THE WORLD'S ARCHIVES AND ARCHIVISTS! ASN Roadshow is 20 astonishing short films and videos in 100 minutes! Archival Screening Night has been the centerpiece of every AMIA conference since 1991. What makes Archival Roadshow Edition special is that this members-only event is being made accessible to the public to see the incredible, strange, astonishing, hilarious, and curious treasures from the world’s moving image archives. This cinematic Cabinet of Wonders features films from the United States, Mexico, Thailand, Hungary, and New Zealand, an appearance by Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five, a dancing Bobcat (it's not what you expect), Baltimore Breakdancing including the Chocolate Boogie, Jack Lemon's first screening appearance as a helpless soldier, and much more!
THE AMERICAN GOOD SAMARITANS AND GRACE AND GRIT
November 20th, 2021 at AMC Americana at Brand 18 (322 Americana Way, Glendale, CA)
THE AMERICAN GOOD SAMARITANS at 3 PM (In Armenian), 6 PM (In English), GRACE AND GRIT at 9:30 PM
Get more info at the ARPA website: http://www.arpafilmfestival.com/
Enjoy the trailers here: https://vimeo.com/446219201 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfBxSrH5ftA
Description: The ARPA International Film Festival is proud to present a world premiere! For the first time, the extraordinary THE AMERICAN GOOD SAMARITANS reveals the untold story of how thousands of fearless and compassionate, ordinary Americans helped refugees and survivors of the Armenian Genocide believe in a better future. This is a story about survivors; extraordinary people who saved Christian lives from total destruction. American writers, genocide scholars and survivors, and other independent researchers reveal the details related to the genocides of Armenian, Assyrian and Greek populations, carried out by the Ottoman Empire (today’s Turkey). After the first two screenings, GRACE AND GRIT, a film by Sebastian Siegel, will be screened, based on a true story of the iconic philosopher Ken Wilber and his wife, Treya.
THE VILLAGE DETECTIVE: A SONG CYCLE
Screens on Sunday, NOVEMBER 14 at 7:00 pm at the Historic Los Feliz 3 Theatre (https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/the-village-detective-a-song-cycle / )
Get more info at the Kino Lorber website: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4972
Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVmX7Jrdbj0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3057750151166857&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber presents Bill Morrison’s Stirring New Meditation on Cinema’s Past! A Soviet film from 1969 found in a fisherman's net serves as inspiration for Bill Morrison’s (Dawson City: Frozen Time, Decasia) latest exploration of forgotten histories that endure on celluloid. During the summer of 2016, a fishing boat off the shores of Iceland made a most curious catch: four reels of 35mm film, seemingly of Soviet provenance. Unlike the film find explored in Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time, it turned out this discovery wasn’t a lost work of major importance, but an incomplete print of a popular comedy starring beloved Russian actor Mihail Žarov. Does that mean it has no value? Morrison thought not. To him, the heavily water-damaged print, and the way it surfaced, could be seen as a fitting reflection on the life of Žarov, who loved this role so much that he even co-directed a sequel to it. Morrison uses the story as a jumping off point for his latest meditation on cinema’s past, offering a journey into Soviet history and film accompanied by a gorgeous score by Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer David Lang. Official Selection: Telluride Film Festival; A Film by Bill Morrison.
WRITING WITH FIRE
Sundance World Cinema Doc Winner Opens the DOC NYC festival. It will open in New York (Film Forum- https://filmforum.org/film/writing-with-fire ), Los Angeles (Laemmle Royal- https://www.laemmle.com/film/writing-fire ) and Chicago (Gene Siskel Film Center) on Friday, November 26 with other cities to follow in December.
Enjoy the inspiring trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzyWNOkKnJg
Get more info at the film’s website: https://www.writingwithfire.in/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3065933087015230&id=1718261665115719
Description: A Look Inside India’s Crusading All-Women News Outlet! “The most inspiring journalism movie, maybe ever.”- Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post. Music Box Films is pleased to present Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s WRITING WITH FIRE, a moving portrayal of courageous journalism against all odds. Reporting from a social environment built to divide based on caste and gender, a fearless group of journalists maintain India’s only women-led news outlet. The women of Khabar Lahariya—all from the Dalit (“untouchables” caste)—prepare to transition the newspaper from print to digital even though many of their reporters don’t have access to electricity at home. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her team of journalists confront some of India’s biggest issues—investigating cases of caste and gender violence, police corruption, environmental injustices, and more. WRITING WITH FIRE chronicles the astonishing determination of these local reporters as they empower each other and hold those responsible for injustice to account. Reaching new audiences through their growing platform, the women of Khabar Lahariya redefine what it means to be powerful. Winner of top awards at the Sundance and San Francisco film festivals and shortlisted by the International Documentary Association for their 2022 Best Documentary award.
THE MONKEY KING: REBORN
THE ALL-NEW ANIME ACTION-ADVENTURE FANTASY SWINGS ONTO DIGITAL, BLU-RAY™ & DVD DECEMBER 7
Get more info at: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/the-monkey-king-reborn
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjj3L35IKT0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3072159119725960&id=1718261665115719
Description: From your friends at Well Go USA! Following on the heels of recent groundbreaking animated films from China (including Ne Zha, 2020 & Jiang Ziya, 2021) comes the spectacular all-new anime action-adventure fantasy THE MONKEY KING: REBORN. Playing off the three hugely popular Monkey King live action films, THE MONKEY KING: REBORN follows the short-tempered trickster after he is insulted while visiting a temple with his master Tang Monk. Outraged, he destroys a magical tree and accidentally releases the ancient King of Demons, who kidnaps Tang Monk as revenge for his long imprisonment. Now, Monkey King and his fellow disciples must rescue their master within three days, before the demon king regains his full power and unleashes his armies to destroy the earth. Directed by Wang Yun Fei (4-film Yugo & Lala franchise), THE MONKEY KING: REBORN features an all-new English dub for this release.
MIKLÓS JANCSÓ: SIX FILMS
Nov 7 - Dec 10 at the Historic Los Feliz 3 Theatre
Info and tickets at: https://www.americancinematheque.com/series/miklos-jancso-an-american-cinematheque-retrospective/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3052445075030698&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber presents An American Cinematheque Retrospective. New 4K restorations from the original camera negatives by the Hungarian National Film Archive:
THE ROUND-UP, Sunday, November 7, 4:00pm
WINTER WIND, Tuesday, November 9, 10:00pm
THE RED AND THE WHITE, Sunday, November 14, 4:00pm
ELECTRA, MY LOVE, Wednesday, November 24, 10:00pm
THE CONFRONTATION, Sunday, November 28, 10:00pm
RED PSALM, Wednesday, December 1, 10:00pm
BENEDETTA
Opens Friday, December 3, 2021 in Select Theatres (including the Laemmle Theaters--https://www.laemmle.com/film/benedetta), Tuesday, December 21 on VOD
Get more info at the film’s IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/benedetta
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW5wOtLSfP ;Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: the latest work from madman-genius filmmaker Paul Verhoeven. A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair. An IFC Films Release, BENEDETTA stars Virginie Efira (SIBYL) as Benedetta, a historical figure whose extraordinary story was captured in Judith C. Brown’s book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy. Efira’s powerhouse performance masterfully tows the line between saint and sinner - is she a power-hungry fraud or the true vessel of God? The film features veterans Charlotte Rampling and Lambert Wilson, and a radiant Daphne Patakia co-stars as Bartolomea, the object of Benedetta’s desire. BENEDETTA ignited a flurry of buzz around its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
TICK, TICK…BOOM!
In select theaters and coming to Netflix 11/19/21
Get more info at the Netflix website: https://www.netflix.com/title/81149184 and at: https://www.instagram.com/ticktickboom/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJserno8tyU
Description: On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out. Starring Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, and Vanessa Hudgens, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
COMALA
Will Have Its U.S. Premiere at DOC NYC, in-person and online:
Saturday, November 13, 6:45pm* — Cinépolis Chelsea; *Q&A with director moderated by filmmaker Kirsten Johnson
Sunday, November 14, 9pm — Cinépolis Chelsea
Sunday, November 14 - Sunday, November 28 — online (available only in the U.S.)
Info and tickets here: https://www.docnyc.net/film/comala/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Gian Cassini’s Powerful Debut Documentary… The Deeply Intimate and Courageous True-Crime Film Follows the Director on a Personal Journey to Uncover the Truth of His Father’s Past, Exposing the Ghosts of Mexico’s Failed War on Drugs Along the Way. A bold inquiry into the roots of his own family’s trauma, Comala provides poignant insight into the nuanced ways that Mexico’s War on Drugs has infiltrated and affected the family sphere, offering audiences an unvarnished and increasingly important personification of the repercussions of normalized violence. In Comala, the director’s assured first feature, Cassini puts his magnifying glass to the ground as he embarks on an intimate true-crime odyssey that criss-crosses Mexico, stops over in Cuba, and settles in San Antonio, Texas. One family member at a time, Cassini puts together the puzzle pieces that form an image of his late father—El Jimmy, a small-time hitman and drug trafficker in Tijuana— allowing him, and the rest of his family, to make sense of the man that for better or worse made them who they are.
HEART OF CHAMPIONS
Laemmle's Sneak Preview Club ANNOUNCEMENT - Film Sneak
Free screening Wednesday, October 27 at 7:30pm at the Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd.
RSVP Monday, October 25 at 2:00pm, at : https://www.laemmle.com/sneak-previews/352005/rsvp?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=laemmle-enewsletter&utm_content=
Don't Miss Heart of Champions at the Laemmle Theaters Starting October 29, 2021. Check here for info: https://www.laemmle.com/film/heart-champions
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAE_4JkWxk4 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3045076019100937&id=1718261665115719
Description: After finishing last in the national championship, a college rowing team descends into turmoil and infighting between team leaders Alex (Alexander Ludwig), Chris (Charles Melton), and John (Alex MacNicoll). A tough Army veteran, Coach Murphy (Michael Shannon), arrives at the start of the new season to transform the status quo and unlock their true potential. Using his experience and unconventional methods to help them overcome petty rivalries and personal challenges, Coach Murphy must inspire these young men to learn what it takes to be a team before they can be champions.
DRIVE MY CAR
OPENS IN NEW YORK THEATRES NOV. 24, IN LOS ANGELES THEATRES DEC. 3
Get more info at the Janus Films website: https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2040
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygd7rVkiM-c ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3070234889918383&id=1718261665115719
Description: SIDESHOW AND JANUS FILMS PRESENT… Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There, he meets Misaki Watari (Toko Miura), a taciturn young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him in his beloved red Saab 900. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew, not least between Yusuke and Koji Takatsuki, a handsome TV star who shares an unwelcome connection to Yusuke’s late wife. Forced to confront painful truths raised from his past, Yusuke begins - with the help of his driver – to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind. Adapted from Haruki Murakami’s short story, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s DRIVE MY CAR is a haunting road movie traveling a path of love, loss, acceptance, and peace. DIRECTED BY Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Winner of the Best Screenplay, Ecumenical Jury Prize, & Fipresci International Critics Prizes, 2021 Cannes Film Festival.) Official Entry – Japan, Best International Feature Film - Academy AwardsⓇ 2022
THE 15TH ANNUAL GERMAN CURRENTS FILM FESTIVAL
https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/sta/los/ver/gcu.html
Register here for free virtual cinema tickets! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/german-currents-2021-promo-codes-free-tickets-registration-187081926077
Description: German Currents has become a mainstay of Los Angeles’ cultural calendar and a highlight for film-goers throughout Southern California. Celebrating its 15th edition this year, the festival takes place in the American Cinematheque theaters in Los Feliz and Santa Monica and at the brand-new Goethe-Institut space in the MacArthur Park neighborhood, as a hybrid event including special in-person and virtual cinema screenings. The return of audiences to theaters is a reminder of the power the cinema has to bring people together. This idea of the cinema as a space for community, dialogue, and exchange is at the heart of German Currents’ goal to present the best of current German films to a broad and diverse audience.
October 24, 11:00am, Goethe-Institut L.A., Sarah Winkenstette, TOO FAR AWAY)--This multi-award-winning children’s film is a touching coming-of-age story for the whole family that masterfully combines entertainment, emotion, and meaningful storytelling. Free in-person Kindermatinee! Also streaming virtually in the U.S. through October 31
October 24, 5:00pm, Aero Theater, Dominik Graf, FABIAN: GOING TO THE DOGS--Dominik Graf’s dazzling adaptation of Erich Kästner’s classic novel takes viewers into the underbelly of Weimar Berlin. Winner of three German Film Awards. With Saskia Rosendahl and Tom Schilling (Never Look Away). West Coast premiere. There are still some tickets left for this free in-person screening! Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3133139523627919&id=1718261665115719
OCTOBER 22–31, ONLINE (FREE STREAMING!):
(California), Sabrina Sarabi, NO ONE’S WITH THE CALVES--Writer-director Sabrina Sarabi’s No One’s with the Calves is a moving social study and portrait of a young woman in crisis. For her powerful performance, Saskia Rosendahl (Fabian) won the Leopard for Best Actress at the Locarno Film Festival. U.S. premiere
(U.S.), Alison Kuhn, THE CASE YOU--How far can actors be pushed in the name of cinema? Where is the line drawn between acting and sexual assault? Alison Kuhn raises these and other questions in her multi-award-winning debut documentary. U.S. premiere
(U.S.), Erik Schmitt, Cleo: IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME--Are you up for a treasure hunt? Writer-director Erik Schmitt’s debut feature is an artfully crafted cinematic fairytale that is a love song to both the city of Berlin and to the power of imagination. U.S. premiere
(California), Moritz Bleibtreu, CORTEX: ARE YOU AWAKE?--Writer-director Moritz Bleibtreu’s acclaimed directorial debut is a visually stunning psychological thriller that leads viewers on an intricately crafted, nightmarish journey. With Jannis Niewöhner (Felix Krull) and Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run).
(California), Leonie Krippendorf, COCOON--As 14-year-old Nora falls in love with Romy, she begins to see the world differently. Writer-director Leonie Krippendorff’s debut feature is an intimate coming-of-age story set in the microcosm of Berlin. With Lena Urzendowsky and Jella Haase (Berlin Alexanderplatz).
(U.S.) Johannes Naber, CURVEBALL: A TRUE STORY. UNFORTUNATELY--Writer-director Johannes Naber’s feature Curveball is a captivating, absurd, and dark political satire that digs for the true roots of the Iraq war, and Germany’s role in events that would forever change the global political landscape. Winner of two German Film Awards.
(California) NEXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER 2021--German Films and the German Federal Film Board present this beloved annual showcase of remarkable student short films together with the winners of the 2021 Short Tiger Awards for short films under 5 minutes.
OMARA
World Premiere of documentary on Cuba's Iconic Singer Omara Portuondo, at DOC NYC
Premieres Saturday, November 13, at DOC NYC (https://www.docnyc.net/film/omara/ )
Saturday, November 13, 4:30pm — IFC Center
Monday, November 15, 9:45pm — Cinépolis Chelsea
Sunday, November 14 - Sunday, November 28 — online (available only in the U.S.) Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3056275034647702&id=1718261665115719
Description: A First-of-its-Kind Look at the Life of One of Cuba's Biggest Stars and Last Grand Dames. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the recording of the landmark Cuban album “Buena Vista Social Club,” Cuban-American director Hugo Perez is set to premiere his latest feature documentary Omara on the life of Afro-Cuban singer and cultural icon Omara Portuondo in the Sonic Cinema section at the 12th edition of DOC NYC, taking place in-person and online from November 11-18, 2021. Notably, Perez will also have a second title in its world premiere at this year’s festival, the documentary Once Upon a Time in Uganda, co-directed with Cathryne Czubek. An intimate portrait of one of Cuba’s most adored national treasures produced by Dana Kuznetzkoff and Frida Torresblanco, Omara offers unprecedented access to the legendary "Bride of Feeling," often described as Cuba’s own Billie Holiday, to tell the story of Omara’s illustrious, seven decades-long career for the first time. Although Wim Wenders acclaimed and popular documentary Buena Vista Social Club beautifully captured the moment when Omara Portuondo was “rediscovered” by the world, her story goes much deeper. If you’ve heard the music of Buena Vista Social Club, then you’ve heard the unforgettable voice of Omara. At 90, Cuba's legendary diva has been a driving force in Afro-Cuban music for over half a century. In the face of racism, misogyny, revolution and political controversies, Omara has used her music to connect with fans around the world in profound and sometimes unexpected ways, transcending borders while celebrating the soul of her beloved Cuba. In 2019, Omara was awarded a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to Latin American and world music. With intimate, unprecedented access to Omara Portuondo, audiences are invited to dive into her music and her life, and to explore how this Cuban girl-next-door came to resonate with so many people in so many disparate countries and cultures around the world.
PENNEBAKER SERIES FILIBUSTER (PART TWO OF THE HEGEDUS AND PENNEBAKER’S EPIC SERIES THE ENERGY WAR) TO PREMIERE, FULLY RESTORED, AT DOC NYC
Info and tickets available at the DOC NYC website: and https://www.docnyc.net/film/the-energy-war-filibuster/
Description: PENNEBAKER HEGEDUS FILMS AND FOOTHILL PRODUCTIONS PARTNER TO PRESERVE THE WORK OF TWO INFLUENTIAL DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS. Long before documentary series were the trend, filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus created The Energy War, a ground-breaking episodic look at Washington, D.C in 1977-78. Part Two of the series, “Filibuster,” is a real-life political drama, taking audiences behind-the-scenes during the fierce legislative battle and historic double filibuster over President Carter’s natural gas bill. Referred to as a “holy war,” the issue had evaded solutions for more than thirty years and six presidents. The Energy War features combatants on all sides of the political aisle, from oil lobbyists to Senator Edward Kennedy to Secretary of Energy James R. Schlesinger. First aired on PBS in 1979, the series has scarcely been seen since. The documentary continues to resonate today as politicians struggle to fix our current energy crisis. The screening will take place on Saturday, November 13 at 2:15pm and features a conversation with filmmaker Chris Hegedus, along with film subjects, Barry Direnfeld and Thomas Susman who were legal counsel for Senators who mounted the filibuster, Senator Howard Metzenbaum and Senator Edward Kennedy, respectively.
PEEPAL TREE
Opens in New York at the Cinema Village on October 29 and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica Film Center/Santa Monica and Town Center/Encino on Friday, November 5.
Get more info at the Laemmle website: https://www.laemmle.com/film/peepal-tree
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EroQoV7A_SA; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3050895205185685&id=1718261665115719
Description: A community coming together to preserve their sacred trees…based on a true story! When a local police academy illegally cuts down trees, a concerned family confronts them and seeks help, only to learn the destruction is considered a minor, non-cognizable offense without penal provision. The family approaches a tree activist who saves trees by any means. The community gathers under a tree at night to protect it from felling. Written and directed by Kranti Kanadé. Starring Kranti Kanadé, Vinay Sharma and Eesha Thaker.
MASS
Opens 10/22 at Selected Theaters. Visit the film’s official Bleecker Street website for screening and other info: https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/mass
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU56Ns1nXsE
Description: “One of the most powerful films you’ll see in a long time.”—KPFK Film Club. “An out-of-nowhere triumph, 'Mass' is the sort of American drama that you rarely see anymore.”— Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com. Years after an unspeakable tragedy tore their lives apart, two sets of parents (Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney and Ann Dowd) agree to talk privately in an attempt to move forward. In Fran Kranz' writing and directing debut, he thoughtfully examines their journey of grief, anger and acceptance by coming face-to-face with the ones who have been left behind. Special Note from the KPFK Film Club: MASS is one of the most powerful films you’ll see in a long time. The four leads offer Oscar worthy gut-wrenching performances, surrounded by an authentic supporting cast. Although MASS has many of the hallmarks of a moving stage play, it equally has the characteristics of a gripping therapeutic encounter. Two sets of parents (the parents of a school-shooter and the parents of a victim) meet in the basement of an Episcopalian Church to deal with their losses years after the violent episode that took both their sons’ lives. At first, they go through awkward pleasantries, which are followed by messy attempts to define what each person hopes to accomplish. Ostensibly, the goal is healing, but there are hidden agendas, such as recrimination and revenge, defense and excuses. Through the brave process of revealing deeply personal feelings and experiences, a kind of tentative bond, understanding, catharsis, and even acceptance is eventually forged that paves the way to the possibility of letting go (of grief) and moving on. With an emotive, thought-provoking script, the story that unfolds is an emotional roller coaster, with the potential to leave you both speechless and in tears, and then wanting share what you just experienced with someone you care about. That experience might include anger, empathy, sorrow, outrage, horror, healing, etc. But whatever the takeaway, this is searing drama that is bound to make you feel. This makes MASS is an important, not-to-be-missed experience
GAZA MON AMOUR
Opens Nov. 5, Including The Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/gaza-mon-amour )
Get more info at the film’s Samuel Goldwyn website: http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/gaza-mon-amour/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siBNQPhaiE4' Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3050205378588001&id=1718261665115719
Description: Succession Star Hiam Abbass in Palestinian Dramedy from twin filmmakers Tarzan and Arab Nasser. Gaza, today. Sixty-year-old fisherman Issa is secretly in love with Siham, a woman who works at the market with her daughter Leila. When he discovers an ancient phallic statue of Apollo in his fishing nets, Issa hides it, not knowing what to do with this mysterious and potent treasure. Yet deep inside, he feels that this discovery will change his life forever. Strangely, his confidence starts to grow and eventually he decides to approach Siham. WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Tarzan & Arab Nasser (Dégradé), STARRING Salim Dau (OSLO), Hiam Abbass (Succession), Maisa Abd Elhadi (HUDA’S SALON), George Iskandar (FAUDA). OFFICIAL ENTRY – PALESTINE, BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM FOR THE 93rd ACADEMY AWARDS; OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2020 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL & 2020 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
LATINO MEDIA FEST STARTS TOMORROW, 10/13/21
This year's Latino Media Fest will take place virtually on October 13th-14th, 2021!
Info and tickets can be had here: https://www.latinomediafest.com/home
Enjoy the video trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipGIXL1EC2Y
Description: NALIP's (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) Latino Media Fest is the unique presenter of the best U.S. Latinx content across all media platforms: narrative short films, TV/streaming pilots, digital content, documentary shorts, and tech narratives (VR/AR/XR). The Fest brings together Latinx filmmakers, industry reps, executives, and film aficionados for a 2-day event to celebrate the Latinx work making waves in the industry, as well as to support the next generation of industry leaders. In addition to informative addresses from important filmmakers, the NALIP Official Selection is a unique showcase of short-form content and will be screened at the Latino Media Fest (October 13th & 14th). Together, these works feature a variety of subjects, voices, and viewpoints that attest to the rich and talented diversity of the LatinX community! All films will be available to view with a Latino Media Fest pass.
SPECIAL NOTICE! ONE OF LA’S BEST FESTIVALS STARTS TODAY, ONLINE AND LIVE!
THE TOPANGA FILM FESTIVAL
Saturday, 10/9 thru Sunday, 10/17
1111 North Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA 90290, USA
For tickets and info, you can visit: https://www.topangafilminstitute.org/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review of AMA'ARA - THE SONG OF THE WHALES –Opening Night Film at the Topanga Film Festival, here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3030933607181845&id=1718261665115719
Description: 6 days of virtual and hybrid events, screenings, showcases, Q&As, and panel discussions, in a virtual festival environment, and…A culminating 3 days of real-life gatherings, open-air screening under the full moon at the Topanga Community House ball field, with receptions and exclusive after parties in famous Topanga fashion: inclusive, exclusive, laid-back, community-run, filmmaker focused.
CICADA
Opening November 5th at Laemmle Royal and Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/cicada) and Nationally on Premium VOD
Get more info at the Strand Releasing site: https://strandreleasing.com/films/cicada/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX4C6ue9UZQ&feature=youtu.be ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3049514605323745&id=1718261665115719
Description: STRAND RELEASING presents “one of the most beautifully crafted pieces of queer cinema of recent times”--The Jam Report. CICADA follows Ben, a young bisexual man, as he comes out to the world and develops an intense relationship with Sam, a closeted man struggling with deep wounds of his own. As the summer progresses and their intimacy grows, their pasts begin to crawl to the surface. With all-star supporting roles from Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother, The Avengers), Scott Adsit (30 Rock), and Bowen Yang (SNL). Directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. Official Selection: BFI London Film Festival, Outfest, Frameline
SISTERS Opens at Laemmle's Royal in West L.A. (11523 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. CA 90025) on Friday, October 29 and on watch.laemmle.com on Friday, November 5.
More info and tickets available at the film’s Laemmle website: https://www.laemmle.com/film/sisters
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxbia5ZHD_k ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3041630296112176&id=1718261665115719
Description: FASCINATING INTENSE FAMILY DRAMA COMING TO THE LAEMMLE THEATERS! For thirty years, French-Algerian sisters Zorah, Nohra and Djamila have been living in the hope of finding their brother Rheda, who was abducted by their father and hidden in newly de-colonised Algeria. Their relationship is shaken when Zorah, the eldest sister, decides to write a play based on the traumatic, haunting events of their childhood. But when they learn that their father is dying, the three sisters decide to go to Algeria to seize their last opportunity to have him reveal where their brother is. When the past catches up, the three sisters have no choice but to put their differences aside. Directed by Yamina Benguigui, SISTERS stars Isabelle Adjani, Maïwenn, Rachida Brakni and Hafsia Herzi.
UPPERCASE PRINT
Opens at the Metrograph in NYC on November 10, and at Laemmle Royal in LA on November 19.
Get more info at the film’s Big World Pictures website: http://www.bigworldpictures.org/films/uppercaseprint/index.html
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/578632604
Description: Big World Pictures is proud to present the US theatrical and virtual release of UPPERCASE PRINT, a film by Radu Jude. Winner of the 2021 Golden Bear for Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Radu Jude also directed critically acclaimed Aferim! and I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians. In 1981, chalk slogans written in uppercase letters started appearing in public spaces in the Romanian city of Botoşani. They demanded freedom, alluded to the democratic developments taking place in Romania’s socialist sister countries or simply called for improvements in the food supply. The culprit was Mugur Călinescu, a teenager who was still at school at the time and whose case is documented in the files of the Romanian secret police. Theatre director Gianina Cărbunariu created a documentary play based on this material. Besides presenting the play, Radu Jude also uses archival footage from Romanian TV of the era. Cooking shows alternate with interrogations, transcripts of wiretapped phone calls with recommendations to exercise instead of taking sedatives. This dialectical montage creates an image of a dictatorial surveillance state, drawing on the authorized popular entertainment of the Ceaușescu regime in order to unmask it.
THINGS WE DARE NOT DO
Premieres Monday, October 25, 2021 on PBS at 10 p.m. ET (check local listings) and at pov.org . It will also be available to stream for free at pov.org through November 24, 2021.
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2775678952707313&id=1718261665115719
Get more info at the POV website: https://www.pbs.org/pov/pressroom/thingswedarenotdopresskit/
And enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/410038362
Description: POV Presents A Moving Queer Emancipation Tale from Mexican Director and Cinematographer Bruno Santamaría. Nominated for two Ariel Awards by Mexico’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts, winner of the Gold Hugo Award for Best Documentary and the Gold Q-Hugo Award for Best LGBTQ+ Film at the Chicago International Film Festival, and an official selection at the Hot Docs and DOC NYC film festivals, among others, Things We Dare Not Do gives voice to a powerful coming-of-age story that grants space to the many nuanced paths that this stage of life can take. In the small Mexican coastal village of El Roblito, sixteen-year-old Ñoño lives what seems to be an idyllic existence with his loving family. He spends his days playing with the free-spirited younger children of the town and staging elaborate community dance productions. But he holds a secret. Defying gender norms, Ñoño bravely works up the courage to tell his family he wants to live his life as a woman, a fraught decision in a country shrouded in machismo and transphobia. With exquisite cinematography by the director himself, Things We Dare Not Do takes one young person’s struggle for queer identity out of the usual urban setting, providing a fresh perspective on the issue and a moving tale of emancipation. The short film Share, directed by Barna Szász and Ellie Wen, will accompany Things We Dare Not Do.The film explores an 18-year old influencer's attempts to reconcile his identity online with his identity in real life.
KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME
IFC Films will release the feature documentary about the prolific author in theaters and on VOD November 19, 2021.
Get more info from the film’s IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/kurt-vonnegut-unstuck-in-time
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0aU77BxdZE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3057499184525287&id=1718261665115719
Description: A NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT AN ICONIC AMERICAN AUTHOR! KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME is a dazzling, worthy tribute to Vonnegut and a compelling introduction for the uninitiated. The feature documentary - the first of its kind on Vonnegut - is a deep, immersive dive into the author’s upbringing and his creative output. It spans his childhood in Indianapolis, his experience as a Prisoner of War in World War II, his marriage, family, and divorce, his early careers as a publicist for General Electric and a car salesman, and his long years as a struggling writer, leading to eventual superstardom in 1969 following the publication of his lightning-bolt anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five. The film began 39 years ago when young, struggling filmmaker Robert Weide (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth) wrote a letter to his literary idol proposing a documentary on Vonnegut’s life and work. Shooting began in 1988 and the resulting film reflects the friendship and bond Weide and Vonnegut formed over the decades. In the film, past, present, and future cease to become linear as Weide strives to get an overview of his subject’s life and his own role in it. KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME is first and foremost a biography of a beloved American author. But it also documents a filmmaker’s odyssey as he examines the impact of a writer’s legacy on his own life, extending far beyond the printed page. Directed by Robert B. Weide and Don Argott.
MAYA AND THE THREE
On Netflix, Starting October 22nd
Get more info here: https://www.netflix.com/title/80244283
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrPMlYSbkEQ
Description: An exciting New Netflix animated event! In a fantastical world, where magic turns the world and four kingdoms rule the lands, a brave and rebellious warrior princess named Maya is about to celebrate her fifteenth birthday and coronation. But everything changes when the gods of the underworld arrive and announce that Maya's life is forfeit to the God of War — a price she must pay for her family's secret past. If Maya refuses, the whole world will suffer the gods’ vengeance. To save her beloved family, her friends, and her own life, Maya embarks on a thrilling quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy that foretells the coming of three great warriors who will help her defeat the gods and save humankind. From creator Jorge R. Gutiérrez (EL TIGRE, THE BOOK OF LIFE), MAYA AND THE THREE is a Netflix Animated Event told in nine epic chapters. Set in a fictional fantasy world, MAYA AND THE THREE is an adventure full of heart and humor, inspired by a rich, vibrant mixture of Aztec, Maya, and Inca mythology, and modern-day Caribbean culture. Starring Zoe Saldaña as Princess Maya, Gabriel Iglesias as Picchu, Allen Maldonado as Rico, Stephanie Beatriz as Chimi, Diego Luna as Zatz, Gael García Bernal as The Jaguar Triplets, Alfred Molina as the God of War, Kate del Castillo as the Goddess of Death, Danny Trejo as the God of Earthquakes, Cheech Marin as the Gods of Wind & Storm, Rosie Perez as the Goddess of Gators, Queen Latifah as Gran Bruja, Wyclef Jean as Gran Brujo, Jorge R. Gutiérrez as King Teca, Sandra Equihua as Queen Teca, Isabela Merced as the Widow Queen, Chelsea Rendon as the Goddess of Tattoos, Joaquín Cosío as the God of Bats, Carlos Alazraqui as the God of Dark Magic, Eric Bauza as the God of Jungle Animals and Rita Moreno as Ah Puch.
THE EMPEROR’S SWORD
Hitting Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD November 9
Get more info at the film’s Hi-YAH! website: https://www.hiyahtv.com/the-emperors-sword
Watch the official trailer: https://youtu.be/6NrkhUVTSMs ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3051725965102609&id=1718261665115719
Description: Action-Packed with Exciting Swordplay, from Well Go USA Entertainment. “A fast-paced and action-packed film that delivers some good battles with skill and style …” --Action-Flix. During a time of peace, a deadly sword that bestows great power upon its wielder was divided and hidden. After the emperor dies, a deranged rebel seizes power and stages a massacre during his search for the blade, leaving only one survivor. Now, the young daughter of a great general is all that stands between a tyrant and his quest for domination. Co-directed by Yingli Zhang and Haonan Chen (Thunder Chase), THE EMPEROR’S SWORD stars Fengbin Mu (Journey to the West), Yilin Hao, Qihang Zhao and Qiyu Yang (God of War).
ASCENSION 登楼叹
Opening October 8th at the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/ascension )
Get more info at: https://ascensiondocumentary.com/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3027987684143104&id=1718261665115719
Description: An award-winning documentary from MTV. ASCENSION is an impressionistic portrait of China’s industrial supply chain that reveals the country’s growing class divide through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. The documentary portrays capitalism in China across the levels of its operation, from the crudest mine to the most rarefied forms of leisure. Accordingly, the film is structured in three parts, ascending through the levels of the capitalist structure: workers running factory production, the middle class training for and selling to aspirational consumers, and the elites reveling in a new level of hedonistic enjoyment. In traveling up the rungs of China’s social ladder, we see how each level supports and makes possible the next while recognizing the contemporary "Chinese Dream" remains an elusive fantasy for most. WINNER - Best Documentary Feature - 2021 Tribeca Film Festival; 2021 Albert Maysles Award Best New Documentary Director - 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
CIVIL WAR (OR, WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE)
Premieres on MSNBC on Sunday, October 24 at 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT.
Get more info at the film’s Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/CivilWarDocFilm?__nodl&_rdr
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnoYK_qxwP8 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: An Urgent Reflection on America’s Collective Memory. Directed by Rachel Boynton and Executive Produced by Henry Louis Gates Jr. & Sam Pollard CIVIL WAR (OR, WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE) is a timely and probing look at how Americans tell the story of their Civil War and its legacy of slavery and racism. In travels across the United States—particularly to its classrooms—the film explores the different ways the Civil War has been taught and interpreted, commemorated and celebrated. Filmed from the last year of Obama’s presidency through the present, it interweaves insightful scenes and candid interviews filmed North and South, painting a uniquely crafted, multi-faceted portrait of our national narrative. With subtlety and determination, CIVIL WAR portrays a nation in denial, haunted by an embittered past and the stories it refuses to tell.
THE RETALIATORS
Opening Night Film at Screamfest Horror Film Festival on October 12 at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood (https://screamfestla.com/ )
More info can be had here: https://www.retaliatorsmovie.com/
Watch the trailer, if you dare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8SBmN2umco&t=2s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3033704226904783&id=1718261665115719
Description: THRILLING HORROR, PREMIERING AT SCREAMFEST. An upstanding pastor uncovers a dark and twisted underworld as he searches for answers surrounding his daughter's brutal murder. A high-octane original soundtrack and cameos from some of the biggest names in rock music set the tone as this horror-thriller reveals a game of revenge played using a new set of rules. Marc Menchaca (Ozark), Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me), and Joseph Gatt (Game of Thrones) star. Five Finger Death Punch, Tommy Lee, Papa Roach, The Hu, Ice Nine Kills, Escape The Fate, and more appear onscreen and on THE RETALIATORS Original Soundtrack, coming soon via Better Noise Music. Directed by Bridget Smith, Samuel Gonzalez, Jr., starring Michael Lombardi, Marc Menchaca, Joseph Gatt, Jacoby Shaddix, Katie Kelly, Abbey Hefer, Ivan Moody, Zoltan Bathory. With a 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, THE RETALIATORS is also slated to screen at Australia’s Night of Horror, Fantasm’s Shock Reel Cinema Fest Orlando, Horrorthon Ireland, Russian International Horror Awards, Orlando Film Festival, and Germany Fantasy Film Festival.
CINELATINO AND DISHLATINO ANNOUNCE THE HOLA MEXICO FILM FESTIVAL’S 2021 AWARD WINNERS!
Get more info here: https://www.holamexicoff.com/2021-film-festival/
Description: Held in Los Angeles, the annual HMFF has become a staple in the City of Angels, claiming the title of largest Mexican cinema festival organized outside of Mexico. After an all-virtual reimagining in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event returned to its original in-person format, giving audiences the opportunity to gather in theatres once again to celebrate and experience the best of Mexican filmmaking. The 10-day festival, which draws cinephiles and devotees of Mexican film from all over the U.S., concluded with a special award ceremony recognizing the outstanding achievements of this year’s talented filmmakers. Samuel Kishi Leopo was the recipient of the most audience votes for his film Los Lobos won the Cinelatino & DishLATINO Audience Choice award. Los Lobos tells the story of Lucía, a young Mexican mother, who crosses the border from Mexico into the United States in search of a better life. But the transition is difficult for her two boys Max and Leo, who spend their days stuck in an unfurnished apartment while Lucía works multiple jobs. Inside their own kingdom of imagination, the adorable Max and Leo create an alternative reality, depicted as animated sequences. The Cinelatino & DishLATINO Best Feature Film Director award went to Fernanda Valadez for Sin Señas Particulares, a devastating meditation on the effects of violence on society from the point of view of a mother desperately searching for her child. With the determination and courage, Magdalena embarks on a treacherous journey to find answers in dangerous places with the help of Miguel, a young man deported from the U.S., who’s on his way to his own hometown. After receiving the most audience votes in the short film category, Merced Elizondo took home the Cinelatino & DishLATINO Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today Short award for his entry, Manos de Oro. The short follows Sergio, a former mechanic, who is in the middle of a crippling battle with arthritis. When the opportunity to fix an old family-friend's truck arises, Sergio begins a downward spiral towards denial and self-destructive behavior in an attempt to regain his identity as a working man with purpose. As a result, his already-strained relationship with his son is put to the test.
LUZZU
Opens in Select Theaters on October 15 in NYC and on October 22 in LA, followed by a national rollout.
Get more info here: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4971
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kPHPM8kYQE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: thrilling drama from Kino Lorber…A hardworking Maltese fisherman (Jesmark) is faced with an agonizing choice. He can repair his leaky luzzu – a traditional, multicolored wooden fishing boat – in the hopes of eking out a meager living at sea for his wife and newborn son, just as his father and grandfather did before him. Or he can decommission it in exchange for an EU payout and cast his lot with a sinister black-market operation that is decimating the Mediterranean fish population and the livelihoods of the local families who depend on it. Directed by breakthrough Maltese-American filmmaker, Alex Camilleri, starring Jesmark Scicluna & Michela Farrugia. LUZZU won a Sundance Jury Prize for its nonprofessional lead actor, a real-life Maltese fisherman.
LAKEWOOD
Scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2022.
Stay tuned for more info!
Directed by award-winning director Phillip Noyce, starring Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts, Colton Gobbo and newcomer Sierra Maltby.
Description: a suspense thriller from VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT and ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS! Amy Carr (Naomi Watts) goes out for a restorative morning run when a friend calls her with terrifying news: the authorities are in pursuit of an active shooter, and her teenage son, Noah (Colton Gobbo), may be caught in the middle. Deep within a network of forest paths surrounding her home, miles from town and nearly overwhelmed by panic, Amy refuses to succumb to hopelessness. Using only her cell phone, she will draw upon every resource she can think of to ensure that her son survives the attack.
NIGHT TEETH
Available on Netflix October 20, 2021
Get more info at: https://www.instagram.com/netflixfilm
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNu-G-rd4H4&feature=youtu.be
Description: Supernatural terror out on the town! To earn some extra cash, quirky college student Benny (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.) moonlights as a chauffeur for one night. His task: drive two mysterious young women (Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry) around Los Angeles for a night of party hopping. Taken captive by his clients' charm, he soon learns that his passengers have their own plans for him – and an insatiable thirst for blood. As his night spins out of control, Benny is thrust into the middle of a clandestine war that pits rival tribes of vampires against the protectors of the human world, led by his brother (Raúl Castillo), who will stop at nothing to send them back into the shadows. With sunrise fast approaching, Benny is forced to choose between fear and temptation if he wants to stay alive and save the City of Angels. Directed by Adam Randall. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Megan Fox, Alexander Ludwig, Debby Ryan.
POV PRESENTS…LA CASA DE MAMA ICHA
Debuting as part of POV’s 34th season, the documentary will premiere Monday, October 18, 2021 on PBS at 10 p.m. ET (check local listings) and at pov.org . It will also be available to stream for free at pov.org through December 17, 2021. La Casa de Mama Icha is a co-presentation of POV and Latino Public Broadcasting.
Get more info, and view the trailer, at the film’s POV website: https://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/casademamaicha/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review at: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A Poignant Meditation on Homecoming, Aging, and Family Ties, and a profound meditation on notions of home and the inescapable pull of one’s motherland. The documentary follows María Dionisia Navarro, otherwise known as Mama Icha, on a physical and spiritual journey that draws on the complexities inherent to many migrant experiences: distance, the loved ones left behind, and the problem of aging in a country that doesn’t feel like your own. At ninety-three, Mama Icha feels that the end of her life is near. Despite protestations from her family, she spends her days focusing on just one thing: returning to her native village of Mompox in northern Colombia. Mama Icha dreams of passing her final years taking comfort in the landscapes of her youth, walking along the Magdalena River at dusk, surrounded by her relatives and neighbors in the courtyard of the house that she painstakingly had built during her years of absence, with the money she sent from abroad. Thirty years prior, Mama Icha had emigrated to the United States to help her daughter with the care of her children, Mama Icha’s grandchildren, and remained ever since. Now, against the best wishes of her family in the U.S. who feel that she’s built an admirable life in Philadelphia complete with Social Security, a community that supports her, and access to important senior resources, Mama Icha boards a plane and flies back to Colombia where she meets her sons, Gustavo and Alberto, who have been in charge of her house while she’s been gone. But upon returning, the idyllic world of her memories is put up against a harsh reality of deteriorating family relationships and broken expectations. The confrontation is disappointing and forces Mama Icha to consider exactly how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the notion of home that she’s longed for so long.
THE ESTATE
In theaters & VOD October 22
Visit the Vertical Entertainment website: https://www.vert-ent.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTItUEujzCw
Description: A Dark Comedy Thriller from vertical entertainment! “Delightfully depraved!”—Joseph Perry, Ghastly Grinning. When a narcissistic son (Chris Baker), yearning for a life of luxury, and his father’s erratic gold-digging wife (Eliza Coupe) decide to kill their way into their inheritance, they employ the help of an absurdly handsome, mysterious hitman (Greg Finley), initiating a psychosexual love triangle that spirals into more than anyone bargained for. Deftly balancing sharp humor and horror, THE ESTATE delivers a perfectly campy, wildly enjoyable thrill ride that packs a deadly punch. Directed by James Kapner, starring Eliza Coupe, Greg Finley, Chris Baker, Lala Kent, Heather Matazarro, and Eric Roberts.
AWARE: GLIMPSES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Get more fascinating info at the film’s website: https://aware-film.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/575855114
Opens at the Laemmle Monica (https://www.laemmle.com/film/aware-glimpses-consciousness ) this Friday, September 24! Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3020255458249660&id=1718261665115719
Description: A Documentary by Frauke Sandig & Eric Black, the second film in the Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth Trilogy. What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? Why are we predisposed for mystical experience? And what happens when we die? AWARE follows six brilliant researchers around the world who set out to discover the true meaning of consciousness, the world’s greatest unsolved mystery. Through radically different approaches, the cast of researchers takes the audience into a fascinating world of high-tech brain research, eastern meditation, psychedelics, consciousness of plants experiments, and eventually beyond the explicable.
SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
Opens at Film Forum in New York - October 29, and at the Laemmle Royal & Town Center in Los Angeles - November 5 (https://www.laemmle.com/film/speer-goes-hollywood )
Get more info at the film’s website: http://speergoestohollywood.com
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/589258787; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3047958498812689&id=1718261665115719
Description: Winner, Best Director at the Jerusalem Film Festival! How did a man in charge of 12 million slave laborers become “the good Nazi”? SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD offers an intriguing look at the inner workings of a man responsible for the deaths of millions, yet whom many people still consider a decent man in indecent circumstances. This new film by director Vanessa Lapa, award-winning director of The Decent One (2014), is a cautionary tale about Albert Speer’s 1971 attempt to whitewash his past with a Hollywood adaptation of his bestselling wartime memoir, "Inside the Third Reich”. A Realworks LTD theatrical release. A documentary film by Vanessa Lapa.
THE SOUVENIR PART II
NEW FROM A24, OPENS IN SELECT THEATERS OCT. 29
Get more info from the film’s A24 site: https://a24films.com/films/the-souvenir-part-ii
Description: Written and directed by Joanna Hogg, starring Honor Swinton Byrne, Jaygann Ayeh, Richard Ayoade, Ariane Labed & Tilda Swinton. Joanna Hogg’s shimmering story of first love and a young woman’s formative years, THE SOUVENIR PART II is a portrait of the artist that transcends the halting particulars of everyday life — a singular, alchemic mix of memoir and fantasy. In the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship with a charismatic and manipulative older man, Julie begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately constructed fiction.
MINYAN
Opening October 29 In Los Angeles at Laemmle Area Theaters: https://www.laemmle.com/film/minyan
Get more info at the film’s Strand releasing website: https://strandreleasing.com/films/minyan ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: From STRAND RELEASING. David (Samuel H. Levine, The Inheritance on Broadway), a young Jewish man in Brighton Beach, caught up in the tight constraints of his community, develops a close friendship with his grandfather's new neighbors, two elderly closeted gay men who open his imagination to the possibilities of love and the realities of loss–and explores the East Village where he finds a world teeming with the energy of youth, desire, and risk. Set in the late 1980s as AIDS hammered New York City, MINYAN is a powerful story of rebellion and self-discovery, sexual and spiritual awakening–and survival. A Film By Eric Steel.
WIFE OF A SPY
Opening SEPTEMBER 17 at the IFC Center in New York and SEPTEMBER 24 at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles
Get more info at the film’s Kino Lorber website: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4970
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtrxaTEi0Zs ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3016380048637201&id=1718261665115719
Description: WIFE OF A SPY is a riveting, gorgeously crafted, old-school Hitchockian thriller shot in stunning 8K. The year is 1940 in Kobe, Japan, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. Local merchant and amateur filmmaker Yusaku (Issey Takahashi, Kill Bill) senses that things are headed in an unsettling direction. Following a trip to Manchuria, he becomes determined to bring to light the things he witnessed there, and secretly filmed. Meanwhile, his wife Satoko (Japan Society’s 2021 Honoree Yû Aoi) receives a visit from her childhood friend, now a military policeman. He warns her about Yusaku’s seditious ways and reveals that a woman her husband brought back from his trip has died. Satoko confronts Yusaku, but when she discovers his true intentions, she is torn between loyalty to her husband, the life they have built, and the country they call home. A Film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Winner! Venice International Film Festival - Silver Lion Best Director.
SPECIAL NOTICE…COMING THIS FALL, 2021, FROM VERTICAL ENTERTAINMENT!
Visit the Vertical Entertainment website for the latest news about exciting films coming your way: https://www.vert-ent.com/
TIME IS UP--In Select Theaters September 9, On VOD/Digital September 24. Vivien (Bella Thorne) is a highly accomplished student, with a passion for physics and keen to get into a prestigious American university. Roy (Benjamin Mascolo), on the other hand, is a troubled and problematic young man who, due to a trauma suffered as a child, sees his desires continually hindered by a past that seems to constantly haunt him. As always happens, life manages to weave events together in increasingly surprising and unexpected ways.
SMALL ENGINE REPAIR-- In Select Theaters September 10, VOD/Digital October 1. Frank (John Pollono), Swaino (Jon Bernthal) and Packie (Shea Whigham) are lifelong friends who share a love of the Red Sox, rowdy bars and Frank’s teenaged daughter Crystal (Ciara Bravo). But when Frank invites his pals to a whiskey-fueled evening and asks them to do a favor on behalf of the brash young woman they all adore, events spin wildly out of control.
THE BLAZING WORLD-- In Select Theaters and On Demand October 15. Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive. Starring: Carlson Young, Udo Kier, Vinessa Shaw, Dermot Mulroney, John Karna, Soko; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3031694073772465&id=1718261665115719
SWING-- In Select Theaters October 29, VOD/Digital November 19. During their last year at an Ivy League college in 1999, a group of friends and crew teammates' lives are changed forever when an army vet takes over as coach of their dysfunctional rowing team. Starring: Michael Shannon, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Alex MacNicoll, Ash Santos, Lilly Krug, David James Elliott
MARK, MARY, & SOME OTHER PEOPLE-- In Select Theaters and On Demand November 5. Young newlyweds, Mark and Mary, decide to give ethical non-monogamy a try as their lives get increasingly complicated. Starring: Ben Rosenfield, Hayley Law, Odessa A'Zion, Nik Dodani, Matt Shively, Sofia Bryant
SOULMATES--In Select Theaters and On Demand November 12. Childhood best friends, Sam and Jess, live together in a tiny house in Vermont. They are each other’s everything until their charming, small-town day to day routine and friendship is suddenly turned upside down by two out-of-staters: Jess’ handsome new fiance and a large corporation threatening Vermont’s age-old maple syrup industry. Starring: Stephanie Lynn, Alexandra Chase
THE HATING GAME--In Select Theaters and On Demand December 10. Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy (Lucy Hale) embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against cold and efficient nemesis Joshua (Austin Stowell), a rivalry that is complicated by her growing attraction to him.
JACINTA
A Gripping Chronicle of Love, Family and Addiction, Premieres October 8
Get more info at the film’s website: https://www.jacintafilm.com/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Hulu Announces Original Documentary From ABC News and Impact Partners. JACINTA, a powerful and intimate documentary from ABC News and Impact Partners, follows a young woman who struggles to find stability amid years of addiction and reconnect with the daughter she left behind, JACINTA earned its director, Jessica Earnshaw, the award for Best New Documentary Director at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. It has continued an impressive festival run at DOC NYC, AFI Fest, IDFA, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (Best Documentary), and more. The Hulu Original Documentary will premiere on Hulu and in select theaters on October 8 and will be eligible for awards consideration this season. Shot over three years, the film begins at the Maine Correctional Center where Jacinta, 26, and her mother Rosemary, 46, are incarcerated together, both recovering from drug addiction. As a child, Jacinta became entangled in her mother's world of drugs and crime and has followed her in and out of the system since she was a teenager. This time, as Jacinta is released from prison, she hopes to maintain her sobriety and reconnect with her 10-year-old daughter, Caylynn, who lives with her paternal grandparents. Despite her desire to rebuild her life for her daughter, Jacinta continually struggles against the forces that first led to her addiction. With unparalleled access and a gripping vérité approach, director Jessica Earnshaw paints a deeply intimate portrait of mothers and daughters and the effects of trauma over generations.
HIVE
Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber will release HIVE exclusively at:
Film Forum in New York on November 5 and
Los Angeles at Laemmle’s Royal Theatre on November 12.
Get more info at the film’s Zeitgeist Films website: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/hive
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/OdBvO2LJ1qE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3054699971471875&id=1718261665115719
Description: Blerta Basholli’s HIVE is Kosovo’s Official OscarⓇ Entry for Best International Feature Film!!! HIVE is a searing drama based on the true story of Fahrije (Yllka Gashi), who, like many of the other women in her patriarchal village, has lived with fading hope and burgeoning grief since her husband went missing during the war in Kosovo. In order to provide for her struggling family, she pulls together the other widows in her community to launch a business selling a local food product. Finding healing and solace in considering a future without their husbands—but their will to begin living independently is met with hostility. The men in the village condemn Fahrije’s efforts to empower herself and the women around her, starting a feud that threatens their newfound sovereignty—and the financial future of Fahrije’s family. Against the backdrop of Eastern Europe’s civil unrest and lingering misogyny, Fahrije and the women of her village join in a struggle to find hope in the face of an uncertain future. HIVE is a pithy, devastating portrait of loss and our uphill journeys to freedom. "An engrossing, utterly classic tale of overcoming adversity "- Deborah Young, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
BERGMAN ISLAND
Opens in Select theaters October 15; available for digital rental October 22
Get more info at the film’s IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/bergman-island
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrlVHVid-20; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3032430580365481&id=1718261665115719
Description: COMING SOON FROM IFC FILMS! A filmmaking couple living in America, Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth), retreat to the mythical Fårö island for the Summer. In this wild, breathtaking landscape where Bergman lived and shot his most celebrated pieces, they hope to find inspiration for their upcoming films. As days spent separately pass by, the fascination for the island operates on Chris and souvenirs of her first love resurface. Lines between reality and fiction will then progressively blur and tear our couple even more apart. Written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve (THINGS TO COME, EDEN, GOODBYE FIRST LOVE), and starring Vicky Krieps (PHANTOM THREAD), Tim Roth (RESERVOIR DOGS), Mia Wasikowska (JANE EYRE), and Anders Danielsen Lie (THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD. )
OAXACALIFORNIA: THE RETURN (OAXACALIFORNIA: EL REGRESO)
Premiering at the New York Latino Film Festival (https://nylatinofilmfestival.com/2021/movies/oaxacalifornia-the-return-oaxacalifornia-el-regreso/ ), taking place September 14 to 19
Get more info at the Cinema Tropical website: https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/trisha-ziffs-oaxacalifornia-the-return-will-have-its-us-premiere-at-the-new-york-latino-film-festival?rq=OAXACALIFORNIA%3A%20THE%20RETURN
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izuziTj7WIM; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: The fifth feature film by acclaimed English-born Mexican director Trisha Ziff (The Mexican Suitcase, The Man Who Saw Too Much), will have its U.S. premiere at the 2021 edition of the New York Latino Film Festival. Additionally, the film will also be screening at the Milwaukee Film "Cinema Without Borders" series, the AFI Latin American Film Festival in Washington D.C., and the Portland Latino Film Festival. An intimate portrait of three generations of a Mexican-American family in California, Oaxacalifornia: The Return revisits the Mejía family twenty-five years after they were first portrayed negotiating their place in a new environment, digging deep into the complexities of multigenerational immigrant identities and the nuances of both belonging and otherness to become a moving epic about the fabric of this nation. In 1994, director Ziff produced Oaxacalifornia, her first documentary about the Mejía family as they navigated their new reality as recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Picking up where the original film left off, we meet the third generation of Mejías, now second-generation American teenagers, as they navigate what it means to be both Mexican and American in this country.
ADVENTURES OF A MATHEMATICIAN
Opens Friday, October 1, 2021 (In Select Theatres and on Digital and VOD Platforms)
Get more info at the film’s website: http://www.samuelgoldwynfilms.com/adventures-of-a-mathematician/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ2YupFolFA ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3022147104727162&id=1718261665115719
Description: Samuel Goldwyn Films is proud to present…ADVENTURES OF A MATHEMATICIAN, based upon the autobiography of the same name by Stanislaw (Stan) Ulam. The film is a thought-provoking account of the brilliant 30-year-old Polish Jewish mathematician, a good-looking bon vivant who fled Europe in the 1930s for the United States, leaving his friends and family behind. His best friend, the Hungarian genius Johnny von Neumann, offers him a mysterious job which takes him to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Surrounded by young, eccentric, charismatic immigrant scientists, Stan begins top secret work for the Manhattan Project on a nuclear bomb that could potentially blow up the entire world. While desperately trying to help his sister flee Nazi occupied Poland, Stan also teams up with Johnny to create the first computer giving birth to the digital age as Europe bursts into flames. The film grapples with the subsequent ethical fallout of thermonuclear war, a spectre which still looms large over our global community. Written and directed by Thor Klein, starring Philippe Tlokinski.
MOGUL MOWGLI
Bassam Tariq’s narrative feature debut opens in theaters nationwide, 9/3/21, including the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/mogul-mowgli ) and Landmark's Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles. Coming soon on DVD and on demand.
Get more info at the Strand Releasing website: https://strandreleasing.com/films/mogul-mowgli/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqG6qdDjD6g ;Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: MOGUL MOWGLI is a bold, vital and electrifying exploration of heritage and identity. Coming off his historic Academy Award Best Actor nomination for SOUND OF METAL, Ahmed stars as Zed, a British Pakistani rapper on the cusp of his first world tour. But, struck down by an illness that threatens to derail his big break, he’s forced to confront his past, his family and the uncertainty of his legacy. MOGUL MOWGLI was nominated for Best British Film at the 2021 BAFTA and received six 2020 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) nominations, with Ahmed winning Best Debut Screenwriter. Ahmed won the 41st London Critics’ Circle Film Award for British/Irish Actor of the Year (for body of work) for performances including Zed in MOGUL MOWGLI.
POV PRESENTS THE SONG OF THE BUTTERFLIES (EL CANTO DE LAS MARIPOSAS)
Premieres Monday August 30 on PBS, 10 p.m. ET (check local listings) and available to stream for free at pov.org until October 29, 2021
Get more info at the film’s PBS website: https://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/songofbutterflies/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/songofbutterflies/video-trailer-the-song-of-the-butterflies/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Spotlighting Indigenous Histories of Storytelling and Collective Memory in the Peruvian Amazon! The Auspicious Debut Feature From Director Núria Frigola Torrent, Winner of the Best Ibero-American Film Award at the Guadalajara Film Festival, the Moving Homecoming Documentary. The Song of the Butterflies spotlights indigenous histories of storytelling and processes of collective memory, trauma, and healing in the Peruvian Amazon. A nuanced depiction of contemporary indigenous life, Frigola Torrent’s debut documentary follows Rember Yahuarcani, an Indigenous painter from the White Heron clan of the Uitoto Nation in Peru. Rember left home to pursue a successful career in Lima, but when he finds himself in a creative rut, he returns home to his Amazonian community of Pebas to visit his father, a painter, and his mother, a sculptor. Through the stories and dreams of his parents and his grandmother, he confronts the horrors his community faced as a result of the rubber boom in Peru, immersing himself in the past so that he can rediscover his own creativity.
IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM
Opens at Film Forum in NYC - September 17, at the Laemmle Theaters in LA - September 24 (https://www.laemmle.com/film/balanchines-classroom )
Visit the film’s website for more info: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/inbalanchinesclassroom
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2Vf833J00&t=2s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3017693978505808&id=1718261665115719
Description: Presented by Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber. BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM takes us back to the glory years of George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet through the remembrances of his former dancers and their quest to fulfill the vision of a genius. Opening the door to his studio, Balanchine’s private laboratory, they reveal new facets of the groundbreaking choreographer: taskmaster, mad scientist, and spiritual teacher. Today, as his former dancers teach a new generation, questions arise: what was the secret of his teaching? Can it be replicated? Filled with never-before-seen archival footage of Balanchine at work during rehearsals, classes, and in preparation for his most seminal works, along with interviews with many of his adored and adoring dancers and those who try to carry on his legacy today, this is Balanchine as you have never seen him, and a film for anyone who loves ballet and the creative process. A film by Connie Hochman.
EATING OUR WAY TO EXTINCTION
A One Night Only Fathom Events Special Screening In Selected Cinemas on September 16th
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.eating2extinction.com/
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl2iY87Sic8 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: "This is the future generations film will be wishing everyone watched today"- Leonardo DiCaprio. Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet narrates the astounding feature documentary Eating Our Way To Extinction taking audiences on a cinematic journey around the world. The filmmakers tell the story of our planet through shocking testimonials, poignant accounts from indigenous people most affected by our ever-changing planet, globally renowned figures, and leading scientists. Confronting and entertaining, this documentary allows audiences to question their everyday choices, industry leaders, and governments. World-renowned contributors include Sir Richard Branson and Tony Robbins with world-renowned scientific experts. This powerful documentary sends a simple but impactful message by uncovering hard truths and addressing the most pressing issue of our generation – ecological collapse.
BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN
In Select Theaters November 19, 2021
Get more info at the film’s Magnolia Pictures website: http://www.magpictures.com/badluckbanging/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXG_A7ove8E ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Magnolia Pictures is proud to present BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN, written and directed by Radu Jude, starring Katia Pascari. A three-part satire that is as shocking as it is funny, Radu Jude’s film follows a schoolteacher named Emi (Katia Pascariu) who must face the consequences of a personal sex tape being leaked on the internet. Forced to meet the school’s parents demanding her dismissal, Emi refuses to surrender, forcing an incendiary comic confrontation. Jude as modern visionary shines through in the film where he takes the viewer on a journey through an array of different lenses; an ode to the French New Wave one moment, the next is Surrealistic and brash, creating a film that is as mesmerizing as it is uncategorizable – all while delivering scathing social commentary on hypocrisy and prejudice in our societies. WINNER – GOLDEN BEAR –2021 BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
MAN IN THE FIELD: THE LIFE AND ART OF JIM DENEVAN
Releasing in Theaters and on VOD September 24th
More info to come at the Greenwich website: https://greenwichentertainment.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfat4pSle6E ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3016388125303060&id=1718261665115719
Description: GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT presents…Director Patrick Trefz’s MAN IN THE FIELD. The film profiles pioneering artist and chef Jim Denevan, founder of Outstanding in the Field, a radical alternative to the conventional dining experience. The documentary intimately reveals Denevan’s artistic and culinary gifts with land art in epic geometric formations alongside grand dinners in beautiful natural settings. Instead of bringing the food to the restaurant, Outstanding in the Field has brought the restaurant to the food since 1999. Hosted at one long table, with 100 to 1000 guests dining together, Denevan has set tables in vineyards, beaches, meadows, fishing docks, and city streets. Over 120,000 lucky patrons in all 50 states and 16 countries have experienced this once-in-a-lifetime event and now Trefz’s film will allow audiences to experience it too.
FIRE MUSIC
Opens in Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 17 at the Laemmle Glendale (https://www.laemmle.com/film/fire-music ) following its release at New York’s Film Forum on September 10, with a national release to follow.
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3011731855768687&id=1718261665115719 Description: An Electrifying Freeform Tribute to the Free Jazz Revolution. Submarine Deluxe is pleased to present the theatrical release of FIRE MUSIC, filmmaker and musician Tom Surgal’s documentary on the astonishing sounds (and sights) of the free jazz movement. Counting musicians Nels Cline and Thurston Moore are among its executive producers. Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers – brilliant talents like Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane – are today acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as America’s most innovative art form. FIRE MUSIC showcases the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries and produced landmark albums like Coleman’s Free Jazz: A Collective Inspiration and Coltrane’s Ascension. A rich trove of archival footage conjures the 1960s jazz scene along with incisive reflections by critic Gary Giddins and a number of the movement’s key players.
499
Opens on Friday, August 20 at BAM Rose Cinemas in New York City, followed by runs at the Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles, and the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, before continuing on to a national rollout.
For more information, visit 499’s Cinema Guild website: http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/499.html
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7wzk64 ;Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2991575057784367&id=1718261665115719
Description: Cinema Guild is proud to present the U.S. theatrical release of the fourth feature film by Mexican-American director Rodrigo Reyes. 499 reflects on the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in 2021, offering a bold hybrid cinema experience exploring the brutal legacy of colonialism in contemporary Mexico. Through the eyes of a ghostly conquistador (played by newcomer Eduardo San Juan Breña), Reyes recreates Hernán Cortés’ epic journey from the coasts of Veracruz to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, the site of contemporary Mexico City. As the anachronistic fictional character interacts with real victims and subjects of Mexico’s failed drug wars, the filmmaker portrays the country’s current humanitarian crisis as part of a vicious and unfinished colonial project, still in motion, nearly five-hundred years later. Provocative, unique, and strikingly cinematic, 499 mixes non-fictional and performative elements with elements of the road movie to show how past traumas continue to affect contemporary reality. While linking these seemingly disparate histories of violence, the film confirms Reyes as one of the most potent voices in American independent cinema. The filmmaking team has organized a Mexican tour for 499 following Cortés’ original route from Veracruz to present-day Mexico City, taking place from July 31 to August 11. The program will visit towns along the conquistador’s path, hosting special screenings of the film alongside conversations on the history of Mexico and the ongoing social problems that each community has faced in the aftermath of colonization.
LAST NIGHT IN ROZZIE
Directed by Sean Gannet, starring Neil Brown Jr., Nicky Whelan, and Jeremy Sisto.
In Theaters and On VOD September 17th
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.lastnightinrozzie.com/
Enjoy the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH0JnPPy3MM; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: GRAVITAS VENTURES PRESENTS AN ACCLAIMED STORY OF REDEMPTION! “Complete and artfully defined characters... outstanding performances.”– Peter Keough, author and Boston Globe film columnist. A tale of self-reflection and the importance of facing trauma, LAST NIGHT IN ROZZIE is a testament to the importance of confronting your past. Ronnie Russo (Neil Brown Jr, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON), a successful lawyer in New York, is summoned back to his old Boston neighborhood, Roslindale, by his childhood best friend Joey Donovan (Jeremy Sisto, SIX FEET UNDER). Now on his deathbed, Joey has only one request for Ronnie -help him reunite with his 10-year-old son. Sympathetic to Joey's situation, Ronnie works to get closer to Joey's estranged ex-wife Pattie (Nicky Whelan, KNIGHT OF CUPS) to fulfill his friend's dying wish. However, the more he learns about the man that Joey has become, the more he questions his mission. Returning to his hometown after 25 years, Ronnie is forced to reconcile his traumatic past rooted in the last night he and Joey spent together as kids, and the repercussions that followed.
THE MEANING OF HITLER
IFC Films will release THE MEANING OF HITLER in theaters (including Laemmle’s Town Center 5 and Royal at https://www.laemmle.com/film/meaning-hitler ) and on-demand everywhere you can rent or buy movies on August 13th.
More info available at the IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/the-meaning-of-hitler ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2984984515110088&id=1718261665115719
Description: IFC Films Presents A “wise and original” reflection on history! Using the eponymous 1978 best-selling book as its frame, THE MEANING OF HITLER is a provocative interrogation of our culture’s fascination with Hitler and Nazism set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of antisemitism and the weaponization of history itself. Shot in nine countries, the film traces Hitler’s movements, his rise to power and the scenes of his crimes as historians and writers, including Deborah Lipstadt, Martin Amis, Sir Richard Evans, Saul Friedlander, Yehuda Bauer, and famed Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, weigh in on the lasting impact of his virulent ideology. As fears of authoritarianism and fascism now abound, the film explores the myths and misconceptions of our understanding of the past and the difficult process of coming to terms with it at a time in our history when it seems more urgent than ever. The latest documentary from Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (Gunner Palace, Karl Marx City) inspired by Sebastian Haffner's bestselling book, The Meaning of Hitler, explores a time in history that is constantly being challenged, denied and reframed making us draw parallels to the present.
RAGING FIRE
New York Asian Film Festival, Centerpiece Film, Monday, Aug 9, at 7:00 PM.
Releasing in Theaters August 13
Get more info from Well Go USA Entertainment’s official website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/raging-fire
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCYBSFzj84Q; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Explosive action thriller selected as the centerpiece film for the New York Asian Film Festival! Featuring a powerhouse cast headlined by international martial arts action superstar Donnie Yen (Mulan, Ip Man franchise) and Nicholas Tse (Shaolin, New Police Story), RAGING FIRE is the last film of the late Hong Kong director Benny Chan (NEW POLICE STORY, THE WHITE STORM, BIG BULLET), renowned for his award-winning action films. Shan (Donnie Yen) is a highly respected hardline cop with a long history of success on dangerous cases. However, his past unexpectedly comes back to haunt him when a sting operation is attacked by a mysterious group of criminals led by Ngo (Nicholas Tse), his former protégé, a talented former officer who had once respected and admired Shan. However, a terrible mistake three years prior landed him in prison, quickly turning the once rising star into a furious man with a grudge, and the will to destroy everyone who had wronged him—including his former mentor.
HOLA MÉXICO FILM FESTIVAL, Presented by DishLATINO, Returns for Its 13th Annual Edition
September 17-25 during Hispanic Heritage Month
In-person screenings (7:00 pm ) will take place at Regal Cinemas LA Live, located at 1000 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Opening (9/17) & Closing (9/21) ceremonies will take place at LA Plaza de Cultura Y Artes (an open-air venue), 501 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
For tickets, passes, and information, please visit: www.holamexicoff.com
Description: Bringing audiences back to the cinema, Hola México Film Festival, the largest Mexican film festival outside of the Mexican territory, will give viewers an opportunity to gather once again to celebrate the perseverance of the film community and see some of the most compelling films that have recently come out of Mexico. The Hola México Film Festival will feature 21 films, kicking off with Perdida from revered Mexican director Jorge Michel Grau (“We Are What We Are”) a sleek thriller, of marital intrigue and deceit. Perdida trailer here: https://youtu.be/hUSWtsiNnnQ. The Hola México Film Festival is comprised of the following sections: México Ahora, Documental, El Otro México, and Nocturno. México Ahora features the best of Mexican films released in recent years, covering every genre. Documental includes notable non-fiction films made by Mexican filmmakers. El Otro Mexico highlights experiences of Mexicans rarely portrayed on screen, skillfully presenting perceptive narratives that challenge the status quo. The Nocturno section offers offbeat stories and horror films. The Hola México Festival is also proud to reveal this year’s key art by the Mexico City-based Lourdes Villagomez. The festival will conclude with an award ceremony; recognitions will include best director, best short film, and best audience award.As public health measures from the County of Los Angeles are rapidly changing, information on social distancing and/or mask requirements will be clarified closer to event date.
ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU
In Theaters August 6
Get more info from the official film site: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/escape-from-mogadishu
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnuNluJ8sjY ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Well Go USA presents an exciting thriller, based on a true story. Two years before the events of BLACK HAWK DOWN, Korean diplomats trapped in war-torn Somalia attempt a daring ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU. As civil war rages in Mogadishu, rival North and South Korean diplomats are left trapped. With no aid from either government, their only shot at survival may require uniting with bitter adversaries to escape. Directed by directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU stars Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser, The Yellow Sea), Huh Joon-ho (Kingdom, Illang: The Wolf Brigade), Zo In-sung (The Classic, The Great Battle), Koo Kyo-hwan (Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, Netflix’s Kingdom: Ashin of the North), Joung Man-sik [Jeong Man-sik] (The Swordsman, Rampant), and Kim So-jin (The Spy Gone North, The King.)
DATING & NEW YORK
Opens in select theaters and everywhere films are rented digitally, Friday, Sept. 10th; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A NEW ROMANTIC COMEDY FROM IFC FILMS! Wendy (Francesca Reale) and Milo (Jaboukie Young-White), both jaded about their love lives, are thrown together at what might be the worst, most complicated time for romance in their lives. In spite of their reluctance, the magic of New York and a few profound text messages just might be the transformative force they need to find love. Their L-Train fueled-quest for love ultimately begs the question: can 'happily ever after' truly exist in the age of read receipts? The classic romantic comedy gets a millennial update, complete with fast-paced dialogue, a cast of up-and-coming comedians, and perpetual affection for one of the most romantic cities in the world. DATING & NEW YORK features a stand-out cast, including JABOUKIE YOUNG-WHITE (The Daily Show), FRANCESCA REALE (Stranger Things), CATHERINE COHEN (Search Party), BRIAN MULLER (Bridge and Tunnel), JERRY FERRARA (Entourage)
NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN
Opens July 30 in select theaters and virtual cinemas nationwide, including the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/never-gonna-snow-again ) on Aug 6th.
Visit the film’s Kino Lorber website for more info: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4598
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nim8ibdsca8 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2977563755852164&id=1718261665115719
Description: From Kino Lorber, Poland’s submission to the 93rd academy awards. On a gray, foggy morning outside a large Polish city, a masseur from the East named Zhenia (Alec Utgoff, Stranger Things) enters the lives of the wealthy residents of a gated community. With his hypnotic presence and quasi-magical abilities, he is able to get a residence permit and starts plying his trade. The well-to-do residents in their cookie-cutter suburban homes seemingly have it all, but they all suffer from an inner sadness, some unexplained longing. The attractive and mysterious newcomer's hands heal, and Zhenia’s eyes seem to penetrate their souls. To them, his Russian accent sounds like a song from the past, a memory of simpler times. The latest from writer/director Malgorzata Szumowska (Elles, In the Name Of) and her longtime collaborator Michal Englert is an unclassifiable meditation on class, immigration, and global warming shot through with Lynchian touches of the otherworldly and moments of sober beauty and unexpected humor.
THE EVENING HOUR
Opens July 30th in New York at IFC Center. LA Opening, including the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/evening-hour), Aug. 6th
Get more info at the Strand Releasing website: https://strandreleasing.com/films/the-evening-hour/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeE4N-s9Tfk ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2979184379023435&id=1718261665115719
Description: Strand Releasing Presents a dramatic thriller set in the mountains of southern Appalachia. Cole Freeman (Philip Ettinger, First Reformed) maintains an uneasy equilibrium in his declining Appalachian mining town, looking after the old and infirm in the community while selling their excess painkillers to local addicts to help make ends meet. But when his old friend, Terry Rose (Cosmo Jarvis, Lady Macbeth), returns with dangerous plans that threaten the fragile balance Cole has crafted, his world and identity are thrown into disarray. Directed by Braden King; screenplay by Elizabeth Palmore, based on the novel THE EVENING HOUR by Carter Sickles.
STATELESS (APÁTRIDA)
Screening as part of the 2021 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival (https://www.tribecafilm.com/films/stateless-2021 ) taking place June 9 to 20, followed by its national broadcast premiere on PBS’ acclaimed documentary series POV (https://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/stateless/ ) , on July 19.
Watch the trailer: here: https://vimeo.com/412429182; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2965657493709457&id=1718261665115719
Description: Emmy-Nominated Director Michèle Stephenson returns to the 2021 Edition of the Tribeca Film Festival with her latest documentary. Nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Length Documentary, and winner of the Best Feature Documentary Award at the BlackStar Film Festival, the Special Jury Prize for a Canadian Feature at Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, and the Best Feature Film Audience Award at the Boston Latino International Film Festival, Stephenson’s newest documentary uncovers the complex histories and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic by following the grassroots campaign of a hopeful young attorney named Rosa Iris. The award-winning feature film examines the complex racial histories and contemporary politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Stephenson’s documentary centers Rosa Iris and her campaign as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people. Topics of nationalism, naturalization, birthright citizenship, and the racial implications of government record-keeping take center stage.
KENNY SCHARF: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
Exclusive streaming window online through LAJFF (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/watch-the-film-kenny-scharf-when-worlds-collide-qa-w-kenny-scharf-tickets-161725339845 ) from July 7 - 11, 2021
Info and tickets also available at www.LAJFilmFest.org
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2951028218505718&id=1718261665115719
Description: LA JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL and partners present a film by Max Basch & Malia Scharf,
one of the top 5 documentaries on the "watch-list" this summer! IF YOU LOVE WARHOL, KEITH HARING AND BASQUIAT, THIS FILM IS A MUST SEE! Growing up in the San Fernando Valley in LA, Kenny Scharf's quintessential Jewish family placed importance on tradition and middle class values. His parents supported his interest in art from a young age, taking him to visit museums and galleries. When Scharf arrived in New York City in the early 1980s, he quickly befriended Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. This trio, amongst the fervent creative bustle of a depressed downtown scene, would soon take the art world by storm.
TWO HEARTWARMING TALES FROM WELL GO USA
LITTLE Q & MIDNIGHT DINER ARE COMING TO BLU-RAY AUGUST 17
More info is available at the Well Go site: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/little-q ; https://www.wellgousa.com/films/midnight-diner-0
Enjoy the trailers here: https://youtu.be/tRgJdq0_EzY ; https://youtu.be/V2hnf-n_aRU ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2987575438184329&id=1718261665115719
Description: LITTLE Q--Little Q, a yellow lab with a curious birthmark, is training to become a guide dog for the blind. When his training is complete, Little Q is sent to help Lee Bo Ting, a famous, recently blinded chef. Irritable and bitter, Bo Ting is at first reluctant to rely on Little Q and even tries to drive him away several times. But through his loyalty, Little Q eventually teaches Bo Ting how to trust again, opening him up to a new life of wonderful possibilities. Award-winning actor Simon Yam (IP Man) stars in this family-friendly drama, and leads a cast that also includes Gigi Leung (The Monkey King 3), Him Law (The Monkey King 2), Charlie Yeung (Bangkok Dangerous), Shanshan Yuan (Lobster Cop), Angela Yeun (The White Girl), Frankie Lam (The Merger), and Roger Kwok (Kung Fu Mahjong).
MIDNIGHT DINER--A small, counter-only restaurant, open daily from midnight to 7, is lovingly helmed by its mysterious owner and chef, a quiet enigma who provides no menu yet can make any dish the customer desires. Year after year, people flock from far and wide to the mysterious Midnight Diner to share their stories, savor delicious home cooking, and finally, to leave refreshed, feeling equally full and ready for their next adventure. This delightful comedy-drama and is based on the celebrated manga series “Shin’ya Shokudo” by Yaro Abe and previously adapted into the critically-acclaimed TV series in Japan, Korea and China. Tony Leung Ka-Fai (Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong) makes his directorial debut and plays the leading role in a cast that also stars Deng Chao (Shadow), Eddie Peng (Operation Mekong), and Vision Wei (Lost in White).
CHARLATAN
Opening July 23rd at the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/charlatan-0 ) in Los Angeles and other area theaters, and Theaters, Virtual Cinemas and Premium Video-On-Demand Nationwide
More info can be had at the Strand Releasing website: https://strandreleasing.com/films/charlatan/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1SWFypYZVg ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Strand releasing presents an Official Selection of the Berlin International Film Festival! Few true stories tread the thin line between good and evil as precariously as that of Jan Mikolášek, a 20th century Czech herbal healer whose great success masked the grimmest of secrets. Mikolášek won fame and fortune treating celebrities of the interwar, Nazi, and Communist eras with his uncanny knack for “urinary diagnosis”. But his passion for healing welled up from the same source as a lust for cruelty, sadism, and an incapacity for love that only one person could ever quell – his assistant, František. As a show trial threatens to pry open these secrets and undo him, Jan’s dichotomies are put to a final test, with the fate of his life’s only love in the balance. A personal tale as replete with twists as the century itself, and a reflection on the price one pays for single-mindedly following one’s calling. Czech Republic's official entry to the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Film. A Film By Agniezska Holland, legendary Academy Award Nominated filmmaker of iconic films Europa Europa, In Darkness, Angry Harvest, and Spoor.
FIRST DATE
Hits the theaters, including the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/first-date ), and VOD on July 2.
More info available at the film’s website: http://www.magnetreleasing.com/firstdate/; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2954971548111385&id=1718261665115719
Description: A ZANY ACTION COMEDY FROM MAGNOLIA'S MAGNET RELEASING. In this out-all-night throwback thrill ride from first time directing duo Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp, shy, wide-eyed high schooler Mike finally summons the courage to ask out his badass neighbor Kelsey, only to realize he’s missing a key element for a successful date - the car. Panicked and low on cash, he’s conned into buying a beat-up ‘65 Chrysler. Mike's plan to win over Kelsey soon turns into a surreal misadventure when they are inexplicably targeted by a pair of cops, a criminal gang, and a vengeful cat lady. A night fueled by desire, bullets, and burning rubber makes any other first date seem like a walk in the park. FIRST DATE weaves together elements of dark comedy, teen romance, shoot 'em up action and classic coming-of-age story, creating a truly entertaining ride that never misses a beat. This refreshing mix of tones, coupled with a break-out performance from Tyson Brown as Mike, make FIRST DATE a truly outstanding first feature. FIRST DATE was a Sundance favorite and has been compared to "Superbad meets True Romance".
CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS
Opens in select theaters and virtual cinemas on Friday, July 16th, at Film Forum in New York, and on Friday, July 23rd at Laemmle's Royal in Los Angeles (https://www.laemmle.com/film/can-you-bring-it-bill-t-jones-and-d-man-waters ), with national rollout to follow.
More info can be had at the Kino Lorber website: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4821
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvdqTFNCUwc; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Kino Lorber is proud to present…CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS brings to life the creative process that culminated in choreographer-dancer-director Bill T. Jones’s tour de force ballet D-Man in the Waters, one of the most important works of art to come out of the AIDS crisis. In 1989, D-Man in the Waters gave physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief, and hope for salvation that the emerging Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (both partners at the time) felt as they were embattled by the AIDS epidemic. As a group of young dancers in the present re-interpret the work, they deepen their understanding of its power – exploring what is at stake in their own personal lives in order to commit and perform it successfully. Through an extraordinary collage of interviews, archival material, and uniquely powerful cinematography, this lyrical documentary uses the story of this iconic dance to illustrate the power of art and the triumph of the human spirit. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
JOHN AND THE HOLE
Opens Friday, August 6, 2021, In Select Theatres and Everywhere Films Are Rented
More info available at the IFC website: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/john-and-the-hole ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2979273132347893&id=1718261665115719
Description: IFC FILMS PRESENTS A psychological coming-of-age thriller. In this enigmatic and unsettling meditation on adolescent angst, 13-year-old John (Charlie Shotwell) discovers an unfinished bunker while exploring the neighboring woods—a deep hole in the ground. Seemingly without provocation, he drugs his affluent parents (Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Ehle) and older sister (Taissa Farmiga), holding them captive within the bunker. As they anxiously wait for John to free them from the hole, the boy returns home, where he can finally enjoy and explore a newfound independence. “Remarkable new talent Pascual Sisto's feature debut offers an unsettling look at a kid with something missing where his conscience should be… Like Dogtooth or Benny’s Video, it works as a kind of suburban surrealism… With any luck, the film will put both Shotwell and Sisto on the map.” - Peter Debruge, Variety. OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2020 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL and 2021 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. Directed by Pascual Sisto, one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch”; written by Nicolás Giacobone, OscarⓇ-winning co-writer of BIRDMAN, Co-writer of BIUTIFUL. Starring Charlie Shotwell (THE NEST), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jennifer Ehle (SAINT MAUD), Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story.)
MAMA WEED (La Daronne)
Opens in theaters in NYC, LA, Chicago and other cities on July 16, including Laemmle’s Monica Film Center (https://www.laemmle.com/film/mama-weed ); VOD release will follow on July 23rd.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/dp869rYDS08
More info can be had at: https://www.musicboxfilms.com/film/mama-weed/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2965207853754421&id=1718261665115719
Description: Brainstorm Media and Music Box Films are proud to announce the US theatrical release of MAMA WEED. A film by Jean-Paul Salomé, Starring Isabelle Huppert! A French-Arabic translator for the Paris police anti-narcotics unit, Patience Portefeux (Isabelle Huppert) interprets the daily calls and conversations between the city’s biggest drug dealers. In the evenings, she looks in on her aging mother (Liliane Rovère, “Call My Agent”) at the long-term care facility where she is months behind in paying the bills. When she overhears the son of one of her mother’s nurses on the wiretap, Patience is moved to protect him. But her involvement in his business quickly escalates and she finds herself in possession of a huge store of hash and the insider knowledge required to move it. With her newly adopted retired police dog at her side, Patience transforms into Mama Weed, a savvy saleswoman capitalizing on her field experience to earn the extra income she so desperately needs while doing her best to stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the precinct. Based on "The Godmother," the acclaimed novel by Hannelore Cayre, and nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay César Award, MAMA WEED is a clever French crime caper featuring an impeccably charming performance from the legendary Isabelle Huppert.
POV ANNOUNCES ITS LINEUP FOR THE 34TH SEASON!!
Premiering July 5 on PBS, with a Prominent Latin American and U.S. Latinx selection making up more than half of this year’s programming, POV (https://www.pbs.org/pov/ ) marks a historic moment for Latinx narrative representation on PBS and public television more broadly. America’s longest-running documentary series will host the broadcast premiere of seven powerful and critically-acclaimed Latin American and U.S. Latinx Documentaries: LANDFALL, STATELESS (Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2965657493709457&id=1718261665115719) THE SONG OF BUTTERFLIES, FRUITS OF LABOR, THINGS WE DARE NOT DO, LA CASA DE MAMA ICHA, and ON THE DIVIDE
Description: POV’s newest season follows artists, activists, elders, comedians, frontline workers and politicians across the globe as they navigate their personal stories and the larger histories under which they take shape. All films are accompanied by educational resources and will be available to stream on all PBS platforms including PBS.org, and the PBS Video App. Premieres continue through fall 2021 with primetime specials in early 2022. Additional titles, including the fourth season of POV Shorts and streaming and interactive projects, will be announced throughout the year.
POV Season 34 Schedule:
--THE NEUTRAL GROUND, directed by CJ Hunt, July 5, 2021. CJ Hunt investigates why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America.
--LANDFALL, directed by Cecilia Aldarondo, July 12, 2021. Shard-like glimpses of post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico examine a transformed world.
--STATELESS, directed by Michèle Stephenson, July 19, 2021. An attorney advocates for Dominicans of Haitain descent who have been stripped of their citizenship. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2965657493709457&id=1718261665115719
--MAYOR, directed by David Osit, July 26, 2021. Musa Hadid is the mayor of Ramallah, the de facto capital of Palestine. Winner Grand Jury Award Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2816835318591676&id=1718261665115719
--PIER KIDS, directed by Elegance Bratton, August 2, 2021. In New York City, queer and trans youth of color make the Christopher Street Pier their own.
--THE SONG OF THE BUTTERFLIES, directed by Núria Frigola Torrent, August 30, 2021. Rember, an Indigenous artist in Peru, journeys home to the Amazonian land of his ancestors.
--FRUITS OF LABOR, directed by Emily Cohen Ibañez, October 4, 2021. In central California, a Mexican-American teen goes to work when ICE raids threaten her family.
--LA CASA DE MAMA ICHA, directed by Oscar Molina, October 18, 2021. Mama Icha returns home to Colombia, finding heartbreak and joy after decades in the U.S. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review at: https://www.facebook.com/
--THINGS WE DARE NOT DO, directed by Bruno Santamaría, October 25, 2021. In a Mexican coastal village, 16-year-old Ñoño has a secret that defies gender norms. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2775678882707320/?type=3&theater
--NORTH BY CURRENT, directed by Angelo Madsen Minax, November 1, 2021. Director Angelo Madsen Minax returns home to rural Michigan after the death of his niece.
--UNAPOLOGETIC, directed by Ashley O’Shay, December 27, 2021. After two police killings, Black abolitionists fight to hold Chicago officials accountable.
--NOT GOING QUIETLY, directed by Nicholas Bruckman, January 24, 2022. After being diagnosed with ALS, Ady Barkan launches a national movement for healthcare.
--ON THE DIVIDE, directed by Maya Cueva and Leah Galant, Spring 2022. The lives of three Latinx people intersect at the last abortion clinic on the border.
Broadcast on the national PBS schedule, POV is available to millions of viewers on-air, online and in communities. To support educators and parents tackling remote learning, POV will produce educational resources for every episode, including lesson plans, discussion guides and reading lists with several materials available in Spanish.
WHO WILL START ANOTHER FIRE
The new 9 film anthology launches June 11 in select theaters nationwide, virtual cinemas (including the Laemmle Theaters) through KinoMarquee.com, on VOD at KinoNow.com and with a limited-edition DVD release available at KinoLorber.com. There is a Charles Burnett introduction to the inaugural collection available as a bonus feature on the dvd. Select in-person screenings will also take place across the nation with independent theaters that are open.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXOlP5NL3z8&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2942370286038178&id=1718261665115719
Description: Kino Lorber and Dedza Films are announcing their first collaborative release of WHO WILL START ANOTHER FIRE, an international short film omnibus showcasing the works of nine emerging filmmakers from underrepresented communities around the world. Official selections for WHO WILL START ANOTHER FIRE:
LIKE FLYING--A young Chinese-American girl navigates her childhood through her parents’ broken relationship.
FAMILY TREE--Nagawa, an 8 year old schoolgirl, is presenting a school project about her family tree to her classmates and teacher. When her mother Margaret picks up Nagawa from school, she doesn't have the heart to tell her daughter that her beloved father has been in a terrible accident.
TROUBLEMAKER--Obi is hot, bored, and desperate for something to do. When his best friend, Emeka, gives him a packet of firecrackers, the boys decide to have some fun.
POLYGRAPH--Based on a true story, Yasmine, an openly lesbian Arab nurse living in Tel Aviv, finds out that her lover Or, an intelligence officer in the Israeli army, has been reporting on their relationship.
THE LIGHTS ARE ON, NO ONE’S HOME--Mar, a trans woman who left home years ago, returns to her old neighborhood to find her childhood home. Upon her return, she’s confronted with the changes that gentrification has brought to the place she once knew so well.
BY WAY OF CANARSIE--A wandering portrait of an oft-neglected shoreline community, By Way of Canarsie imagines possible futures at odds with a peaceful present. The competing futures for Canarsie Pier present complications about how and for whom this public space serves.
THE ROSE OF MANILA--An imagining of the formative years of Imelda Marcos, who, as one half of the Marcos regime, would become infamous for embezzling billions from the country to sustain her extravagant lifestyle. Here, the fate of a young girl and an entire nation become entangled as the absent mother of a country is born.
SLIP--A woman arrives home at the end of a regular day, but as she begins to turn in for the night, she is overcome with a sense of restlessness. Unable to fit inside her own world, she goes back out into the night.
NOT BLACK ENOUGH--A young African-American man struggling to find his identity within his community meets a persuasive relic of the past. Featuring Corey Knight (We Are Who We Are) and Patrick Decile (Moonlight).
TRUMAN & TENNESSEE: AN INTIMATE CONVERSATION
OPENING JUNE 18: In New York at the Film Forum, In Los Angeles at The Nuart, and Laemmle Playhouse & Town Center 5; Also available in virtual cinemas nationwide through KinoMarquee.com (https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4728 )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUZZheLXuA&t=11s ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2948762315398975&id=1718261665115719
Description: A REVELATORY LOOK AT THE LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN LEGENDARY WRITERS TRUMAN CAPOTE & TENNESSEE WILLIAMS... Filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland masterfully collages a wealth of archival material, including dishy talk show appearances with Dick Cavett and David Frost, with clips from some of the duo’s most memorable movie adaptions: A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, and IN COLD BLOOD. Featuring vibrant voiceover work by award-winning actors Jim Parsons (Capote) and Zachary Quinto (Williams), the film is dripping with wit and wisdom. It is a celebration of both men's fearless candor and often tumultuous friendship that honors how their identity as gay Southerners informed their timeless artistic achievements and relationships with family, colleagues, confidants, and – most significantly – each other. OFFICIAL SELECTION at the Telluride Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, NewFest, and the Seattle International Film Festival, Full Frame, Frameline. “A truly captivating and cleverly contrasting examination of two of the most significant writers of the last century.”-- Frank J. Avella, Edge Media. “A visually appealing mosaic of iconic photographs, television interviews, magazine articles, clippings and comments that combine to fully immerse us in the lives and loves of both men.”-- Allan Hunter, Screen International
BAD TALES
Screens June 4th, both at Laemmle’s Monica Film Center (1332 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401) and Laemmle Virtual Cinema (https://www.laemmle.com/film/bad-tales .) From Strand Releasing (https://strandreleasing.com/films/bad-tales/ )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py-YdkevmWg ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2939376553004218&id=1718261665115719
Description: Once upon a time, in a small family suburb on the outskirts of Rome, the cheerful heat of summer camouflages a stifling atmosphere of alienation. From a distance, the families seem normal, but it’s an illusion: in the houses, courtyards and gardens, silence shrouds the subtle sadism of the fathers, the passivity of the mothers and the guilty indifference of adults. But it’s the desperation and repressed rage of the children that will explode and cut through this grotesque facade, with devastating consequences for the entire community. Directed by The D’Innocenzo Brothers (BOYS CRY, DOGMAN), BAD TALES stars Elio Germano, Barbara Chichiarelli, and Lino Musella.
I WAS A SIMPLE MAN-- Opening TBD;Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3059279147680624&id=1718261665115719
A ghost story set in the pastoral countryside of the north shore of O'ahu, Hawai'i, incorporating familial history and mythology, dream logic and surrealism. Revealed in four chapters, it tells the story of an elderly man facing the end of his life, visited by the ghosts of his past. Directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi, starring Constance Wu.
KENNY SCHARF: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
Launches in Theaters and Virtual Cinemas on Friday, June 25
More info at the film’s Greenwich website: https://greenwichentertainment.com/film/kenny-scharf-when-worlds-collide/
Trailer: http://bit.ly/KennyScharfTrailer; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2951028218505718&id=1718261665115719
Description: A Vibrant Portrait of the LA-Based Pop Art Icon. Greenwich Entertainment is pleased to present KENNY SCHARF: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, a vibrant portrait of the life and work of the LA-based pop art icon and art world survivor. When you look at Kenny Scharf’s surreal, colorful, pop-culture inspired art you can’t help but wonder where he gets his inspiration. This documentary about Scharf’s fascinating life—made over 11 years by the artist’s daughter, Malia Scharf, and Max Basch—answers that question. Featuring interviews and rare archival footage with the artist himself along with Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper and Yoko Ono, the film shows Scharf’s arrival in New York City from Los Angeles in the early 1980s, where he quickly befriended Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. There, amongst the fervent creative bustle of a depressed downtown scene, the trio would soon take the art world by storm. But unlike Haring and Basquiat, who both died tragically young, Scharf lived through cataclysmic shifts in the East Village as well as the ravages of AIDS and economic depression. Decades later, still obsessed with garbage, cartoons and plastic, and committed to the idea that art should be fun, Scharf’s whimsical mind continues to generate works rife with iconic images and bizarre forms. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE immerses us in the heart and soul of the times and the man who, despite setbacks along the way, perseveres in his living-life-out loud, technicolor artistic vision.
AMERICAN TRAITOR: THE TRIAL OF AXIS SALLY
Wednesday, May 26 at 7:30pm at the Laemmle Royal in West LA (11523 Santa Monica Blvd 1st floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025)
RSVP Tuesday, May 25th at Noon at this link here
Description: You are invited to a preview of Al Pacino's new movie. Based on the true story, AMERICAN TRAITOR: THE TRIAL OF AXIS SALLY follows the life of American woman Mildred Gillars (Meadow Williams) and her lawyer (Al Pacino), who struggles to redeem her reputation. Dubbed “Axis Sally” for broadcasting Nazi propaganda to American troops during World War II, Mildred’s story exposes the dark underbelly of the Third Reich's hate-filled propaganda machine, her eventual capture in Berlin, and subsequent trial for treason against the United States after the war. Co-starring Meadow Williams and Thomas Kretchmann and directed by Michael Polish.
AKILLA’S ESCAPE
Opens June 11, 2021 in select theaters and on digital platforms.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kZD5lCt4Q4 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: OFFICIAL SELECTION- TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL/NOMINATED FOR SEVEN CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS. In his latest feature, AKILLA’S ESCAPE, Charles Officer confronts toxic masculinity and shows how the actions of one man can halt the generational cycles of violence and poverty. Akilla, played masterfully by poet and actor Saul Williams, navigates the criminal underworld of Toronto and after a robbery gone awry, finds himself sucked back into the turbulent violence he has fought so long to escape. In two mirrored storylines, we watch Akilla as both a boy and a man resist this violent life and live by his own terms. A cinematic crime noir set to a soundtrack created by Saul Williams and Massive Attack’s 3D, AKILLA’S ESCAPE is a poignant art piece which presents an alternative definition to the media's portrayal of Black masculinity. Written and directed by Charles Officer, starring and original score by Saul Williams. A Vertical Entertainment Release. “A mature crime picture whose decades-hopping action makes the effects of generational poverty obvious without having to spell it out”- John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter “There’s a really solid performance at the center from poet/musician Saul Williams” - Brian Tallerico, Roger Ebert. “Akilla’s Escape is a film about manhood, mercy, and second chances.”- Aramide Tinubu, Showbiz Cheat Sheet
NEW FRENCH SHORTS 2021
Opens Friday, May 28 in Virtual Cinemas nationwide through Kino Marquee:
--LA in virtual with Laemmle: https://www.laemmle.com/film/new-french-shorts-2021
Additional LA-area virtual openings on June 4 with COLCOA, Zeitgeist Theater Lounge, Lumiere Cinema
--New York in virtual with FIAF Alliance Française: https://kinomarquee.com/film/new-french-shorts-2021/604ff632ff52870001853229/fiaf
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx-0nsV9-wc ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2935128193429054&id=1718261665115719
Description: BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND From Kino Lorber and the Young French Cinema, a program of UniFrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy! The annual showcase of the most exciting new cinematic voices from France...boasting delightful & provocative festival favorites from Cannes, Sundance, Berlinale and beyond! Featuring the films:
GENIUS LOCI--This 2021 Oscar®-nominated short centers on Reine, a young black woman and a loner. She sees within the urban chaos a mystical oneness that seems alive and guides her in her path to self-discovery and transformation.
BY A HAIR--In three days, Elodie must take the hair removal exam for her beautician diploma. Her father would prefer she work with him in his butcher’s shop, but loves her so much that when her friend doesn’t show up to be her model for the exam, he reluctantly takes her place... with hysterical results.
HAUTE CUISINE--Since Marie has joined the team at multi-starred chef Bruno Mercier's restaurant, all she thinks about is improving herself. But Thomas, the sous-chef who manages the kitchen on a day-to-day basis, is wary of this possible rival. During her shift, Marie cuts herself, letting a few drops of blood fall into and mix with her sauce, giving new meaning to the term “blood rivals".
SO WHAT IF THE GOATS DIE?--Abdellah, a young shepherd living in the Atlas Mountains, is forced to brave the snow in order to get food and save his goats. Once he arrives at the village, he faces a supernatural phenomenon.
AND THEN THE BEAR--In this fanciful animation, houses will burn through the night. Men and women will tremble. Hordes of children will come together and howl as they dance alone on the ashes like wild bears. It only takes one shout to wake them all from their slumber!
SUKAR--The beach in Casablanca is a playground for kids and the site of adolescent romantic encounters. But the police are always watching and no forbidden temptation is permitted. When a fight distracts their attention, two young lovers seize the opportunity to kiss…
OLLA--Olla replied to an advertisement on a dating website for women from Eastern Europe. She has just moved in with Pierre who lives with his elderly mother. But nothing goes as planned.
JOIN THE LOS ANGELES JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH STEPHEN WISE TEMPLE AND JEWISH WORLD!
JOACHIM PRINZ: I SHALL NOT BE SILENT
Tickets for the screenings (May 24 - June 4) available at : https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lajff-presents-the-film-and-qa-joachim-prinz-i-shall-not-be-silent-tickets-155883857815
Once you purchase a ticket, you will be automatically registered on zoom to watch the Q&A webinar on MAY 27.
The FREE exclusive live virtual conversation/Q&A with…
RACHEL ESKIN FISHER, Filmmaker, SENATOR CORY BOOKER, Senator New Jersey, DEBORAH PRINZ, Joachim Prinz’s daughter, ORLY MARLEY, President, Tuff Gong Worldwide, Signatory of Black Jewish Entertainment Alliance, RABBI SARI LAUFER, Stephen Wise Temple, Los Angeles, Moderated by RABBI CLIFFORD KULWIN, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple, B’nai Abraham, New Jersey
Thursday, May 27, 2021, 5:00 PM PDT / 8:00 PM EDT
LIVE ON ZOOM WEBINAR! Open to everyone! Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4-oG00AoSFqndWrJoDAuQQ
Visit www.LAJFilmFest.org for more info!
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hw8N2XF6Hk ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2932380427037164&id=1718261665115719
Description: A virtual screening of the multi-award-winning documentary AND Q&A…watch the film online first and then join the discussion! Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a refugee from Nazi Germany came to the United States in 1937 and immediately identified with African-Americans experiencing the same kinds of oppression he had known as a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Working with Martin Luther King, Prinz became a prominent leader of the civil rights movement in the US, culminating in his stirring speech at the 1963 March on Washington, when he cautioned, "America must not become a nation of onlookers. . . . America must not remain silent!" This documentary uncovers the dramatic story of a courageous religious leader whose passion for justice compelled him to speak out against bigotry over the course of five decades.
PERFUME DE GARDENIAS
A World Premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival June 9 to 20.
Info and tickets available here: https://tribecafilm.com/films/perfume-de-gardenias-2021; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2945746172367256&id=1718261665115719
Description: A Provocative Reflection on Death and Mourning Featuring Veteran Actress Luz María Rondón in Her First Movie-Starring Role. The Debut Feature by Queer Afro-Puerto Rican Multidisciplinary Artist Macha Colón Offers a Playful and Darkly Comic Perspective on Puerto Rico. A dark comedy that captures the idiosyncrasies and spirit of a nation adept at creating novel strategies for laughter in the face of adversity, the film tells the story of Isabel (Luz María Rondón), an elderly woman living in a middle-class neighborhood in Puerto Rico, who has just become a widow after having cared for her husband until his last breaths. However, her recent loss becomes a blessing when she crafts a beautiful custom-made funeral for him that catches the attention of Toña (Sharon Riley), a pious but domineering woman who involves herself in local funerals. Toña is the self-appointed leader of a coterie of church ladies elderly, and she enlists Isabel to put her unusual talents to good use and design custom, idiosyncratic funerals for her ailing neighbors. As Isabel agrees to perform this peculiar line of work—offering seniors a chance to dictate how their lives should be honored, before they die—she also finds renewed purpose in her own life. Along the way, however, Isabel is forced to question her own beliefs, as well as her relationship with both life and death. Perfume de Gardenias brings the daring, cheerful, and radically “cuir” style that characterizes Macha Colón’s artistic output to the silver screen, capturing the vivid colors of the Caribbean island by offering a nuanced portrait of the customs, characters, and idiosyncrasies of its battered middle class.
THROUGH THE NIGHT by Afro-Dominican Filmmaker Loira Limbal,
Debuts May 10 on PBS at 10 p.m. ET (check local listings) and at pov.org; The film will also be available to stream for free at pov.org until June 10, 2021.
Get more info here: https://www.amdoc.org/watch/throughthenight/
Play the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXx4mM0hHEA ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: POV Presents the National Broadcast Premiere. A Timely Portrait of Resilience, Love, and the Fundamental Role of Caregivers from Afro-Dominican Filmmaker Loira Limbal. An official selection at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival as well as at DOC NYC and AFI DOCS, Through the Night is an intimate cinema verité portrait of three working mothers whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, New York: a mother working the overnight shift as an essential worker at a pediatric hospital; another holding down three jobs in order to support her family, and a woman who, for over two decades, has cared for the children whose parents have nowhere else to turn. Through the Night showcases the multiplicity of “women’s work” — paid, underpaid, and unpaid; emotional and physical; domestic and career-oriented — all while negotiating the terms of a dignified existence under the three arrows of racism, sexism, and capitalism in America. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Through the Night and the stories it centers take on an even greater sense of urgency and profound meaning.
TWO GODS
In Theaters and Virtual Cinemas (including the Laemmle Theaters: https://www.laemmle.com/film/two-gods ) on Friday, May 21
More info available at: https://twogodsfilm.com/
Trailer: https://youtu.be/NYWTAPahnZU ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A Powerful Story of Brotherhood and Redemption. In an area of Newark where too many funerals commemorate tragically short lives, Hanif, an older man with a troubled past, works as a casket maker and ritual body washer. He is committed to his work and to his Islamic faith and is also a dedicated mentor to two local kids—Furquan, a confident 12-year-old who comes from a rough home and Naz, a 17-year-old who has been fighting through his own struggles as a young Black man growing up in Newark. Challenges come when Furquan's home life becomes more turbulent and Naz gets caught up in a serious arrest. Hanif, struggling with the fear that he has failed as a mentor, begins to fall into a downward spiral. Zeshawn Ali’s TWO GODS is the beautifully observed story of a Black Muslim casket maker in Newark, New Jersey, who takes two vulnerable young men from his community under his wing. A festival standout since it world-premiered at the Hot Docs Film Festival, the film has since shown at the Full Frame, DOC NYC, Camden, New Orleans (Jury Award), Montclair (Jury Award), and Florida (Jury Award) festivals, among others. Shot in exquisite black and white, Zeshawn Ali’s auspicious feature debut is a lyrical meditation on the importance of community and passing down generational knowledge through faith, brotherhood and redemption. “A timely portrait of lives lost and redeemed.” - Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter. “An auspicious debut… a poetic meditation on life, death and the struggle to survive in between.” - Lauren Wissot, Filmmaker Magazine. "A masterpiece just waiting to be discovered.” - Joshua Brunsting, CriterionCast.
A PICTURE OF AUTUMN
Excellent, acclaimed theater now streaming thru 6/13…Free! Click here for info and access: https://minttheater.org/streaming-series/?tab=apictureofautumn . No password, no tickets required…no worries! Free pre-recorded videos of post-show EnrichMint speakers available as well!
Description: “A JOY TO BEHOLD!” “The Mint (https://minttheater.org/ ) is webcasting “A PICTURE OF AUTUMN as part of a series of broadcast-quality archival videos taped at live performances, and the strong impression the play made on me when I first saw and reviewed it has been confirmed: It is a work of great distinction, sensitively directed by Gus Kaikkonen and wonderfully well acted by a nine-person ensemble cast consisting mostly of Mint regulars.” -Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal. “A PICTURE OF AUTUMN may indisputably be Chekhovian but it is rather more overtly a comedy than the works of the master. It is filled with memorable characters and is a joy to behold thanks to a cleverly concocted mixture of wisdom, wistfulness and humour. Yet again, viewers should be grateful to Jonathan Bank and Mint Theater for bringing back into the public domain an excellent playwright who might otherwise have been forgotten forever.”-Philip Fisher, British Theatre Guide. Closed Captioning is available for all of their streaming offerings!
THE GREAT WAR OF ARCHIMEDES
An Epic Historical Drama, Debuts on Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD June 15
For more information, please visit http://www.wellgousa.com/ .
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TufN-4W50io ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2945738679034672&id=1718261665115719
Description: From Well go USA, the Sinking of the World's Largest Battleship! Pre-WWII, the Japanese Navy commissioned the creation of the impressive “supership” Yamato, strongly opposed by a top official insisting on more strategic and battle-ready warships. After being ignored without cause, Admiral Yamamoto recruits a math genius to help uncover what he soon suspects is a massive conspiracy. Based on the acclaimed 2015 manga series “Archimedes no Taisen,” THE GREAT WAR OF ARCHIMEDES debuts on Digital, Blu-ray™ and DVD June 15 (just in time for Father’s Day) with an all-new English dub from Well Go USA Entertainment. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki (The Eternal Zero), the film is a fictionalized depiction of the behind-the-scenes struggles of building the Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, during WWII. THE GREAT WAR OF ARCHIMEDES stars Suda Masaki (Drowning Love), Emoto Tasuku (And Your Bird Can Sing), Hamabe Minami (The Promised Neverland), Shofukutei Tsurube (Family of Strangers), and Kobayashi Katsuya (The Crazy Family).
EMILY @ THE EDGE OF CHAOS
Opening Friday, May 7 nationwide in virtual cinemas through KINO MARQUEE (https://kinomarquee.com/ )
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20a-CpuVIfo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2918160161792524&id=1718261665115719
Description: "GO SEE EMILY LEVINE AT THE RISK OF BLOWING YOUR MIND, SPLITTING YOUR SIDES, AND EXITING A BETTER PERSON." -- Norman Lear. Humorist EMILY LEVINE explores the universe & human condition through science & pop culture... Emily @ the Edge of Chaos interweaves Emily Levine’s live performance with animation, appearances by scientists, and animated characters (John Lithgow as Sir Isaac Newton, Lily Tomlin as Ayn Rand, Leonard Nimoy as Sigmund Freud, Richard Lewis as Aristotle, Matt Groening as Aldo Leopold). The film uses physics, which explains how the universe works, to explain our metaphysics – the story of our values, our institutions, our interactions. Using her own experience and a custom blend of insight and humor, provocation and inspiration, personal story and social commentary, Emily takes her audience through its own paradigm shift: from the Fear of Change to the EDGE OF CHAOS! Emily Levine, like her film, was one-of-a-kind. She was a television writer and producer (Designing Women, Love & War and Dangerous Minds), a stand-up performer, and an out-of-the box-thinker, whose brilliant TED Talks have been watched by millions. She made this film with Wendy Apple, who produced and directed it. Wendy died in 2017 and Emily continued working on the film until she also passed away in 2019. "Witty, whimsical, deeply thoughtful and, most of all, COMPLETELY HILARIOUS.”-- Lily Tomlin. "If you don't get Emily Levine's smart comedy, you're an IDIOT!"-- Matt Groening
SPIRAL
In theaters May 14th (including the Laemmle Theaters) and on Premium video on demand (PVOD) June 1st
Get more info from the Official Site: spiral.movie , and from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @Saw; Hashtag: #Spiral
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzy6ORqE9IY
Description: Attention horror fans! The long awaited Next chapter from the book of saw, From Lionsgate. A criminal mastermind unleashes a twisted form of justice in Spiral, the terrifying new chapter from the book of Saw. Working in the shadow of his father, an esteemed police veteran (Samuel L. Jackson), brash Detective Ezekiel “Zeke” Banks (Chris Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) take charge of a grisly investigation into murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Unwittingly entrapped in a deepening mystery, Zeke finds himself at the center of the killer’s morbid game. Spiral stars Chris Rock, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Samuel L. Jackson, and is produced by the original Saw team of Mark Burg and Oren Koules. This suspense-filled thriller is directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by Josh Stolberg & Pete Goldfinger. A Lionsgate release, Twisted Pictures presents, a Burg/Koules production. Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, pervasive language, some sexual references and brief drug use.
SPRING BLOSSOM
Opens in New York and in Los Angeles - May 21
Get more info from the KimStim official website: https://www.kimstim.com/film/spring-blossom/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNot20wCReg ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Suzanne Lindon’s directorial debut at nineteen, based on the screenplay she wrote at fifteen . KimStim Films is proud to present the US theatrical release of SPRING BLOSSOM, a film written, directed, and starring Suzanne Lindon. Official Selection at Cannes and at Toronto International Film Festival, SPRING BLOSSOM will open at Angelika Film Center in New York and at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles, and in other cities, on May 21, 2021. Suzanne (Suzanne Lindon) is sixteen. She is bored with people her own age. From the outside, everything appears lovely in her charmed world, but the everyday monotony of school and her relationships with friends and family feels completely uninspired. Every day on her way to high school, she passes a theater. There, she meets a 35-year-old actor named Raphaël (Arnaud Valois, BPM (Beats Per Minute )). Despite their age difference they find in each other an answer to their ennui and develop a strong connection. Immersed in the world of grown-ups and adult choices, Suzanne begins questioning the pitfalls of blossoming too quickly and missing out on life – the life of a 16-year-old, which she had struggled so much to enjoy in the same way as her peers. SPRING BLOSSOM is a masterful and refreshing tale, filled with freewheeling musical numbers, of young teen’s sense of curiosity and wonderment at first-love.
YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY
Currently screening at a number of virtual cinemas. Find out where, and get more info from the Film Movement website at: https://www.filmmovement.com/you-will-die-at-twenty
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXwaPAhITdk
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2905609849714222&id=1718261665115719
Description: Winner of the Lion of the Future Award for best Debut Feature at the Venice Film Festival, YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY is visually sumptuous “coming-of-death” fable. During her son’s naming ceremony, a Sheikh predicts that Sakina’s child will die at the age of 20. Haunted by this prophecy, Sakina becomes overly protective of her son Muzamil, who grows up knowing about his fate. As Muzamil escapes Sakina’s ever-watchful eye, he encounters friends, ideas and challenges that make him question his destiny. Sudan’s first Oscar submission, YOU WILL DIE AT TWENTY is an auspicious debut and a moving meditation on what it means to live in the present.
HPIFF 2021 CALL FOR ENTRIES!!!
The HIGHLAND PARK INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL is happy to announce that their call for entries is now open for 2021. Looking forward to seeing new work and meeting new faces.
Click here to get info and to submit your film: https://www.hpifilmfest.com/index.html
HPIFF 2021 will take place early October. Keep creating!
AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES
Watch Now on ChaiFlicks.com : https://www.chaiflicks.com/as-seen-through-these-eyes
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss2LCJ1F4pY ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2902157643392776&id=1718261665115719
Description: This Yom HaShoah, we invite you to view the award-winning documentary. Narrated by Maya Angelou and co-produced by Sundance Channel. Directed by Hilary Helstein , USA, 2008. “I hope and pray you will be as inspired by these extraordinary people as I have been, I am now and shall forever be.” — Maya Angelou. As Maya Angelou narrates this powerful documentary, she reveals the story of a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and memories etched in their minds. These artists took their fate into their own hands to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds. Best Feature Documentary | Thessalonki Documentary Festival, Best Documentary | Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, Best Documentary | Miami Jewish Film Festival, Best Documentary | Winnipeg International Film Festival, Best Documentary (Bronze Phoenix Award) | Warsaw International Festival of Jewish Motifs, Best Film | International Jewish Film Festival in Argentina
THE SPOKESWOMAN
Available to stream to audiences across Canada from April 29 through May 9, 2021 (https://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=141756~367cbc04-eb03-453a-90f8-88ca48c4cf79&epguid=9759e3f1-085c-4e15-88c2-e02a8ee1f1d1& .) The Spokeswoman will also make a special, sneak-preview stop at the San Francisco International Film Festival, streaming to U.S. audiences from April 9 through April 18, 2021 (https://sffilm.org/2021-san-francisco-international-film-festival-hold-review-films/ .)
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBRRoF1fGsU ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2899174023691138&id=1718261665115719
Description: The Illuminating and Intimate Campaign-Trail Portrait Documentary Following María de Jesús Patricio aka Marichuy, the First Indigenous Woman to Run for the Mexican Presidency.Veteran Mexican-Argentine filmmaker Luciana Kaplan (Eufrosina´s Revolution; Rush Hour) is set to return to Toronto’s Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival for the highly-anticipated international premiere of her latest documentary The Spokeswoman (La vocera), a captivating and personal campaign-trail portrait of María de Jesús Patricio, better known as Marichuy, the first indigenous woman to run for president in Mexico’s 2018 election. After a successful Mexican premiere at last year’s edition of the Guadalajara Film Festival, followed by successful screenings at the FICUNAM and Ambulante film festivals, the documentary will compete at Hot Docs in the ‘Persister’ category highlighting global narratives of women’s resistance and political activism, and will be For the first time in the country’s history, Mexico’s indigenous communities organized to put forward a candidate in the 2018 presidential election. As a traditional healer and human rights activist from the Nahua nation, the National Indigenous Congress and EZLN (the Zapatista Army of National Liberation) chose Marichuy to be their spokeswoman and run as an independent in order to bring much-needed national attention to issues facing Indigenous nations across the country. Deeply embedded in Marichuy's campaign from the start, Kaplan goes up close and personal as she travels across the country to gain support for the election, collect the necessary signatures, and attempts to unify a nation around Indigenous rights, the environment, and the status of women. Along the way, Marichuy connects contemporary indigenous struggles across various territories (Yaqui, Maya and Wixárika), laying a trail of evidence that points to the importance of indigenous political organization and resistance in order to preserve life and ensure lasting dignity.Although she doesn’t in the end gather enough support to make it on the ballot, Marichuy’s story is one of hope and optimism in the face of a country long plagued by violence, systemic racism, and sexism towards women and indigenous groups alike. At the end of the road, viewers are left with two questions: progress and development for whom, and at whose expense? With The Spokeswoman, Kaplan once again confirms her position as a leading documentary filmmaker at the top of the field, offering audiences a story as heartfelt as it is politically illuminating. Premiering at the 2021 Edition of Hot Docs, Preceded by a Special Screening at the San Francisco Film Festival
NEVER FORGET…FILMS FOR YOM HA'SHOAH
AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES (Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2902157643392776&id=1718261665115719)
NICKY'S FAMILY
RUN BOY RUN
And more than a dozen more!
All Films Available Now on ChaiFlicks.com: https://www.chaiflicks.com/never-forget-films-for-yom-hashoah?sort=newest
If you have any questions please email the LAJFF at info@lajfilmfest.org
More information about the LOS ANGELES JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL also available at: https://lajfilmfest.org/
Description: This Yom Hashoah, join the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, and their partner ChaiFlicks, as we remember and honor the millions of Jewish lives stolen in the Holocaust. They are proud to share their stories with powerful, award-winning films, streaming now on ChaiFlicks. The LAJFF invites you to view the award-winning documentary AS SEEN THROUGH THESE EYES. Narrated by Maya Angelou, this film reveals the story of a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and memories etched in their minds. They took their fate into their own hands to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds. Includes an exclusive interview with Simon Wiesenthal and his never-before-seen artwork.
UNDINE
Screens Friday, June 4, 2021 (In Select Theatres and on Digital and VOD Platforms) including LIVE! at the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/undine )
Get more info at the film's IFC website at: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/undine#&gid=1&pid=1
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El4-2zrNppA&t=22s; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2935179393423934&id=1718261665115719
Description: A reworking of the ancient myth of the mysterious water spirit in the modern world. Set in Berlin, UNDINE works as a historian lecturing on Berlin’s urban development. She knows all about the Humboldt Forum, and has a knack for dressing. She is nonchalantly beautiful, and the way she imparts her knowledge about the city that was built on a swamp is as professional as it is graceful. But Undine’s world collapses when the man she loves leaves her. Soon the ancient myth catches up with her and Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water. UNDINE is the story of a life-or-death love, splendidly and effortlessly told. Esteemed German director Christian Petzold returns for his ninth feature with UNDINE, a modern interpretation of the titular myth. Reuniting his charismatic TRANSIT stars, Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, Petzold paints a heartfelt love story which blossoms through the pair's radiant chemistry. In a fluid blend of fantasy and reality, we watch a creature of legend defy destiny and attempt to re-interpret the bounds of her mythos through a contemporary lens. “Few male directors of Petzold’s stature have committed themselves so deeply to women-centric narratives.” - Variety, Peter Debruge. “An odd new beauty from one of Germany’s best directors.” - The Hollywood Reporter, Boyd van Hoeij. “Simultaneously baffling and completely lucid. A head scratcher and a soul shaker.” - Little White Lies, David Jenkins. Written and directed by Christian Petzold (BARBARA, PHOENIX, TRANSIT); starring Paula Beer (NEVER LOOK AWAY) & Franz Rogowski (TRANSIT)
BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS
Opens Friday, April 16 In Theaters at New York's Film Forum & Los Angeles' Laemmle NoHo 7 (tickets and info here: https://www.laemmle.com/film/bill-traylor-chasing-ghosts )
Also available in virtual theaters across U.S. through Kino Marquee: https://kinomarquee.com/film/venue/604f8e7e9392d90001c8a93a ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2904327499842457&id=1718261665115719
Description: The revealing documentary about the pioneering art sensation who was born into slavery...whose works became an art sensation! This illuminating documentary explores the life of a unique American artist, a man with a remarkable and unlikely biography. Bill Traylor was born into slavery in 1853 on a cotton plantation in rural Alabama. After the Civil War, Traylor continued to farm the land as a sharecropper until the late 1920s. Aging and alone, he moved to Montgomery and worked odd jobs in the thriving segregated black neighborhood. A decade later, in his late 80s, Traylor became homeless and started to draw and paint, both memories from plantation days and scenes of a radically changing urban culture. Having witnessed profound social and political change during a life spanning slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and the Great Migration, Traylor devised his own visual language to translate an oral culture into something original, powerful, and culturally rooted. He made well over a thousand drawings and paintings between 1939-1942. This colorful, strikingly modernist work eventually led him to be recognized as one of America’s greatest self-taught artists and the subject of a Smithsonian retrospective. Using historical and cultural context, Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts brings the spirit and mystery of Traylor’s incomparable art to life. Making dramatic and surprising use of tap dance and evocative period music, the film balances archival photographs and footage, insightful perspectives from his descendents, and Traylor’s striking drawings and paintings to reveal one of America’s most prominent artists to a wide audience.
NINA WU
NOW PLAYING thru 4/15 at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/nina-wu
Get more info, including additional screenings, from the official Web Site: https://www.filmmovement.com/nina-wu/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRrlPMt8rQw ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2900891803519360&id=1718261665115719
Description: After toiling for years in bit-parts, aspiring actress Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu, who also co-wrote the script based on her own personal experiences) finally gets her big break with a leading role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. The part, which calls for nudity and explicit sex scenes, is made all the more challenging thanks to the director’s unending belittlements. While seemingly on the brink of professional triumph, Nina’s psychological resolve begins to crack under the pressure. As she rushes to her childhood home following a family emergency, Nina begins suffering paranoid fantasies that a mysterious woman is stalking and attacking her. As Nina clings to memories of happier times, it seems that there is one crucial memory that she is repressing…Directed by Midi Z, Starring Ke-Xi Wu. Nominee, Un Certain Regard - Best Director, Cannes Film Festival. “A gripping tale, aided by a skillful filmmaker and an incredible performance.”-- Josh Martin, Film Inquiry
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
Available on Digital, Blu-ray™ & DVD May 25, From WELL GO USA ENTERTAINMENT
Check out the ALL-NEW trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKUEsWGrQXs ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2933053566969850&id=1718261665115719
More info can be had at the film’s website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/deliver-us-from-evil
Description: A Non-Stop, Action-Packed Rollercoaster Thrill Ride. DELIVER US FROM EVIL is an action-packed thriller about a government-agent-turned-mercenary forced to re-emerge when he learns a little girl closely connected to him is kidnapped. However, when an infamous gangster learns who has entered the country and is finally within his grasp, he goes on a bloody rampage to thwart the ex-agent’s rescue mission. After the shocking kidnapping of a little girl in Thailand, a mercenary with a murky past as a government black ops agent (Hwang) is forced to re-emerge from the shadows when he learns the incident is closely connected to him. With the help of expat Yui (Park), he flies to Thailand and begins tracking the girl’s whereabouts, moving ever closer to the notorious child trafficking ring responsible for her abduction. However, when an infamous gangster nicknamed The Butcher (Lee) learns just who has entered the country and is finally within his grasp, he goes on a bloody rampage to thwart the ex-agent’s rescue mission as retaliation for a killing that even he will never be able to forget—or forgive. Directed by Hong Won Chan (Office), who infused the film with “impressively spectacular shootouts in the streets and a Bourne-level rooftop chase” (The Guardian), DELIVER US FROM EVIL stars Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing, The Spy Gone North), Lee Jung-jae (Tazza: One-Eyed Jack, Along with the Gods franchise), Park Jeong-min (Svaha: The Sixth Finger), Park Soi (Parasite), and Choi Moon (Anarchist from Colony, Okja). A #1 hit at the Korean box office, DELIVER US FROM EVIL debuts on Digital, Blu-ray™ and DVD. May 25 from Well Go USA Entertainment. Bonus content includes a “Making-of” and “Filming Locations” featurettes. “… a relentless and bloody high-octane thriller which lands on all fronts.” ~ Backseat Mafia
CENTER STAGE
NOW PLAYING thru 4/15 at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/center-stage
Get more info, including additional screenings, from the official Web Site: https://www.filmmo…
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkorodf2T_I&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2899999673608573&id=1718261665115719
Description: International superstar Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) embodies tragic screen siren Ruan Lingyu, known as the "Greta Garbo of China," in this unconventional biopic by Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan (Rouge). Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24. Kwan and Cheung paint a kaleidoscopic yet intimate portrait of the ill-fated actress, deftly blending lush period drama, archival footage, and metatextual documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s legacy. The result is, much like the films of Ruan Lingyu themselves, “tender, vivid and almost overwhelmingly moving” (Time Out). Directed by Stanley Kwan, Starring Maggie Cheung. Winner, Silver Bear, Berlin International Film Festival. Nominee, Golden Bear, Berlin International Film Festival. “AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE IN ITS OWN RIGHT.”-- LEE JUTTON, FILM INQUIRY
THE PAPER TIGERS
Screening in theaters and on demand May 7th from Well Go USA.
Get more info, including availability near you, at the film’s official website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/the-paper-tigers
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh4KU5Ep4ic ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2912201722388368&id=1718261665115719
Description: “Heartwarming, action-packed and side-splittingly funny, an excellent homage to kung fu films of eras past”-- Well Go USA Entertainment. The hysterical underdog dramedy about three childhood kung fu prodigies who have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men on a quest to avenge their master’s death (while juggling divorce, dead-end jobs, and dad duties.) As teenagers, kung fu disciples Danny (Alain Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan) and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) were inseparable. Fast forward 25 years, and each has grown into a washed-up middle-aged man seemingly one kick away from pulling a hamstring—and not at all preoccupied with thoughts of martial arts or childhood best friends. But when their old master is murdered, the trio reunites, soon learning that avenging their sifu will require conquering old grudges (and a dangerous hitman still armed with ample knee cartilage) if they are to honorably defend his legacy. THE PAPER TIGERS blazed a trail through the festival circuit and is currently at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
THE MITCHELLS VS. THE MACHINES
Great Family comedy Coming April 30th on Netflix
Get more info at the film’s official Netflix website: https://www.netflix.com/title/81399614
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ak5dFt8Ar0
Description: A robot apocalypse put the brakes on their cross-country road trip. Now it’s up to the Mitchells — the world’s weirdest family — to save the human race. Young Katie Mitchell embarks on a road trip with her proud parents, younger brother and beloved dog to start her first year at film school. But their plans to bond as a family soon get interrupted when the world's electronic devices come to life to stage an uprising. With help from two friendly robots, the Mitchells must now come together to save one another -- and the planet -- from the new technological revolution. Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and more lend their voices to this action-packed animated comedy.
THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, IT'S A RESURRECTION
Now playing at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema : https://www.laemmle.com/film/not-burial-its-resurrection thru 4/8.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NojWvx3eFVU&feature=emb_logo
Get more info from the film’s web site at: https://www.dekanalog.com/films/this-is-not-a-burial-its-a-resurrection
Description: Winner of the World Cinema Jury Prize and a Nominee for the Grand Jury Prize ~ World Cinema Dramatic At the Sundance Film Festival! The late Mary Twala Mhlongo, recognizable from Beyoncé’s blockbuster musical Black Is King, gives a heartbreaking career-capping performance as Mantoa, an 80-year-old woman who has lived in a small Lesotho village for her entire life. While preparing for her own death, she receives word of an accident that has killed her only son, leaving her entirely alone, with only the respect of her community, the traditions of her ancestors, and the courage of her convictions. When her community must relocate to make way for a nearby dam which would flood her family’s burial ground, Mantoa draws a line in the sand and becomes an unlikely political and spiritual leader. Berlin-based Mosotho filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s devastating and hypnotic This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection is already one of the most esteemed African films ever to hit the international festival circuit, earning the Special Jury Prize for Visionary Filmmaking at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, before taking home Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at Africa’s Academy Awards. “As classical in theme as it is adventurous in presentation.”-- Guy Lodge, Variety. Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese and starring Mary Twala and Jerry Mofokeng. Mark your calendars… Laemmle Theatres are reopening April 9th!
SHIVA BABY
Now playing at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/shiva-baby thru 4/15.
Get more info from the film’s web site at: https://www.shivababyshort.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR3fze9aoqA ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2897719393836601&id=1718261665115719
Description: Smart…sexy….funny…a perfectly funny film! Shi·va (/ˈSHēvə/): noun JUDAISM—A period of seven days' formal mourning for the dead, beginning immediately after the funeral. Sug·ar ba·by (/ˈSHo͝oɡər , ˈbābē/): noun—A young female or male who is financially pampered/cared for by a sugar daddy or sugar mama in exchange for companionship (i.e. sexual favors). Story: College student Danielle must cover her tracks when she unexpectedly runs into her sugar daddy at a shiva — with her parents, ex-girlfriend and family friends also in attendance. “An assured and impressively choreographed debut that gets funnier with every new complication.”-- Katie Rife, AV Club. Written and directed by Emma Seligman, starring Rachel Sennott and Fred Melamed.
Mark your calendars … Laemmle Theatres are reopening April 9th!
HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN
From Well Go USA, Available On Digital April 27
Get more info at the film’s website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/here-are-the-young-men
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpNY9JcmMzI ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2911303015811572&id=1718261665115719
Description: Based on the acclaimed novel by Rob Doyle, HERE ARE THE YOUNG MEN shines a light on the struggles of coming of age, forming an identity, and defining masculinity in the face of trauma.Three high school grads plan to celebrate their newfound freedom with an epic bender, but when a horrible accident sends them spiraling, each must grapple with the most daunting challenge of their lives: facing their own inner demons. Starring Dean-Charles Chapman and Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Finn Cole (The Peaky Blinders), and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen's Gambit, Emma)
DETERMINED: THE STORY OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AVRAHAM PERLMUTTER
The film itself will be available to watch online
STREAMING WINDOW: April 7 (beginning at 4 pm) - April 11, (leading up to the Q&A event)
TICKET TO STREAM THE FILM AVAILABLE HERE:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-premiere-of-determined-in-commemoration-of-yom-hashoah-tickets-148517105661
Q&A Webinar is included in your ticket purchase! Or visit www.LAJFilmFest.org
Once you purchase a ticket, you will be automatically registered on zoom to watch the Q&A webinar.
Watch the film online first and then join the LAJFF for the FREE exclusive live virtual conversation with
the filmmaker and special guests.
Commemoration and Q&A will take place on Sunday, April 11, 2021, 12:30 PM PDT / 3:30 PM EST
Watch the trailer for DETERMINED here: https://vimeo.com/420920726 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A Special Yom Ha'Shoah Commemoration Event From the Los Angeles Jewish Film Fest. Join LAJFF in partnership with American Society for Yad Vashem, Holocaust Museum LA, Valley Beth Shalom and Chabad North of Montana for a special YOM HA’SHOAH EVENT. The award-winning, inspirational documentary, DETERMINED, follows Avraham Perlmutter as he outwits the Nazis and overcomes every obstacle standing in his way. But more than just a remarkable story of survival, his tale is a testament to human kindness, even in the darkest of hours, and to the achievements made possible through relentless perseverance. Q&A with filmmaker and Avraham’s daughter, writer/producer/director Dr. KEREN PERLMUTTER, the film’s composer STEVEN CHESNE, and the descendants of the BEIJERS FAMILY (who hid Avraham for over a year in the Netherlands and who were honored as “Righteous Among the Nations”), moderated by renowned Holocaust scholar, Dr. MICHAEL BERENBAUM. With this commemoration of Yom Ha'Shoah, the LAJFF will honor this local hero, Dr. Avraham Perlmutter, currently 93 years old, who is a long-time Los Angeles resident. PLEASE NOTE: Be sure to check your confirmation for pertinent info about the film and zoom. An email with a link, password and instructions to watch the film will be sent to you before April 7th.
BETTER DAYS
From Well Go USA Entertainment, Available Now on Streaming Services and on Blu-Ray
Get more info and enjoy the trailer at the film’s website: https://www.wellgousa.com/films/better-days
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2893345247607349&id=1718261665115719
Description: From the award-winning team of Soul Mate, comes a new Chinese drama movie by Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang, starring Jackson Yee and Zhou Dongyu. When it is time for the Chinese gaokao, a two-day national college entrance exam, the entire country comes to a standstill. For nearly ten million high school students, this exam not only determines where and if they get to study but the fates of their entire families as well. Like so many others, Nian has been single-mindedly preparing for the exam, cutting everything else out of her life. When she becomes the target of relentless bullying, fate brings her together with small-time criminal Bei and the two form a strong friendship. Before they can completely retreat into a world of their own, the two are dragged in the middle of a murder case of a teenage girl where they are the prime suspects. In this dramatic thriller, Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang paints a bleak picture of an oppressive society, in the guise of a gripping fairy-tale love story, exposing the dark world of bullying and societal pressures of achievement facing today’s youth.
SON OF MONARCHS CONTINUES ITS SUCCESSFUL FESTIVAL RUN!
Following its successful premiere at the 2021 edition of the Sundance Film Festival—where it was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize for the best science or technology-themed film—the Mexican-American co-production Son of Monarchs (Hijo de monarcas) is set to continue its festival run with upcoming stops at the San Francisco Film Festival (SFFILM), Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), and the Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF), during the month of April.
Get screening and other info at: https://sonofmonarchs.com/screenings ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2896108293997711&id=1718261665115719
Description: Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, the Mexican-American Co-Production Starring Tenoch Huerta Offers a Welcome Twist to the Standard Immigration Narrative. Son of Monarchs, the second feature film from French-Venezuelan director and biologist Alexis Gambis boasts an impressive international cast including Tenoch Huerta (Narcos, Güeros), Alexia Rasmussen, Lázaro Gabino Rodríguez, Noé Hernández, Paulina Gaitán, William Mapother, and Angélica Aragón.
The film follows the return of Mendel (Huerta in an outstanding performance), a Mexican biologist living in New York, to his hometown—nestled in the majestic monarch butterfly forests of Michoacán—after his grandmother’s death. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his hybrid identity, sparking a personal and spiritual metamorphosis. Mirroring the annual, instinctual flight of the monarch butterfly across the Americas, the ravishing Son of Monarchs presents a different kind of immigration story that’s at once a welcome departure from standard narratives and a moving innovation of the form. “A daring mosaic which floats like a butterfly...a visually flamboyant film.”—Jonathan Romney, Screen International “A poignant story of transformation.” —Jude Dry, IndieWire
MARTIN SHEEN PRESENTS “THE WORLD IS MY COUNTRY” THE GARRY DAVIS STORY
Distributed by NETA—the National Educational Telecommunications Association, The World Is My Country, begins a coast-to-coast volley of local broadcasts on dozens of U.S. public television and PBS affiliates.
Detailed information about local broadcasts nationwide are available here: https://www.theworldismycountry.com/publictv
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/369956765
Description: The World Is My Country, a new documentary film chronicling the life of the iconic "World Citizen #1" Garry Davis, will premiere on U.S. public television stations and PBS affiliates beginning in April, 2021. The film, introduced by Academy Award®-winning actor Martin Sheen, includes exclusive footage from Davis’ live performances alongside pristine archival footage documenting his journey from Broadway actor to bomber pilot to being dubbed “World Citizen #1” by the media reports of the day. “Back in the Golden Age of Broadway Garry wowed audiences with his rapid-fire Danny Kaye number,” said director Arthur Kanegis, “but then he was drafted into World War II and ordered to bomb Brandenburg. Horrified at the carnage, he leapt off the Broadway stage onto the World stage — taking on border guards, guns and jail – in a jaw-dropping mission to unite the people of our world.” Davis’ bold actions drew the support of Albert Einstein, Simone de Beauvoir, John Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and thousands more to a movement that culminated when the United Nations unanimously passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10,1948. For the next 65 years, Davis continued his effort to inspire “we the people” to take the lead in creating world law to outlaw war, oppression and the destruction of the environment — and build a safe, secure and sustainable future for all. In 2013 The New York Times titled his front-page obituary: “Man Of No Nation sees One World of No War.” “Given the magnitude of today’s global challenges, from climate change and COVID-19 to displaced millions and nuclear war, the urgency of Garry’s ideas has never been greater” said Melanie Bennett, Producer of the film. “What drew me to this film is that Garry actually gives us a solution!” Albert Einstein was quoted as saying that Davis grasps the key to “whether mankind will disappear by its own hand or continue to exist.”
TELL MY STORY
On DVD (https://store.cinemalibrestore.com/tell-my-story-dvd.html ) and Streaming Sources (https://cinemalibrestudio.com/tell-my-story/how-to-watch.html ), including Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tellmystory/516428655 ) starting March 23, 2021.
Get more info (including Resources and Prevention) from the film’s website at: https://cinemalibrestudio.com/tell-my-story/index.html ; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TellMyStoryFilm/?ref=page_internal
The trailer for TELL MY STORY can be seen at: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/tellmystory/516428655
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2887108688231005&id=1718261665115719
Description: A grieving father (Jason Reid) seeks answers after his 14-year-old son Ryan dies by suicide. He uncovers painful truths about the lives of teens, the impact of unfettered access to internet and social media, and the shocking rise of depression among America’s youth. The journey brings him together with young suicide survivors, prevention experts, and parents trying to understand the 70% increase in adolescent suicide. Closer to home, with his family fractured, he examines his son’s technology use to discover what no parent wants to find. Seeking to find the warning signs that were missed, he instead finds ways to reverse the isolation and disconnectedness that is killing our youth. Directed by Emmy®-nominated David Freid, Featuring: Dr. Mark Goulston, PhD (UCLA) with prevention experts from: Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services in Los Angeles, SafeTalk, Project 99 and Faces Of Fortitude. If your child or someone you know is experiencing depression or increased withdrawal, info is available here: https://cinemalibrestudio.com/tell-my-story/recognizing-depression-in-teens-youth.html and https://cinemalibrestudio.com/tell-my-story/resources.html
EAGERLY AWAITED AND ALMOST HERE!
OSCAR® NOMINATED SHORT FILMS THEATRICAL RELEASES
ShortsTV, the first and only global channel and network dedicated to short films, announced today the 16th annual Oscar® Nominated Short Films theatrical releases. Spanning the categories of Live Action, Animation and Documentary, the short films, listed below, will be available globally in theatrical and virtual cinemas starting April 2, 2021.
To learn more about the participating theaters (in-person and virtually) and how to purchase tickets, please visit https://tickets.oscar-shorts.com/ . This is the only opportunity for audiences to watch the short film nominees in theaters before the Academy Awards® ceremony on Sunday, April 25, 2021.
The program will also be available on VOD via iTunes, Amazon, Verizon, Google Play beginning April 20.
Coinciding with the theatrical and virtual releases, ShortsTV also launched “The ShortsTV Podcast - Award Season” and is releasing episodes weekly leading up to the awards ceremony. Guests include Academy members, industry insiders, this year’s nominees, previous winners and more. The podcast is currently available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud.
Nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards® were announced on March 15, 2021. For more information, please visit http://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/ .
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Reviews for all of this year’s Oscar Nominated Shorts:
Animated Shorts are discussed in Part 1’s review: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2891695747772299&id=1718261665115719
Live-Action Shorts are discussed in Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2891685087773365&id=1718261665115719
Part 3 (Documentary Shorts) can be enjoyed here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2891666364441904&id=1718261665115719
ANIMATED SHORT FILM NOMINEES
BURROW--A young rabbit embarks on a journey to dig the burrow of her dreams, despite not having a clue what she's doing. Rather than reveal to her neighbors her imperfections, she digs herself deeper and deeper into trouble.
GENIUS LOCI--One night, Reine, a young loner, sees among the urban chaos a moving oneness that seems alive, like some sort of guide.
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU--In the aftermath of tragedy, two grieving parents journey through an emotional void as they mourn the loss of a child.
OPERA--“Opera” is a massive 8K size animation installation project which portrays our society and history, which is filled with beauty and absurdity. Erick enables viewers to experience the range of in-depth emotions through this epic reflection of human life.
YES-PEOPLE--One morning, an eclectic mix of people face the everyday battle - such as work, school and dish-washing. As the day progresses, their relationships are tested and ultimately their capacity to cope.
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM NOMINEES
FEELING THROUGH--A late-night encounter on a New York City street leads to a profound connection between a teen in need and a DeafBlind man.
THE LETTER ROOM--“The Letter Room” is a dark prison comedy about the secret life of a correctional officer who gets transferred to a job in the letter room, where a new world suddenly opens to him ways to find solace and spirituality afterwards.
THE PRESENT--On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his young daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping?
TWO DISTANT STRANGERS--In "Two Distant Strangers,” cartoonist Carter James' repeated attempts to get home to his dog are thwarted by a recurring deadly encounter that forces him to relive the same awful day over and over again. Starring Joey Bada$$, Andrew Howard and Zaria Simone.
WHITE EYE--A man finds his stolen bicycle, which now belongs to a stranger. While attempting to retrieve it, he struggles to remain human.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM NOMINEES
COLETTE-- On the anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg trials, 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine confronts her past by visiting the Nazi concentration camp in Germany where her brother was killed. As a young girl, she had been a member of the French resistance and had always refused to set foot in Germany. That changes when a young history student named Lucie enters her life. Prepared to reopen old wounds and revisit the terrors of that time, Marin-Catherine offers important lessons
A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION--A virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer tracks his family's lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
DO NOT SPLIT--The story of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, told through a series of demonstrations by local protestors that escalate into conflict when highly armed police appear on the scene.
HUNGER WARD--Filmed from inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, HUNGER WARD documents two women health care workers fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the backdrop of a forgotten war. The film provides an unflinching portrait of Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they try to save the lives of hunger-stricken children within a population on the brink of famine.
A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA--The injustice surrounding the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at a South Central Los Angeles store became a flashpoint for the city’s 1992 civil uprising. As the Black community expressed its profound pain in the streets, Latasha’s friends and family privately mourned the loss of a vibrant child whose full story was never in the headlines. Nearly three decades later, director Sophia Nahli Allison removes Latasha from the context of her death to craft a dreamlike portrait of a promising life lost, demonstrating the impact one brief but brilliant life can have.
MY TRUE FAIRYTALE
In Theaters & On Demand April 9th
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFzRrdhoyn0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2894304540844753&id=1718261665115719
Description: Inspired by True Events. Driven by his own deeply personal story of losing his young daughter to a car accident, writer/director D.Mitry’s debut feature is a charming and uplifting tragedy that reminds us that we all have the power to be our own superheroes if we embrace the power of love. Mysterious - yet hopeful - MY TRUE FAIRYTALE follows Angie Goodwin, a 17-year-old who vanishes after a horrific accident in the close-knit town of Gardenland, FL. As the police, her family, and friends search for her, she embarks on her own mysterious journey to “save the world” and fulfill her childhood fantasy of becoming a superhero. Angie discovers that she has incredible abilities and looks for ways to help everyone, as those around her deal with her disappearance. MY TRUE FAIRYTALE stars Emma Kennedy, Bruce Davison, Joanna Cassidy, Darri Ingolfsson, BJ Mitchell, Morgan Lindholm, Mark Daugherty, Juliana Destefano, Arnold Chun, Taylor Cole and Corin Nemec
ROSE PLAYS JULIE
This Irish drama premieres via Virtual Cinema, including the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/rose-plays-julie , as well as VOD, & Digital on March, 19, 2021
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9tb_VejOt0 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2882093538732520&id=1718261665115719
Description: "one of the best films …on the film festival circuit last year"—The Film Stage A dark, resonant thriller, written and directed by Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor. Rose (Ann Skelly) is at university studying veterinary science. An only child, she has enjoyed a loving relationship with her adoptive parents. However, for as long as Rose can remember she has wanted to know who her biological parents are and the facts of her true identity. After years trying to trace her birth mother, Rose now has a name and a number. All she has to do is pick up the phone and call. When she does it quickly becomes clear that her birth mother has no wish to have any contact. Rose is shattered. A renewed and deepened sense of rejection compels her to keep going. Rose travels from Dublin to London in an effort to confront her birth mother, Ellen (Orla Brady). Ellen is deeply disturbed when Rose turns up unannounced. The very existence of this young woman threatens the stability of the new life Ellen has painstakingly put together. But Rose proves very tenacious and Ellen is forced to reveal a secret she has kept hidden for over 20 years. This shocking revelation forces Rose to accept the violent nature of how she came into existence. Rose believes she has little to lose but much to gain when she sets out to confront her biological father, Peter (Aidan Gillen). What Rose cannot possibly foresee is that she is on a collision course that will prove both violent and unsettling – dark forces gather and threaten to destroy her already fragile sense of her own identity. Nominated for “Best Film” at the London Film Festival, ROSE PLAYS JULIE has garnered accolades at festivals the world over.
SPRING/SUMMER 2021 THEATRICAL RELEASES FROM KINO LORBER!!!
Please note that all releases are playing in virtual cinemas through Kino Marquee, with select titles playing in physical theaters (as they open)
NOW PLAYING with Kino Marquee! https://kinomarquee.com/
TEST PATTERN
Part psychological horror, part realist drama, this exhilarating debut feature from Shatara Michelle Ford is set against the backdrop of national discussions around inequitable health care and policing, the #metoo movement, and race in America. Test Pattern follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her white boyfriend drives her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit. Their story reveals the systemic injustices and social conditioning women face when navigating sex and consent within the American patriarchy. Starting 3/12 at IFC Center. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2859676260974248&id=1718261665115719
F.T.A.
“The Show the Pentagon Couldn’t Stop!” In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland toured an anti-war comedy show across Southeast Asia. It was directly engaged with and inspired by veterans against the war and, naturally, it upset U.S. military higher-ups. The F.T.A. tour was highly controversial and was a huge success among stationed soldiers. In spite of positive reviews, the film was quickly taken out of circulation due to political pressures and has been difficult to see for decades. F.T.A. has now been fully restored in 4K by IndieCollect and is preceded by a new video introduction by Academy Award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda, which provides historical context and explains the impetus that sparked the creation of the F.T.A. troupe. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2873845532890654&id=1718261665115719
Starting March 19
WOJNAROWICZ
Featuring intimate recollections from Fran Lebowitz, Gracie Mansion, Peter Hujar & more. “A stirring requiem of rage and resistance.” -- David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter . Wojnarowicz is a fiery and urgent documentary portrait of downtown New York City artist, writer, photographer, and activist David Wojnarowicz. As New York City became the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Wojnarowicz weaponized his work and waged war against the establishment’s indifference to the plague until his death from it in 1992 at the age of 37. Exclusive access to his breathtaking body of work – including paintings, journals, and films – reveals how Wojnarowicz emptied his life into his art and activism. Rediscovered answering machine tape recordings and intimate recollections from Fran Lebowitz, Gracie Mansion, Peter Hujar, and other friends and family help present a stirring portrait of this fiercely political, unapologetically queer artist. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2880779105530630&id=1718261665115719
APRIL 9
SLALOM
“Snaps across your face like a blast of cold mountain air...Shot with the kineticism of bodies in motion and the sensitivity of an early Céline Sciamma film.”-- David Ehrlich, Indiewire. This riveting, Cannes-selected #MeToo drama from debut filmmaker Charlène Favier follows the relationship between a teenage ski prodigy and her predatory instructor, played by frequent Dardenne brothers collaborator Jérémie Renier. In a breakthrough role, Noée Abita plays 15-year-old Lyz, a high school student in the French Alps who has been accepted to an elite ski club known for producing some of the country’s top professional athletes. Taking a chance on his new recruit, ex-champion turned coach Fred decides to mold Lyz into his shining star despite her lack of experience. Under his influence, she will have to endure more than the physical and emotional pressure of the training. Will Lyz’s determination help her escape Fred’s exploitative grip? Enjoy the KPFK Film Club’s review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2895094687432405&id=1718261665115719
April 16
BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS
“...in Traylor, we can see the power of individual voice...the work is transcendent and essential.” -- Jerry Saltz, New York Magazine. Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts is an inventive feature documentary capturing the vivid life of Bill Traylor, who in his late 80s, living homeless on the street in the thriving segregated black neighborhood of Montgomery, produced a body of extraordinary art. Born into an enslaved family in 1853 on a cotton plantation in rural Alabama, he witnessed profound social and political change during his life spanning Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and the Great Migration. In his later years, he poured out those memories from within, drawing and painting over 1,000 pieces of art from 1939 to 1942. Using historic and cultural context, the film brings the spirit and mystery of Traylor’s incomparable art to life and shines a spotlight to a remarkable creative gift that was long ignored and marginalized. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2904327499842457&id=1718261665115719
MID-MAY
THERE IS NO EVIL
“The movie provokes the wonder and terror of what it means to live in a world where every resolution brings new questions, and the prospects that a happy ending might carry the greatest risk of all.” -- Eric Kohn, Indiewire. WINNER! Golden Bear, 2020 Berlin Film Festival. Working in defiance of a lifelong ban on filmmaking, dissident director Mohammad Rasoulof delivers a piercing drama about a subject he knows well: the costs of living under a repressive, brutal government. Winner of the Golden Bear, the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, There Is No Evil is a film in four chapters, each telling a different story related to the death penalty in contemporary Iran. The first story concerns a family man who, as we come to see, pays a grave moral price for his comfortable middle-class life. The second and third chapters focus on conscripted soldiers – in Iran, it is often these men who are forced to perform executions – and both segments explore the tension and turmoil that can come with such harsh coercion. The final section involves a family secret, which brings the film to its powerful conclusion. Suspenseful, mysterious, and shot through with a sense of urgency, Rasoulof's work bears the mark of an artist who sets his own terms – and who knows just how to captivate an audience. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2916610738614133&id=1718261665115719
COMING SOON! DATES TBD
NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN
Please note this film will release Summer 2021. "Profoundly cinematic… exerts its own hypnotic power.” – Deadline, Official Selection – Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Poland's submission for The Academy Awards. On a gray, foggy morning outside a large Polish city, Zhenia (Alec Utgoff, better known in the US for his role in STRANGER THINGS), a masseur from the East, enters the lives of the wealthy residents of a gated community. Using hypnotic, almost magical techniques to get a residence permit, he starts working. The well-to-do residents in their cookie-cutter homes seemingly have it all, but they all suffer from an inner sadness, some unexplained longing. The attractive and mysterious newcomer's hands heal, and Zhenia’s eyes seem to penetrate their souls. The latest from writer/director Malgozka Szumowska (ELLES, IN THE NAME OF) and her longtime collaborator Michal Englert is an unclassifiable meditation on class, immigration, and global warming with touches of magical realism and moments of sober beauty and subtle humor. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2977563755852164&id=1718261665115719
WIFE OF A SPY
Shot in 8K Super Hi-Vision. “An absorbing, exotic, well-paced thriller with moments of disconcerting
realism and horror.” - The Hollywood Reporter. Winner! Venice International Film Festival - Silver Lion Best Director. Wife of a Spy is a Hitchcokian thriller set in Kobe, Japan in 1940 before the outbreak of World War II. It tells the story of a Japanese actress whose wealthy merchant husband witnesses government-approved human experiments while on a business trip to Manchuria. A mysterious woman who returns with him from the trip is murdered and life-changing consequences await them as the couple plot to smuggle evidence of the atrocities out of Japan to the United States. Meanwhile, the wife’s childhood friend, now a military policeman, is hot on their heels. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3016380048637201&id=1718261665115719
NEW FRENCH SHORTS 2021-- Back again for a 2nd edition! Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2935128193429054&id=1718261665115719
QUO VADIS, AIDA
Screening now at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema thru 3/18 at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/quo-vadis-aida
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kn4TOJwR2w ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2877331355875405&id=1718261665115719
Description: SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM CATEGORY FOR THE 93RD ACADEMY AWARDS, FROM BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is on the horizon for her family and people - rescue or death? Which move should she take? “Powerful and personal”—Mark Kermode, Observer. Winner, Best Film 2020—Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Les Arcs European Film Festival; Best Film Nominee at the Venice Film Festival, Seville European Film Festival, Film Independent Spirit Awards
AMUNDSEN: THE GREATEST EXPEDITION
Now screening at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema, thru Mar 18th, at https://www.laemmle.com/film/amundsen-greatest-expedition
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or2KUXK3wCE&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2879018755706665&id=1718261665115719
Description: SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS PRESENTS THE HISTORICAL ADVENTURE, AMUNDSEN: THE GREATEST EXPEDITION! Roald Amundsen’s dream of reaching the North Pole haunts him throughout his life. He is obsessed with the idea of discovering the last uncharted lands of the world. While he wins the race against Robert Scott to become the first man ever to conquer the South Pole, Amundsen will sacrifice everything to be the first to explore the icy wastelands of the North Pole. Directed by Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) and starring Pål Sverre Hagen, Christian Rubeck and Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), AMUNDSEN: THE GREATEST EXPEDITION is based on true events of the life of renowned explorer.
MY WONDERFUL WANDA
Written and Directed by Bettina Oberli, Winner of awards at the Tribeca and Vancouver Film Festivals
Opens in theaters and virtual cinemas at BAM in New York, at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles, and in many cities across the US on April 23, 2021.
More info can be had at the film’s website: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/mywonderfulwanda
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=vYeyTZRvMYc&feature=emb_logo
Description: Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber is proud to present the US theatrical release of… MY WONDERFUL WANDA, a delightful satire of the “haves" and the "have-nots" set against the backdrop of a gorgeous lakeside villa in Switzerland. At the story’s center is Wanda (Agnieszka Grochowska) a Polish caretaker who has left her own small children with her parents in Poland to look after Josef (André Jung) the stroke-ridden patriarch of the wealthy Wegmeister-Gloor dynasty. Wanda is adept in navigating the tricky family dynamics between the two grown (if still childish) offspring and the elegant if controlling matriarch Elsa (Marthe Keller). When Wanda becomes pregnant the destinies of her Polish family and Joseph’s family intertwine, and this unexpected event turns everything upside down. One of Switzerland’s leading directors, Bettina Oberli’s award-winning debut North Wind premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. Her second feature, Late Bloomers, was a box office success in Switzerland. Her next film, With The Wind, won the Variety Piazza Grande Award at the Locarno Film Festival. My Wonderful Wanda had its World Premiere at the Zurich Film Festival, marking the first time that a female-directed film opened the festival.
CINE NEPANTLA, Featuring the Mexican Horror Documentary FERAL
The streaming will be available on the https://lacla.uscreen.io/ starting Friday March 26 thru the 28th with a post -streaming discussion in English & Spanish with Director Andres Kaiser & Guido Segal, screenwriter and film critic.
Watch trailer here: https://youtu.be/L9jRHTiyfHk ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2886357768306097&id=1718261665115719
Description: Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles presents the second annual celebration of liminal spaces and states of being in film. Directed by the emerging Mexican filmmaker Andrés Kaiser, Feral takes place in the majestic landscape of the Oaxacan mountains, Mexico, where videotape diaries and interviews reveal a horrific tragedy that took place in the late 1980’s involving a psychoanalyst priest and his children patients. Somewhere in the Oaxacan mountains are the burnt-out remains of a shelter that housed a psychoanalyst priest who was obsessed with rehabilitating savage children to place them back into society. Through videotape diaries, viewers are treated to a portrait of a man whose singular pursuit of this goal saw him excommunicated from the church he holds dear, separated from society, and plagued by a self-doubt which chipped away at his humanity. However, a more sinister picture begins to emerge as interviews with individuals from the nearby village and his close family appears. Kaiser’s found-footage documentary weaves a spellbinding tale by featuring deep character explorations that threatens to spill into malevolence at any moment. Examining questions of blind faith, trust, and doubt, Kaiser explores the individual in relation to the church through a critical lens that highlights the hypocrisies prevalent within religion and builds on the idea of the “other,” an ostracized figure both feared and reviled. The videotape diaries reveal conflicting elements: the nobility of the disgraced priest’s mission at odds with the unnatural goings-on that appear at the edges, leaving the audience unsettled. Kaiser keeps the truth hidden as long as possible, hinting at the horrors that lay buried deep within the film. A small cast of remarkable actors helps keep the atmosphere tense and frightening in the build-up to a haunting and unforgettable climax. Feral is a compelling debut that marks Kaiser as a talent to watch.Nepantla is a Nahuatl word which describes the state of living in-between different cultures. It can also refer to living in the borderlands or being at a literal or metaphorical crossroads. In line with this concept, Cine Nepantla aims to create a space in which meaningful dialogue among audiences of different socio-economic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, ages, abilities, genders, sexualities, nationalities, and religions can take place and effect change.
WOJNAROWICZ
Screenings starting 3/19 at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema (https://www.laemmle.com/film/wojnarowicz-fk-you-fggot-fcker ) and nationwide through Kino Marquee Virtual Cinemas at https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/4680
RSVP for a March 30 Live Virtual Q&A with Chris McKim & Editor Dave Stanke, moderated by artist/activist Leo Herrara: https://filmforum.org/events/event/wojnarowicz-virtual-qa ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2880779105530630&id=1718261665115719
Description: KIno Lorber presents a Portrait of the fiery and fearless downtown NYC queer artist and activist told through a symphony of exclusive audio/visual journals and tapes...Wojnarowicz is an autobiographical portrait of the downtown New York City artist, writer, photographer and activist. As New York City became the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the artist weaponized his work and waged war against the establishment’s indifference to the plague until his death in 1992 at the age of 37. The film offers exclusive access to his breathtaking body of work including paintings, journals and films revealing how Wojnarowicz emptied his life into his art and activism. Rediscovered answering machine tape recordings and intimate recollections from Fran Lebowitz, Gracie Mansion, Peter Hujar and other friends and family help present a stirring portrait of an artist whose works and fiery words still deeply resonate in turbulent times. Directed by Chris McKim, Produced by McKim, WOW Doc & World of Wonder's award-winning team Randy Barbato & Fenton Bailey (RuPaul's Drag Race). Featuring intimate recollections from Fran Lebowitz, Gracie Mansion, Peter Hujar & more. Original soundtrack will be released simultaneously on World Of Wonder Records & will feature original tracks from iconic East Village band 3 Teens Kill 4 and interstitial audio from David Wojnarowicz.
THE FEVER (A Febre)
A Hypnotic Reflection on Contemporary Indigeneity and Urbanization in the Brazilian Amazon
Coming to U.S. Virtual Cinemas on March 19 at Film at Lincoln Center in New York City, and Select Cities Nationwide, including the Laemmle Theaters' Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/fever and the Frida Cinema at: https://thefridacinema.org/the-fever/
Enjoy the trailer and get more info at the film’s website: https://www.kimstim.com/film/the-fever/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2881390132136194&id=1718261665115719
Description: KIMSTIM ANNOUNCES THE U.S. VIRTUAL THEATRICAL RELEASE of the Stunning Debut Feature and Three-Time Locarno Winner by Director Maya Da-Rin.Winner of the Best Director Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, the Best Actor, International Critics, and Special Jury Awards at the Locarno International Film Festival, and an official selection at New Directors/New Films, Mar del Plata, TIFF, Rotterdam, Pingyao, and Thessaloniki, among others, The Fever is a mesmerizing portrait of the subtle yet profound details of the confrontation between indigenous ways of life and the pressures of Western urbanization set in Manaus, an industrial city surrounded by the Amazon rainforest. The film follows Justino, a 45-year-old member of the indigenous Desana people, who works as a security guard at the Manaus cargo port. Since the death of his wife, his main company is his youngest daughter who he lives with on the outskirts of town. A nurse at a local health clinic, Vanessa is accepted to study medicine in Brasília, and plans to leave shortly.As the days go by, Justino is overcome by a strong fever. During the day, he fights to stay awake at work. During the night, a mysterious creature follows his footsteps. Meanwhile, a visit from his brother makes him remember the life he left deep in the jungle twenty years prior. Between the oppression of the city and the distance of his native village, Justino is no longer able to endure an existence without a sense of belonging. An empathetic interrogation of the relationship between indigenous cultures and Western civilization which has marked Brazilian history since the colonial period, Maya Da-Rin’s The Fever is a powerful indictment of the nature of progress at a moment when more and more indigenous communities face territorial and pathogenic devastation as brought on by mass deforestation and the COVID-19 health crisis. “The Fever is essential cinema.” —Beatrice Loayza, Cinema Scope. “This is an entrancing film. A quiet epic. A story of resilience.” —Leonardo Goi, The Film Stage
TWILIGHT’S KISS (SUK SUK)
Screening NOW at the Frida Virtual Cinema at https://thefridacinema.org/twilights-kiss-suk-suk/ (ends 3/11.)
More info can be had at the film’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TwilightsKissMovie/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIIyBKeeNKQ&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: AN AWARD-WINNING AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED HONG KONG DRAMA! TWILIGHT’S KISS (SUK SUK) presents the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years. One day PAK, 70, a taxi driver who refuses to retire, meets HOI, 65, a retired single father, in a park. Despite years of societal and personal pressure, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet in that brief initial encounter, something is unleashed in them which had been suppressed for so many years. As both men recount and recall their personal histories, they also contemplate a possible future together. “The Hong Kong locale of “Twilight’s Kiss” makes writer-director Ray Yeung’s gently observant, deliberately-paced drama about two aging gay men feel uniquely profound.”-- Gary Goldstein, LA Times
MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY
A documentary by Selina Miles celebrating the inspiring photographer Martha Cooper.
Opens March 12th in select Theaters, Virtual Cinemas & Drive-Ins.
Screening at the Frida Virtual Cinema at: https://thefridacinema.org/martha-a-picture-story/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOMUHQEYsBQ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Utopia and Circle Collective are pleased to present the Tribeca Film Festival acclaimed Film. In 1970s New York, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first images of graffiti at a time when the city had declared war it. Decades later, Cooper has become influential to the global movement of street artists. “A joyous look at a career devoted to witnessing everyday life.”—Hollywood Reporter. “Thoroughly engaging ... In so many ways she has been ahead of her time.”—Sydney Morning Herald. "Directed with infectious zeal, it's a photographer bio-doc that always feels to be in motion, especially given its excellent editing, fascinating subject, and narrative ambition." — RogerEbert.com. "A visual document of visual documents - an interesting testament to the massive archive a photographer accrued in a lifetime of restless creative energy and observation." FILMLINK. "If you are interested in art history, or the history of New York, or photography, or graffiti, then you should check out Martha: A Picture Story. You don't need to be into any of those things to appreciate the struggle that Martha goes through." —Film Threat
"Martha: A Picture Story presents a multifaceted view of a woman who moves at the edges of society to find the beauty of humanity, in their art and in their daily lives." —Citizen Dame
HOPE
Opens in New York and Los Angeles April 16, including the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/hope-0
More info can be had at the film’s website: https://www.kimstim.com/film/hope/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/486611862 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2904968946444979&id=1718261665115719
Description: Norway’s Official Selection for 2021 Academy Awards—Shortlisted Entry for Best International Feature Film. KimStim is proud to present the US virtual theatrical release of HOPE, the award-winning film written and directed by Maria Sødahl, starring Stellan Skarsgård and Andrea Bræin Hovig. Norway’s Official Selection and Shortlisted Entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, HOPE will have its virtual theatrical release at Film Forum in New York City, at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles, and in other cities, on April 16, 2021. Official selection at Toronto, Palm Springs and Berlin film festivals, and winner of multiple awards and the nominee for two European Film Awards, HOPE is based on the true events and experiences of director Maria Sødahl (Limbo, 2010) whose terminal cancer diagnosis led to a nine-year hiatus from filmmaking. Anja (multiple award-winner for this role, Andrea Bræin Hovig) and Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl) have a large family of biological children and stepchildren. Over a number of years the two partners have grown apart and independent of each other, with busy creative careers in parallel worlds. When Anja gets terminal cancer diagnosis their life breaks down and exposes the neglected love. Alone with her grief and her fears, Anja realizes that she needs Tomas’ full help and support, and the two embark on a challenging journey in which they discover themselves and each other anew. In January 2021 it was announced that Nicole Kidman has bought the rights to HOPE and will star in the series adaptation, to be co-produced by her production company, Blossom Films, and Amazon Studios.
F.T.A. (1972)
Opens in virtual cinemas through Kino Marquee starting Friday, March 5, including the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/fta
Directed by Francine Parker. More info can be held at the film's website at Kino Lorber: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/fta
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWAbhonmCOg ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2873845532890654&id=1718261665115719
Description: The long-censored documentary with Academy Award-winning actor & activist Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland in their 1970s satirical revue, “Free The Army." In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, Academy Award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland and fellow performers mounted the F.T.A musical comedy tour across Southeast Asia as a response to Bob Hope's USO tour. They redubbed the original Army recruitment slogan “Fun, Travel, Adventure” to “Free The Army or F*** The Army”. After the Army tried to limit the troops' access to performances, it became known as “The Show the Pentagon Couldn’t Stop!” Fonda and Sutherland’s co-stars included writer/actor Michael Alaimo, singers and activists Holly Near, Rita Martinson, Len Chandler, and comedian Paul Mooney. Despite being highly controversial, the show was a huge success amongst enlisted men and women, many of of whom appear in the film expressing their disillusionment with war, imperialism and racism. F.T.A. has now been fully restored in 4K by IndieCollect and is preceded by a new video introduction by Jane Fonda, which provides historical context and explains the impetus that sparked the creation of the F.T.A. troupe. RESTORED in 4K by IndieCollect w/ support of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Trust & with a NEW introduction by Jane Fonda. Directed by Francine Parker. “Fonda brings down the house.” – Variety. ‘Roaring response...standing room only.” -- Rolling Stone. “F.T.A. has enormous contemporary resonance.” -- AV Club. "...a document of disarming anti-authoritarian nerve.. infectious and energizing" -- IFC.com
MOFFIE
Opens Friday, April 9, 2021 (In Select Theatres and on Digital and VOD Platforms)
More info available here: https://www.facebook.com/MoffieFilm/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: To be a moffie is to be weak, effeminate, illegal. The year is 1981 and South Africa’s white minority government is embroiled in a conflict on the southern Angolan border. Like all white boys over the age of 16, Nicholas Van der Swart must complete two years of compulsory military service to defend the Apartheid regime. The threat of communism and “die swart gevaar” (the so-called black danger) is at an all-time high. But that’s not the only danger Nicholas faces. He must survive the brutality of the army – something that becomes even more difficult when a connection is sparked between him and a fellow recruit. The fourth feature from South African director Oliver Hermanus, MOFFIE explores the life of a closeted young boy serving his mandatory military service during Apartheid in 1980s South Africa. An adaptation of André-Carl van der Merwe’s iconic memoir, the film serves as a brilliant period piece exposing the psychological violence of institutionalized homophobia. Achingly raw depictions of the brutality of military training recall scenes from Kubrick’s FULL METAL JACKET while the timid tenderness, beautifully acted by Brummer and Villiers, provide a soft juxtaposition. Following the film’s premiere at Venice Film Festival where it was a nominee for the Queer Lion, MOFFIE has gone on to receive critical acclaim for its brilliant directing, cinematography and acting alike. IFC Films will release MOFFIE on Friday, April 9, 2021 in select theatres and on digital and VOD platforms. “A masterpiece...establishing [Hermanus] quite plainly as South Africa’s most vital contemporary filmmaker” - Variety, Guy Lodge. “An extraordinary young ensemble cast...Kai Luke Brummer makes a magnetic centre” - Screen International, Jonathan Romney. “Moments of aching tenderness and desire” - The Hollywood Reporter. An IFC Films Release Written and directed by Oliver Hermanus
ACCIDENTAL LUXURIANCE OF THE TRANSLUCENT WATERY REBUS
Screening now thru the Laemmle Virtual Cinema thru Feb 25th at https://www.laemmle.com/film/accidental-luxuriance-translucent-watery-rebus
More info can be had thru the film’s web site at: https://www.facebook.com/accidentalluxuriance/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=BajTKDCsfPc&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2864601827148358&id=1718261665115719
Description: Martin tried to fight the system, and now he's on the run. Sara is a conceptual artist. Together they join a revolutionary commune in the countryside, with the police on their trail. Inspector Ambroz knows the right questions are more important than the answers. Because maybe none of this is true.Written and directed by Dalibor Barić, the ACCIDENTAL LUXURIANCE OF THE TRANSLUCENT WATERY REBUS stars Rakan Rushaidat, Ana Vilenica, Frano Mašković, Nikša Marinović, Mario Kovač, Željka Veverec, Boris Bakal, and Pavlica Brazzoduro Bajsić. “A multifaceted and abstract collage, with infinite interpretations.”-- Felipe Rodríguez Torres, Caimán Cuadernos de Cine. “An inscrutable contraption…chaotically arranged, like a feverish dance between mind-altering nightmares and pieces of reality” – LA Times
LAPSIS
Screening now at the Laemmle Virtual Cinema thru Feb 25th at https://www.laemmle.com/film/lapsis
More info can be had at the film’s website: https://www.lapsisfilm.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Rzwym2wHQ&feature=emb_logo
Description: New York, an alternate present: the quantum computing revolution has begun and investors are lining their pockets in the quantum trading market. Building the network, though, requires miles of infrastructure to be laid between huge magnetic cubes by "cablers" - unprotected gig workers who compete against robots to pull wires over rough terrain. Queens delivery man Ray Tincelli is skeptical of new technology, and the buy-in to start cabling is steep, but he struggles to support himself and his ailing younger brother, who suffers from a mysterious illness. So when Ray scores a shady permit, he believes their fortunes may have finally changed. What he doesn't expect is to be pulled into a conspiracy involving hostile cablers, corporate greed, and the mysterious "Lapsis" who may have previously owned his permit. Called "a smart class-conscious sci-fi parable" by The Hollywood Reporter, LAPSIS is a darkly comic and timely look at the gig economy and the failed utopian promises of big tech. A smart, class-conscious sci-fi parable.-- John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2863201850621689&id=1718261665115719
THOU SHALT NOT HATE
Watch the film online first (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/qa-with-cast-and-director-foll… ) and then join the LAJFF for An Exclusive Live Virtual Conversation on 2/21 with Director/Screenwriter Mauro Mancini and acclaimed lead actor Alessandro Gassmann.
THE STREAMING WINDOW TO WATCH THE FILM WILL TAKE PLACE BEGINNING FEBRUARY 18 AND RUN THROUGH FEBRUARY 21. Watch THOU SHALT NOT HATE on your own leading up to the 2/21/21 Q&A event!
Q&A will take place on Sunday, February 21, 2021 11:00 am PST / 2:30 pm EST.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8QD5ydVPSA&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2862319687376572&id=1718261665115719
Description: Simone Segre (Alessandro Gassmann), a well-known, respected Jewish surgeon, son of a Holocaust survivor, lives in a diverse ethnic city in the north-east of Italy. He has a quiet life, an elegant apartment and little connection with his past. One day while canoeing, he finds himself rushing to assist a man, a victim of a hit and run traffic accident alone. But when he discovers Nazi tattoos on the victim's arm and chest, Simone makes a choice in a split second decision that impacts his destiny. Shrouded with ambivalence, he discreetly seeks out the man’s family and begins to follow them: Marica, the eldest daughter who he hires as his house cleaner; Marcello, the hostile teenage son and neo-Nazi like his father, plagued with racial hatred; and little Paolo, just a young boy. The night will come when Marica knocks at Simone’s door and unknowingly forces him to face the consequences of his actions.
MY DARLING SUPERMARKET (MEU QUERIDO SUPERMERCADO)
The auspicious debut feature by Tali Yankelevich, a witty and humorous portrait of a Brazilian supermarket, opens on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at Film Forum in New York City, followed by other cities nationwide.
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/cinema-tropical-to-release-the-brazilian-documentary-my-darling-supermarket
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtwqDY2KPdc ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2866627750279099&id=1718261665115719
Description: Cinema Tropical is proud to announce the U.S. virtual theatrical release of the Brazilian documentary film. A production by Brazil’s Casa Redonda, in co-production with Denmark’s Good Company Pictures and Brazil’s Mão Direita, My Darling Supermarket had its world premiere in the IDFA Competition for First Appearance and has successfully played in numerous film festivals including MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight, Visions du Réel, Edinburgh, Thessaloniki, Guadalajara, and DOXA, among others. “Grocery store employees, today’s essential workers, get star treatment in My Darling Supermarket (made prior to the pandemic). Set within a bright, colorful supermercado in São Paulo, Brazil, this charming, funny documentary glides through a seemingly endless array of vibrantly designed shelves and displays, but it’s the store’s employees who take center stage. “Rodrigo (in bread) discusses quantum physics and parallel universes; Santo (a forklift operator) builds video game cities; a security officer tracks possible shoplifters on closed circuit TVs (“Two suspects near the condensed milk!”); Ivan (a baker) likes to dress as Goku, a Manga character; and then there’s the artist who lovingly paints the prices. A panoply of individuals with fears, hopes, and questions about their place in the universe are celebrated in a quirky portrait that juxtaposes their idiosyncrasies with the assumed mundanity of bringing food to our table.” (Film Forum). "Almost whimsical at times. Following the day-to-day of workers in the São Paulo supermarket, it depicts their repetition-based activities with wry humor.” —Dan Schindel, Hyperallergic, “Tali Yankelevich shops for success with her debut feature… You’ll look at the guy behind the bakery counter differently next time you do your shopping.” —Amber Wilkinson, Screen Daily
OUR FRIEND
Screening now thru 2/11 at the Laemmle Theaters Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/our-friend
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gerwpfp31JM&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here:https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2853888844886323&id=1718261665115719
You can also visit the film’s website for more info: https://www.ourfriendmovie.com/tickets/
Description: A New “poignant and profound film experience” (LA times) available now from Gravitas ventures! OUR FRIEND tells the inspiring and extraordinary true story of the Teague family—journalist Matt (Casey Affleck), his vibrant wife Nicole (Dakota Johnson) and their two young daughters—and how their lives are upended by Nicole’s heartbreaking diagnosis of terminal cancer. As Matt’s responsibilities as caretaker and parent become increasingly overwhelming, the couple’s best friend Dane Faucheux (Jason Segel) offers to come and help out. As Dane puts his life on hold to stay with his friends, the impact of this life altering decision proves greater and more profound than anyone could have imagined.Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, starring Jason Segel, Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck, and Gwendoline Christie.
THE REASON I JUMP
Tickets and info here: https://kinomarquee.com/film/the-reason-i-jump/5f18b849fc3a940001d483d8/art-theatre-of-long-beach?mc_cid=e14f9d6cfd&mc_eid=677004b84b
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2831579600450581&id=1718261665115719
Watch Q&As with director Jerry Rothwell and subjects Ben and Betra McGann and Emma and Donna Budway presented by the Coolidge Corner Theatre and ReelAbilities Film Festival. https://youtu.be/2DHEZuHCrEc and https://youtu.be/gajGSFR2NIw
If you require assistance, please visit: https://kinomarquee.com/support
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9ZxvR_cm94&mc_cid=e14f9d6cfd&mc_eid=677004b84b
Description: The Art Theatre of Long Beach is proud to partner with Kino Marquee to bring you THE REASON I JUMP. Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, later translated into English by author David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas), The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe. Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distills these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say. Directed by Jerry Rothwell, Starring Jordan O'Donegan
HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS (1976)
Opening Feb 5 nationwide through Kino Marquee https://www.kinolorber.com/film/heartworn-highways , and in Virtual Cinemas including the Laemmle Theaters’s Virtual Cinema at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/heartworn-highways
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=dXUH29Yr4fA&feature=youtu.be ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2855435394731668&id=1718261665115719
Description: A rarely screened beloved documentary portrait of the outlaw country movement...In the mid-‘70s, filmmaker James Szalapski traveled to Texas and Tennessee to capture the radical country artists reclaiming the genre through an appreciation for its heritage in folk and bluegrass and a rejection of the mainstream Nashville machine. The hard living – and hard partying – lifestyles of outlaw country’s figureheads are played out on screen in trailer homes, prisons and even a liquor-fueled Christmas gathering. Inspired, in part, by newly-long-haired Willie Nelson’s embrace of hippie attitudes and audiences, a younger generation of artists - Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, and a 19-year-old Steve Earle and many others appear and perform. Musical highlights include Clark’s brilliant “Desperados Waiting For A Train'', Young's stirring “Alabama Highways” and Van Zandt’s emotional “Waiting Around To Die.” Directed by James Szalapski. Country legends include Townes Van Zandt, Peggy Brooks, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, and Steve Earle
ZEITGEIST FILMS IN ASSOCIATION WITH KINO LORBER IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE US THEATRICAL (AND VIRTUAL THEATRICAL) RELEASE OF
M.C ESCHER: Journey To Infinity
Opens in New York, Los Angeles and other cities on February 5
Tickets and info for the Laemmle Theater Screenings: https://www.laemmle.com/film/mc-escher-journey-infinity
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Yhh6yJ7Fc ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2852651098343431&id=1718261665115719
This documentary directed by Robin Lutz will be released virtually on February 5th, 2021 at the New Plaza Cinema in New York, at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles, and in over 75 additional cities: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/mcescherjourneytoinfinity
Description: M.C ESCHER: Journey To Infinity, the documentary about the world-famous Dutch graphic artist M.C Escher (1898-1972) is equal parts history, psychology, and psychedelia. Robin Lutz’s entertaining, eye-opening portrait gives us the man through his own words and images: diary musings, excerpts from lectures, correspondence and more are voiced by British actor Stephen Fry, while Escher’s woodcuts, lithographs, and other print works appear in both original and playfully altered form. Two of Escher's sons, George (92) and Jan (80), reminisce about their parents while musician Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash) talks about Escher’s rediscovery in the 1970s. The film looks at Escher’s legacy: one can see tributes to his work in movies, in fiction, on posters, on tattoos, and elsewhere throughout our culture; indeed, few fine artists of the 20th century can lay claim to such popular appeal. Director’s Statement: "I fear that there is only one person in the world who could make a really good movie about my prints: myself". This line wrote Escher in 1969 to an American collector of his work. And that is exactly what Escher is doing in this movie: he is the director, not literally but symbolically. Besides being a visionary graphic artist, M.C. Escher was a sharp observer who described what he saw and experienced in numerous diaries, letters, lectures and catalogues. Thus, an image is created of his personal life described in his own words, with all his fears, doubts, euphoric moments, political considerations, his amazements, his artistic development and of course his own opinion on his work. Escher gave sharp commentary on the turbulent world around him but focused entirely on his art. After a long period of traditional work his big breakthrough became reality after WWII with his "Escher" prints. In these works he shows a world that seems logical at first view but seems to be impossible in reality. The film shows with 3D animations how Escher visualized a vague idea into a graphic work and how his thought process evolved. After Rembrandt and Van Gogh, Escher is now one of the most famous Dutch artists known in the world. Everyone recognizes his work immediately. This film is a very personal statement by Escher himself 44 years after his death.
WONDERFUL FILMS COMING YOUR WAY!!!
Divergent PR gave us a head’s up on some terrific upcoming films. Here’s a quick update, including documentary, international and indie awards season contenders, as well as upcoming indie and international film virtual launches. More info and screening info can be had on this site for many of these films—stay tuned for more info on upcoming films!
INDIE FEATURES:
LITTLE FISH--Release Date: February 5, 2021, Distributor: IFC Films. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knPhaXYG4YA Little Fish, a romance set in a near-future Seattle teetering on the brink of calamity, is the fourth feature film from director Chad Hartigan. Little Fish stars Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Bates Motel), Jack O'Connell (Unbroken, Skins), Soko (Her, The Dancer), and Raúl Castillo (Looking, We The Animals). Little Fish opens in the midst of a global epidemic: Neuroinflammatory Affliction (NIA),The film centers on couple Jude Williams and Emma Ryerson as they grapple with the realities of NIA, a severe and rapid Alzheimer's-like condition in which people's memories disappear, in some cases fading over weeks or months, in others vanishing in an instant. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2854418584833349&id=1718261665115719
THE NIGHT--Release Date: January 29, 2021, Distributor: IFC Midnight. THE NIGHT is a psychological thriller that follows an Iranian couple, Babak and Neda, and their one-year-old daughter, Shabnam. Returning home from a friend’s gathering, Neda insists they stay the night at a hotel. Once they check in, Babak and Neda find themselves imprisoned and forced to face the secrets they’ve kept from each other. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
International Feature Awards Contenders:
TWO OF US, France, Release Date: February 5, 2021, Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp9PPAv9PyU&t=24s. Two retired women, Nina (Barbara Sukowa) and Madeline (Martine Chevallier), have secretly been in love for decades. Everybody, including Madline's family, thinks they are simply neighbors, until an unforeseen event turns their relationship upside down and leads Madeline's daughter to gradually unravel the truth between them. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2843314055943802&id=1718261665115719
LA LLORONA, Guatemala, Release Date: August 6, 2020 Distributor: Shudder
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVf8in0dj9s . A tale of horror and magical realism, the film reimagines the iconic Latin American fable as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent history and tears open the country’s unhealed political wounds to grieve a seldom discussed crime against humanity.
SUN CHILDREN, Iran, Release Date: Spring 2021, Distributor: Strand Releasing. SUN CHILDREN is the story of 12-year-old ALI and his three friends. Together they work hard to survive and support their families, doing small jobs in a garage and committing petty crimes to make fast money. In a turn of events that seems miraculous, Ali is entrusted to find hidden treasure underground. He recruits his gang, but first, to gain access to the tunnel, the children must enroll at the Sun School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and child laborers, close to where the treasure is located. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2950355471906326&id=1718261665115719
TRUE MOTHERS, Japan, Release Date: January 29, 2021, Distributor: Film Movement
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKzHHHF9YAE&feature=emb_logo After struggling to get pregnant, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a child, Asato. After six years the family’s order is shattered by the arrival of a young woman claiming to be Asato’s biological mother, demanding his return. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
SCALES, Saudi Arabia, Release Date: Spring 2021. Distributor: Variance Films. SCALES is a visually stunning feminist parable set in a dystopian landscape. It follows the story of a strong-willed young girl, Hayat, whose poor fishing village is governed by a dark tradition: every family must give one daughter to the mermaid-like sea creatures who inhabit the waters, to ensure the village can continue their fishing expeditions. When Hayat’s father refuses, the girl becomes a pariah, considered a curse by the village and urged to sacrifice herself - but Hayat has her own plans for her destiny. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2961078604167346&id=1718261665115719
MY LITTLE SISTER, Switzerland, Release Date: January 15, 2021, Distributor: Film Movement. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iMmz5dAxm8 Brilliant playwright Lisa (Nina Hoss) lives in Switzerland but her heart has stayed in Berlin, beating to the rhythm of her twin brother's heart. The ties between the twins have grown stronger since Sven (Lars Eidinger) was diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia. He’s a famous theater actor and Lisa refuses to accept his fate, moving heaven and earth to get him back on stage. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2840190292922845&id=1718261665115719
ATLANTIS, Ukraine, Release Date: January 22, 2021. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyIe9_YgfDA Eastern Ukraine, 2025. A desert unsuitable for human habitation. Sergiy, a former soldier, is having trouble adapting to his new reality. He meets Katya while on the Black Tulip mission dedicated to exhuming war corpses. Together, they try to return to some sort of normal life in which they are also allowed to fall in love again. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
DOCUMENTARY AWARDS CONTENDERS:
ACASĂ, MY HOME, Release Date: January 15, 2021, Distributor: Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeYEhuxLgJQ In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, an abandoned water reservoir just outside the bustling metropolis, the Enache family lived in perfect harmony with nature for two decades, sleeping in a hut on the lakeshore, catching fish barehanded, and following the rhythm of the seasons. When this area is transformed into a public national park, they are forced to leave behind their unconventional life and move to the city. As the family struggles to conform to modern civilization and maintain their connection to each other and themselves, they each begin to question their place in the world and what their future might be. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
INDIE AWARDS CONTENDERS:
MISS JUNETEENTH, Release Date: June 19, 2020, Distributor: Vertical Entertainment.Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3oREG_DdA Turquoise Jones is a single mom who holds down a household, a rebellious teenager, and pretty much everything that goes down at Wayman’s BBQ & Lounge. Life didn’t turn out as beautifully for the former Miss Juneteenth, but Turquoise, determined to right her wrongs, is cultivating her daughter, Kai, to become Miss Juneteenth, even if Kai wants something else. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2839562936318914&id=1718261665115719
YES, GOD, YES, Release Date: July 24, 2020, Distributor: Vertical Entertainment. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arQFpigbikg .In the Midwest in the early 00s, sixteen-yes-old Alice (Natalia Dyer) has always been a good Catholic girl. But when an AOL chat turns racy, she discovers masturbation and becomes guilt-ridden. Seeking redemption, she attends a mysterious religious retreat to try and suppress her urges, but it isn’t easy, especially after a cute boy (Wolfgang Novogratz) starts flirting with her.
MY NAME IS SARA
Thursday, January 28, 2021, 11:30 am PST / 2:30 pm EST
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10_kajOH8bE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2849297305345477&id=1718261665115719
Description: The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland, Los Angeles presents….
A Special International Holocaust Remembrance Day Event co-presented with the USC Shoah Foundation and in partnership with American Jewish Committee, LA. My Name Is Sara produced in association with USC Shoah Foundation, is based on the true-life story of 13-year-old Sara Góralnik (played by newcomer Zuzanna Surowy). After escaping a Jewish Ghetto in Poland and losing her entire family at the outset of the Holocaust, Sara hides in plain sight, passing as an Orthodox Christian in the Ukrainian countryside where she is taken in by a farmer and his young wife. She soon discovers the dark secrets of her employers' marriage, compounding the greatest secret she must strive to protect, her true identity.
SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT…A film by Svetlana Cvetko
Virtual Theatrical Release - February 12, 2021, screening at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema: https://www.laemmle.com/film/show-me-what-you-got
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/qsolEcxGbsU ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2857494637859077&id=1718261665115719
Description: A playfully erotic tale that sparks with the restless energy of the French New Wave. Level Forward’s Labz Live and Screen Forward theatrical network (https://www.levelforward.live/ ) proudly present the US virtual theatrical release of SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, the directorial debut of acclaimed cinematographer Svetlana Cvetko. Winner of multiple awards at international film festivals, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT will open on the Labz Live platform and via theatrical partners on February 12, and continue throughout the Valentine’s week, which will include a series of live premiere events aligning with the film’s themes. In keeping with Level Forward's impact model, ten percent of all ticket sales will go to a foundation of the filmmakers' choice, to be announced. Three late-twentysomethings come together to create a wholehearted ménage à trois in this playfully erotic tale that sparks with the restless energy of the French New Wave. In a richly filmed black-and-white Los Angeles, each member of the threesome is in transition: fun-loving Marcello (Mattia Minasi) from under the thumb of his Italian soap star father, soulful French-Iranian actor Nassim (Neyssan Falahi) toward a more fulfilling career, and artist Christine (Cristina Rambaldi) through the grief following the death of her grandfather. The frolicsome trio finds joy and release together—exploring their sexuality, joining political protests, making art, and falling deeper into their unconventional amour—until Marcello must return to Italy and their experience there threatens the delicate balance of their relationship. Director Svetlana Cvetko is renowned for her Cinematography work on a list of critically acclaimed documentaries, including OSCAR® Winner Inside Job, OSCAR® Nominated Facing Fear, the Cannes Official Selection Red Army, and the Sundance US Documentary Special Jury Prize winning Inequality For All. She adeptly captures this love affair with a deliciously modern Jules et Jim flair, combining tenderness, artistry, and three fresh and appealing leads.
RIDING THE RAILS
Streaming Premiere: Tuesday, January 26, 2021, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Comcast (USA & Canada)
For more information about Riding the Rails, visit: http://ridingtherails-themovie.com/ (official website)
Fresh Air with Terry Gross interview: https://freshairarchive.org/segments/michael-uys-chronicles-teenage-hobos-during-great-depression
Companion book & archives: https://erroluys.com/frontpage.html
American Experience website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rails/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Available to stream for the first time since its PBS American Experience 1998 airing, The Award-winning documentary. RIDING THE RAILS, (1997, 72 mins) presents the poignant and little-known story of teen hoboes during the 1930s, a time of desperation and bitter hardship. These young itinerant Americans were all searching for a better life; what they found was a mixture of freedom, camaraderie, misery, and loneliness. Some left to escape poverty or troubled families, others because it seemed a great adventure. At the height of the Great Depression, more than 250,000 teenagers were living on the road in America. Many crisscrossed the country by hopping freight trains, although it was both dangerous and illegal. RIDING THE RAILS interweaves the evocative stories of ten men and women who left home in their youth. Producers Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell placed notices in national publications in search of individuals who rode the rails as teenagers. Three thousand people, then in their 70s and 80s, responded. Uys and Lovell selected a handful to tell their stories on camera. “Some hadn’t spoken of their experiences in sixty years. They poured their hearts out to us,” says Uys. “They were just kids then and when they look back, it’s with a blend of nostalgia and pain.” RIDING THE RAILS, which has won 18 major awards, including the Peabody Award, DGA Award, Best Documentary from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, vividly combines the clear-eyed memories of witnesses with archival footage of teens riding atop speeding trains and newsreel interviews with lean-bodied kids full of bravado. The film features a rich soundtrack of American folk tunes, including songs by Woody Guthrie, Elizabeth Cotten, Doc Watson, and Jimmie Rodgers."I was nearly killed on my very first train ride. As it picked up speed, the plank started to vibrate like a springboard throwing us up in the air and all we had to do was hang onto that one grab iron. And we could look down and see the ties and the rails and she was going faster and faster. And all I could think of was I shouldn’t have gotten on this train—and if I lose my grip I’m gonna die—and what would my mother think?”—Bob “Guitar Whitey” Symmonds. RIDING THE RAILS is directed, written and produced by Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell. Cinematography: Samuel Henriques Editor: Howard Sharp. Music by Jimmie Rodgers, Doc Watson, Woody Guthrie, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry, Elizabeth Cotte.
THE PEOPLE vs AGENT ORANGE
Opens at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema 3/5/21 at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/people-vs-agent-orange as well as in New York and other cities March 5th.
Get more info from the film’s web site: https://www.thepeoplevsagentorange.com/
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb6LRrE86Yk ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2873173926291148&id=1718261665115719
Description: Films for Humanity is proud to present the US virtual theatrical release of THE PEOPLE vs AGENT ORANGE. A documentary film by Kate Taverna and Alan Adelson, winner of the Jury Award at the 2020 Eugene Environmental Film Festival, the film will have a virtual release at the New Plaza Cinema in New York, at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles and in other cities on March 5, 2021. The Agent Orange catastrophe did not end with the Vietnam War. Today, the world over, a primary chemical of the toxic defoliant controls weeds in farming, forestry, parks, even on children’s playgrounds. It wreaks havoc on the human genome, causing deformed births and deadly cancers. After decades of struggle and tragic personal losses, two heroic women are leading a worldwide movement to end the plague and hold the manufacturers accountable. In France, Tran To Nga is suing the American chemical industry for poisoning her in Vietnam. In America, Carol Van Strum exposes the continuing use of toxic herbicides in the Pacific Northwest. Incriminating documents disappear. Activists are threatened. A helicopter technician secretly films the contamination of reservoirs, while a massive industrial cover-up goes on.
GO, DON’T GO
Available on a variety of video on demand sites starting January 12.
Visit the film’s official website for more information: https://www.godontgo.film/
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2838122996462908&id=1718261665115719
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BI_i-wqA60&feature=emb_logo
Description: A FASCINATING SCI-FI PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER--Caught between a lost love story and inescapable paranoia, GO/DON'T GO is a genre-bending slow burn thriller that follows Adam, a wallflower who happens to be the last person alive - or so he thinks. Starring Alex Knapp , Olivia Luccardi, & Nore Davis.
MY LITTLE SISTER
Opens in virtual theaters and cinemas on January 15th, including the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/my-little-sister .
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iMmz5dAxm8&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Switzerland's Official Oscar® entry for Best International Feature Film. Brilliant playwright Lisa (Nina Hoss) no longer writes. She lives in Switzerland with her family but her heart has stayed in Berlin, beating to the rhythm of her twin brother's heart. The ties between the twins have grown stronger since Sven (Lars Eidinger) was diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia. He’s a famous theater actor and Lisa refuses to accept his fate, moving heaven and earth to get him back on stage. She gives her all for her soul mate, neglecting everything else, even risking her marriage. Her relationship with her husband starts to fall apart, but Lisa only has eyes for her brother, her mirror, who connects her back with her aspirations and rekindles her desire to create, to feel alive...“Bright, unaffected naturalism with a fluidly roving camera”-- Guy Lodge, Variety
IDENTIFYING FEATURES
Directed by Fernanda Valadez, Written by Fernanda Valadez & Astrid Rondero
Opening January 22 on Kino Marquee and virtual cinemas nationwide, including the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at: https://www.laemmle.com/film/identifying-features
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMUypshyFKE ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: THE ACCLAIMED, GRIPPING MEXICAN BORDER THRILLER FROM DEBUT FILMMAKER FERNANDA VALADEZ. Middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez) has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth. At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s. From this simple but urgent premise, director Fernanda Valadez has crafted a lyrical, suspenseful slow burn, equally constructed of moments of beauty and horror, and which leads to a startling, shattering conclusion. Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience and Screenplay Awards at the Sundance Film Festival. – New Directors/New Films . “Combines stunning cinematography, evocative sound design and hints of magical realism to create a visionary work of devastating power." -- Anjana Janardhan, Sight & Sound. “On every level, this is impressively accomplished cinema.” - Wendy Ide, Screen Daily. “A confident, accomplished and distinctive feature directorial debut.” - Dennis Harvey, Variety. Sundance Film Festival Winner: Audience Award and Best Screenplay, World Cinema Dramatic. Morelia International Film Festival Winner: Best Film, Audience Award, Best Actress. Thessaloniki Film Festival Winner: Golden Alexander. Official selection: New Directors / New Films. Nominee: Best International Feature – Gotham Awards
THE SLEEPWALKERS (LOS SONÁMBULOS)
Directed by Paula Hernández, One of Latin America’s Leading Female Directors
Get more info from Cinema Tropical: https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/oscars-2021-argentina-chooses-the-sleepwalkers-by-paula-hernndez
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/349465711 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2841752526099955&id=1718261665115719
Description: Argentina Announces It’s Official Candidate in the International Feature Competition at the 93rd Academy Awards. A poignant and engaging drama about a family in crisis framed by the fraught relationship between a mother and her daughter, the film boasts a terrific cast featuring Érica Rivas (Wild Tales), Luis Ziembrowski (The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime), Marilú Marini (Trouble Every Day), Daniel Hendler (The Moneychanger), and the fantastic newcomer Ornella D'Elía—who was nominated for Breakthrough Actress in both of Argentina’s main film awards, the Silver Condor and Sur awards. A production of Tarea Fina (Argentina) in co-production with Oriental Features (Uruguay), The Sleepwalkers tells the story of Luisa, who is spending her New Year’s holiday with her husband and her 14-year-old daughter—Ana, a sleepwalker during a critical point of adolescence—at her mother-in-law’s country house with other family members. But what was hoped to be a leisurely summer vacation explodes as Luisa and Ana contend with pressures pushing them to their limits. Following its acclaimed world premiere in the Platform competition at the Toronto International Film Festival, the independent Argentine film successfully played at numerous international film festivals including San Sebastian, AFI Fest, Chicago, and Miami, and was the winner of 15 film awards, including for Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay at the Havana Film Festival. With five feature films, Hernández has built a solid and exciting filmography, making her one of the most outstanding and prolific female directors of her generation in Latin America. With The Sleepwalkers, she’s hoping to become the second Argentine female director to get nominated for an Oscar® in the international competition (after María Luisa Bemberg’s Camila in 1984). “[A] deliciously observed, tightly focused drama.”—Jonathan Holland, Variety. “Hernández deftly combines a coming-of-age drama with a finely observed portrait of a complex mother-daughter relationship and then wraps it all up in the bigger picture of a family sleepwalking towards disaster. The result is a multi-layered drama vividly brought to life by a well-cast ensemble.” —Allan Hunter, Screen International
ACASĂ, MY HOME
OFFICIAL PREMIERE, Tuesday, January 12, 6:00pm EST
Hosted by Ethan Hawke, Marshall Curry (THE NEIGHBORS' WINDOW) Chai Vasarhelyi (FREE SOLO) and Clay Tweel (GLEASON), Q&A w/ Radu Ciorniciuc Moderated by Ethan Hawke
FILM INDEPENDENT: ACASĂ, MY HOME LIVE Q&A, Wednesday, January 13, 6:00pm EST
Live Q&A with Director Radu Ciorniciuc, Moderated by Debra Granik (LEAVE NO TRACE)
RSVP to: josh@divergentpr.com
Get more info from the Zeitgeist website: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/acasamyhome
OPENS IN SELECT THEATERS & VIRTUAL CINEMAS ON JAN. 15
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeYEhuxLgJQ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber is proud to present ACASĂ, MY HOME, the striking debut feature by Radu Ciorniciuc. Following its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, the film was honored with a Special Jury Award for Cinematography and went on to garner awards at notable festivals around the world. Most recently the film was nominated for the Cinema Eye Honors, IDA Awards and European Film Awards. ACASĂ, MY HOME will open in select theaters and virtual cinemas on January 15, 2021. In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, an abandoned water reservoir just outside the bustling metropolis, the Enache family lived in perfect harmony with nature for two decades, sleeping in a hut on the lakeshore, catching fish barehanded, and following the rhythm of the seasons. When this area is transformed into a public national park, they are forced to leave behind their unconventional life and move to the city, where fishing rods are replaced by smartphones and idle afternoons are now spent in classrooms. As the family struggles to conform to modern civilization and maintain their connection to each other and themselves, they each begin to question their place in the world and what their future might be. With their roots in the wilderness, the nine children and their parents struggle to find a way to keep their family united in the concrete jungle. With an empathetic and cinematic eye, filmmaker Radu Ciorniciuc offers viewers, in his feature debut, a compelling tale of a family living on the fringes of society in Romania, fighting for acceptance and their own version of freedom. Ciorniciuc’s debut feature film, ACASA, MY HOME, premiered at the 2020 Sundance where it was honored with a Special Jury Award for Cinematography. The film has played at over 60 festivals around the world and has been nominated for the IDA Documentary Awards, European Film Awards and Cinema Eye Honors. The film will open in the U.S. on January 15th courtesy of Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber.
BREAKING THE SILENCE
For more information, please visit: https://breakingthesilence2020.com
See the trailer here: https://breakingthesilence2020.com/trailer-3/ ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2837358373206037&id=1718261665115719
Description: An Oscar Contender for BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM! BREAKING THE SILENCE is a new live-action short film by Seayoon Jeong, starring Grace Shen ("This is Us", "Grey's Anatomy"), Rumi Oyama (RUNNING FOR GRACE) and Grace Chim ("Neighbours"). BREAKING THE SILENCE has been submitted to the Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film consideration. During WWII, Imperial Japan established military brothels known as "comfort stations" in the Pacific region as their military campaign intensified. Many young women from Korea, China, the Philippines, and other parts of Asia as well as the Netherlands and Australia - some as young as thirteen - were forced or duped into sexual enslavement. Many of these women died or were killed before they could be released. Meanwhile, survivors of the harrowing militarized sexual enslavement wound up being shrouded in a profound sense of shame and guilt, living in the shadows of their former selves, resulting in an understated tragedy of the war that even today remains an unfamiliar war story to many. Inspired by the true historical event, BREAKING THE SILENCE tells the story of Francesca (Grace Shen), a Chinese-American nurse working for the Red Cross in Hong Kong when the St. Stephen's College massacre occurred. She survived but she and many other Asian women were captured then forced to work to "comfort" Japanese troops. Francesca finally comes to terms with her past after forty years by breaking her silence with a New York Times journalist. There are two comfort women memorials in California, one in Glendale and the other in San Francisco. The Glendale memorial was erected in Glendale Central Park in 2013, shortly after Osaka Mayor Toshio Hashimoto made the controversial argument that World War II-era comfort women were “necessary” to “maintain discipline in the army." "For its 27 minutes, Breaking the Silence showcases captivating filmmaking in exploring the reality of ‘comfort stations’ and its victims but also briefly the fight to have these atrocities recognised and condemned as war crimes."- Corey Bulloch, UK Film Review. "Breaking the Silence" is a brutally sad film, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen…a fantastic short film that really knew how to push my emotional buttons." - Will Conrad, Indyred. Multiple Award Winner…for the complete list, please visit: https://breakingthesilence2020.com/ .
THE NIGHT
IFC Midnight will release THE NIGHT on Friday, January 29, 2021 in select theatres and on digital and VOD platforms. More info available here: https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/the-night
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2vsYt_41Co&feature=youtu.be ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Starring Shahab Hosseini (A SEPARATION, THE SALESMAN), written and directed by Kourosh Ahari
Description: From the executive producers of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE… THE NIGHT is a suspenseful thriller that unfurls the story of a young Iranian family living in the US. Following a tense night out with friends, Babak (played masterfully by Iranian superstar Shahab Hosseini, winner of Best Actor at the 2016 Cannes Film Festivali), and Neda (Niousha Jafarian) and their infant daughter find themselves spending the night in a hotel. As a malevolent energy torments the family, Babak and Neda’s deeply guarded secrets are summoned from their dark hiding places. THE NIGHT will not end until they confront the truth within themselves. “Remarkable evocation of Kubrickian horror...Hotel Normandie is spiritually linked to The [Shining’s] Overlook Hotel” - RogerEbert.com, Matt Fagerholm. ‘The Night’ is faultlessly performed by Hosseini” - Variety, Richard Kuipers. OFFICIAL SELECTION - SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, OFFICIAL SELECTION - SITGES FILM FESTIVAL. This is the directorial debut from Iranian filmmaker Kourosh Ahari and is crossing the historic benchmark of being the first US-produced film to receive distribution in Iran in four decades. US-produced, and employing an incredibly diverse cast and crew made up of predominantly Iranian immigrants, all department heads leading the production, from production through post, are Iranian or of Iranian descent.
HAM: A MUSICAL MEMOIR
Now Playing at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema thru Jan 7th; info and tickets at https://www.laemmle.com/film/ham-musical-memoir
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4EgZea83ZM&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2832522530356288&id=1718261665115719
Description: A sensitive and prodigiously talented boy survives the Bible Belt through talent and moxie, which lead to fame and fortune, but when the rocky road of desperately seeking acceptance finally reaches a dead end, he is forced to confront the internal demons that haunt him. Directed by Andrew Putschoegl, written by Sam Harris, the film stars Sam Harris and Todd Schroeder.
ATLANTIS
Opens exclusively at Metrograph on Friday, January 22, 2021. Opens at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema on January 29, 2021; tickets and info here: https://www.laemmle.com/film/atlantis
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyIe9_YgfDA&feature=emb_logo; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: UKRAINE’S OFFICIAL OSCAR® SELECTION FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM, directed by Valentyn Vasyanovych. Filmmaker Valentyn Vasyanovych’s latest film and cinematic masterpiece, ATLANTIS, takes the viewer on a visually gorgeous and emotionally turbulent journey into the close future. In a desolate post-war Ukraine, a former soldier, Sergiy, delivers water, a now scarce resource, around the country. By volunteering his time to recover the dead bodies of his fellow soldiers, Sergiy is able to heal the wounds of war in both his country and himself. "...a dark yet humany luminous story." - The Hollywood Reporter, Deborah Young. "A bombed-out Ukraine of the near future takes first steps toward postwar recovery in Valentyn Vasyanovych's strikingly austere Venice prize winner."- Variety, Dennis Harvey. "A remarkable piece of filmmaking from an exciting emerging Eastern European voice."- Screen International, Nikki Baughn. "The film’s use of scale to drive home the absurdity of its characters’ actions recalls Werner Herzog’s tragicomic existentialism."- Slant Magazine, David Robb. *WINNER - VENICE HORIZONS - BEST FEATURE - 2019 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL*, *WINNER - BEST FEATURE AND BEST DIRECTOR - 2020 UKRANIAN FILM CRITICS AWARD*, *OFFICIAL SELECTION - NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS 2020* A Grasshopper Films Release
TWO WAYS HOME
Available on VOD from Gravitas Ventures starting December 29th
Get more info at the film’s website: http://www.twowayshomemovie.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh6AHV8q3Lw&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2827929757482232&id=1718261665115719
Description: GRAVITAS VENTURES Presents An Award-Winning NAMI-endorsed (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Feature…Soul-touching and moving, TWO WAYS HOME compassionately follows Kathy (Tanna Frederick), a woman newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder who is released from prison on good behavior and returns to her country home in Iowa to reconnect with her estranged 12-year-old daughter (Rylie Behr) and her cantankerous elderly grandfather (Tom Bower). Her return home is turbulent and a rough, unwelcome transition in which Kathy must come to terms with her diagnosis and its implications on her identity, while also realizing that her family was happier when she was gone. Conflict with her family intensifies as she struggles to keep her head above water, putting her self-worth and well-being to the ultimate test. Director Ron Vignone masterfully showcases Iowa’s small town beauty and sympathetically highlights the importance of mental wellness and self-discovery, while star and producer Tanna Frederick shines as a vulnerable yet independent Kathy, immediately grabbing audiences’ hearts with her gritty persistence. The film has been officially endorsed by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): ‘"TWO WAYS HOME makes a valuable contribution to the public understanding of mental health issues and to reduce stigma surrounding them..." -Mitzi Wright, National Alliance on Mental Illness (LA, California chapter). "TWH will make a significant difference in people's lives and is a powerful tool to further families' understanding and education about bi-polar illness." -Yin Simpson, National Alliance on Mental Illness (Minneapolis, MN chapter)
WINTER NEW RELEASES FROM KINO LORBER & ZEITGEIST FILMS (IN ASSN. WITH KL)
Available through digital platform Kino Marquee & select physical theaters in Jan & Feb 2021
More info at https://www.kinolorber.com/theatrical
January 8
THE REASON I JUMP, Directed by Jerry Rothwell
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
"This is a wondrous work... that enlightens and informs but that is also ravishing to behold." -- The Hollywood Reporter; Winner: Audience Award, World Documentary – Sundance Film Festival
Nominee: Best Feature, Best Director – IDA Documentary Awards
Nominee: Best Cinematography – Critics Choice Documentary Awards
Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.
Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distils these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.
January 22
IDENTIFYING FEATURES, Directed by Fernanda Valadez, Writers Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero
“Combines stunning cinematography, evocative sound design and hints of magical realism to create a visionary work of devastating power." -- Sight & Sound
Winner: Audience Award, World Dramatic – Sundance Film Festival
Winner: Best Screenplay, World Dramatic – Sundance Film Festival
Nominee: Best International Feature – Gotham Awards
Middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez) has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth. At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s. From this simple but urgent premise, director Fernanda Valadez has crafted a lyrical, suspenseful slow burn, equally constructed of moments of beauty and horror, and which leads to a startling, shattering conclusion. Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience and Screenplay Awards at the Sundance Film Festival. – New Directors/New Films. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
February 19
TEST PATTERN, Written and Directed by Shatara Michelle Ford
“Everything is about sex, except sex, which is about power.” – Oscar Wilde
BlackStar Film Festival 2019 - Lionsgate/STARZ Producer Award
New Orleans Film Festival 2019 - Narrative Features Jury Award
TEST PATTERN is part psychological horror, part realist drama set against the backdrop of national discussions around inequitable health care & policing, the #metoo movement, and race in America. The film follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her white boyfriend drives her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit. The film analyzes the effects of the systemic factors and social conditioning women face when navigating sex and consent within the American patriarchy, along with exploring institutional racism from a black female point of view. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2859676260974248&id=1718261665115719
January 15
ACASĂ, MY HOME,Directed by Radu Ciorniciuc
"Lyrical and provocative...Timeless and of-the-moment, vividly specific and universally resonant.-- The Hollywood Reporter
WINNER - Sundance World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography
NOMINEE - European Film Awards - Best European Documentary
NOMINEE - IDA Documentary Awards - Best Cinematography
OFFICIAL SELECTION - DOC:NYC Winner’s Circle
NOMINEE - Cinema Eye Honors - Spotlight Award
In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, an abandoned water reservoir just outside the bustling metropolis, the Enache family lived in perfect harmony with nature for two decades, sleeping in a hut on the lakeshore, catching fish barehanded, and following the rhythm of the seasons. When this area is transformed into a public national park, they are forced to leave behind their unconventional life and move to the city, where fishing rods are replaced by smartphones and idle afternoons are now spent in classrooms. As the family struggles to conform to modern civilization and maintain their connection to each other, they each begin to question their place in the world and what their future might be. With their roots in the wilderness, the nine children and their parents struggle to find a way to keep their family united in the concrete jungle. With an empathetic and cinematic eye, first-time filmmaker Radu Ciorniciuc offers a compelling tale of a family living on the fringes of society in Romania, fighting for acceptance and their own version of freedom. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
KINO NOW PRESENTS MARTIN EDEN, THE MOST ACCLAIMED MOVIE OF THE YEAR
Kino Lorber is proud to bring this critically-acclaimed film to Kino Now for digital viewing: https://kinonow.com/.../martin-eden/5f6cc6d35e8e250001bc197f
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.17183.../2765427553732453/...
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZlYEd4MOCU&feature=emb_logo
Description: The sweeping romantic epic based on Jack London's classic novel Directed by Pietro Marcello and starring Luca Marinelli, Named Best Movie of 2020! New York Times (#1 by Manohla Dargis), Artforum, Indiewire, New York Magazine/Vulture, The Playlist, Rolling Stone, Sight & Sound, Slant, Time. "Critic’s Pick! An ingenious adaptation of the Jack London novel." – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times. “One of the most epic-feeling Italian movies in years, a throwback to ’70s-era big-canvas statements.”– Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York. “Old-school cinematic soul food… feels as if it could have been made 60 years ago, during the heyday of Visconti.” – Ty Burr, Boston Globe. “Everything I love in movies. An absolute blast."– A. O. Scott, The New York Times. "A masterpiece... see it any way you can." – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture. Winner! Platform Award, Toronto International Film Festival. Winner! Best Actor, Venice Film Festival. Current Nominee for Gotham Awards - Best International Film. Based on the classic novel by Jack London but transposed to a provocatively unspecified moment in Italy’s history, Martin Eden is a passionate and enthralling narrative fresco in the tradition of the great Italian classics that won the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Martin (Luca Marinelli) is a self-taught proletarian who hopes that his dreams of becoming a writer will help him rise above his station and marry a wealthy young university student. The dissatisfactions of working-class toil and bourgeois success soon lead to his political awakening in this enveloping, superbly mounted bildungsroman.
IDENTIFYING FEATURES
The Streaming Tour for the Gotham Award Nominee Will Take Place December 23, 2020 – January 20, 2020, Prior to Its North American Theatrical Release on Friday, January 22
Get more info at: https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/3905
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMUypshyFKE
Description: Kino Lorber and Cinema Tropical are proud to announce a special virtual sneak preview tour of the Mexican film Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares), directed and co-written by Fernanda Valadez, co-produced and co-written by Astrid Rondero, and winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience and Screenplay awards at the Sundance Film Festival. The tour will take place December 23, 2020 – January 20, 2021, in advance of its much-anticipated North American release in theaters and virtual cinemas on Friday, January 22, 2021. For this unique online event, Kino Lorber and Cinema Tropical have partnered with 12 of the most important Latinx and Latin American film festivals in the country. The streaming of the film will take place on Kino Marquee and will be accessible to the constituencies served by these national organizations. Nominated for a Gotham Award for Best International Feature and an official selection for New Directors/New Films 2020, as well as a winner at numerous international film festivals including Morelia, San Sebastian, Thessaloniki, Zurich, Stockholm, Identifying Features tells the story of middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez), who has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth. At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s. From this simple but urgent premise, director Fernanda Valadez has crafted in her striking debut feature a lyrical, suspenseful slow burn, constructed equally of moments of beauty and horror, and which leads to a startling, shattering conclusion. The complete list of participating festivals and institutions are: Boston Latino International Film Festival, Chicago Latino Film Festival, Cine Casual Film Series, Cine Las Américas International Film Festival, Hola Mexico Film Festival, Houston Latino Film Festival, Latin Wave Film Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, San Diego Latino Film Festival, and the San Francisco Latino Film Festival. "A confident, accomplished and distinctive feature directorial debut."—Dennis Harvey, Variety. "Combines stunning cinematography, evocative sound design and hints of magical realism to create a visionary work of devastating power."—Anjana Janardhan, Sight & Sound. By Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
COMING SOON FROM KINO MARQUEE!! THE REASON I JUMP
Opening Fri, Jan 8 in virtual cinemas nationwide
Los Angeles - Laemmle Theatres: https://www.laemmle.com/film/reason-i-jump
Additional cities include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson, Washington DC & more!
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9ZxvR_cm94&feature=youtu.be ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: The award-winning, immersive, cinematic portrait of five nonspeaking autistic young people, based on the bestselling book by Naoki Higashida, translated by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas). Directed by Jerry Rothwell. Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, THE REASON I JUMP is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe. Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. The film distills these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say. "This is a wondrous work... that enlightens and informs but that is also ravishing to behold." - Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter. "An inventive, sensuous documentary worthy of its source. This compassionate, creative documentary will open ears and eyes in equal measure. As emotionally piercing as it is beautiful to behold." - Guy Lodge, Variety. "Exquisite. THE REASON I JUMP will change how you think."- Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily. "A profound and moving experience." - Matt Cipolla, The Film Stage. Winner! Sundance Film Festival - Audience Award, World Documentary, Nominee: IDA Documentary Awards - Best Feature, Best Director, Nominee: Critics Choice Documentary Awards - Best Cinematography, Official selection: AFI Docs, Chicago International Film Festival, DOC NYC, Winner: Denver Film Festival: Maysles Brothers Award
THE INFINITE RACE
ESPN will debut the next installment in the Peabody and Emmy award-winning 30 for 30 series, The Infinite Race, on December 15 at 8 pm on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lp4aOACFWU&feature=youtu.be ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2811529739122234&id=1718261665115719
Description: 30 for 30 Documentary to Premiere December 15 on ESPN and ESPN Deportes! Directed by Bernardo Ruiz (Harvest Season, Reportero), the documentary explores the story of the Tarahumara, an indigenous community in Mexico, famed for their legendary running ability, and their preference for running barefoot, who inspired an ultrarunning craze across the world, and what’s happened as their homes and communities were ravaged by drug cartels and violence. The Infinite Race will premiere on December 15 ET. Said director Bernardo Ruiz: “Many sports documentaries focus on celebrity athletes or high-profile rivalries. What intrigued me about The Infinite Race was the challenge of telling a lesser known story that nonetheless speaks to some of the big debates of the moment.” The film has screened as part of many film festivals, including the DocLands Documentary Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the International Documentary Film Festival of Mexico City and San Francisco DocFest. 30 for 30 series recently nominated for an IDA Documentary Award for best curated series. The Infinite Race is the sixth film to be released as part of the 30 for 30 series this year, following a slate that included Vick, LANCE and Be Water.
THE CHANGIN' TIMES OF IKE WHITE
Opening Nationwide in Virtual Cinema Dec 4:
Los Angeles - Laemmle (https://www.laemmle.com/film/changin-times-ike-white ) and Lumiere Cinema. Additional cities include New York (New Plaza Cinema and Sol Cinema Café), Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Nashville, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco & more!
OFFICIAL U.S. TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtHPIjmgQhE&feature=emb_title
LISTEN TO THE TITLE TRACK: CHANGIN' TIMES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50bjLEMVyBI
Description: He could have been a star...Instead he became an enigma... Serving a life sentence for murder in the early 1970s, music prodigy Ike White had plenty of time to perfect his musical talent, but no hope of putting it to use in the outside world. Ike's skills were exceptional enough, though, that his story captured the media's attention. From this notoriety, he was able to record an album inside the prison with big-time producer Jerry Goldstein (War, Sly and the Family Stone). Superstar Stevie Wonder lobbied successfully for Ike's early release from prison. With an acclaimed album under his belt and the support of Wonder and others in the industry, Ike was poised for stardom. But, instead, he went off the grid for over 40 years. Daniel Vernon's mesmerizing new documentary is unpredictable and moving, echoing the strange journey of Ike White. Directed by Dan Vernon. "Somehow distilled into 78 minutes, this documentary tells the incredible story of Ike White. HERE HE IS, finally tracked down." - The Guardian. "His 1976 album Changin' Times sounds terrific. Somewhere between Jimi Hendrix and Gil Scott-Heron." - David Butcher, RadioTimes. "It's an even more peculiar story than the Oscar- winning music documentary Searching for Sugar Man." - Victoria Segal, Sunday Times (London). "It is one of the most remarkable music documentaries you will ever see. And that's a promise! The story of the greatest soulman you've never heard, it starts with Ike serving life for murder and ends with a series of rapid fire twists and turns, which fair knock you off the sofa. The music throughout is great with White, a man who could have given Prince lessons in sartorial elegance, oozing charisma even when banged up." Stuart Clark, HotPress. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2809438762664665&id=1718261665115719
THE WEASELS’ TALE (El cuento de las comadrejas)
Opens in Theaters and Virtual Cinemas on Friday, December 11, including the Laemmle Theaters Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/weasels-tale
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.outsiderpictures.us/movie/the-weasels-tale/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDTKTjQadWU&feature=emb_logo ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2810205729254635&id=1718261665115719
Description: Outside Pictures and Strand Releasing Announce the U.S. Theatrical Release of A New Comic Thriller. Directed by Oscar Winner Juan José Campanella, the Oscar Award-winning The Secret in Their Eyes, THE WEASELS’ TALE is a comedic thriller starring a cast of acclaimed, seasoned Argentine actors including Graciela Borges (La Ciénaga) and Óscar Martínez (Wild Tales.) The story of a group of four long-time friends, including a beautiful actress from cinema’s golden age, an actor in the twilight of his life, a frustrated scriptwriter, and an old director, will do the impossible to try and preserve the world they have created in an old mansion in the countryside outside Buenos Aires. When faced with the threat of a young couple who could put everything in danger, financial gain, seduction, betrayal, and memories run amok to create the recipe for this delightful game of cat… and weasel. Director Campanella (Law and Order: Special Victim Unit, House, 30 Rock, Colony) was inspired by the Argentine film Los muchachos de antes no usaban arsénico and classic English films made by Ealing Studios in the 1950s (The Ladykillers and Kind Hearts and Coronets). A Weasel's Tale mixes layers of dark humor, an unusual style of dialogue and classic comedy, in an homage to classic cinema's structure, conventions and craftsmanship. It counters between suspense, drama, comedy and romance, like a cross between Sunset Boulevard and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, all with a Latin American twist. Winner of the Audience Award at the AFI Latin American and Chicago Latino Film Festivals. "Old-fashioned fare with an up-to-date edge...enjoyably over-the-top." —Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter. "A delicious metacinematic black comedy."—Alberto Luchini, El Mundo
NASRIN
Screening thru the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema starting Dec 18th: https://www.laemmle.com/film/nasrin
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.nasrinfilm.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.facebook.com/nasrinfilm/photos/160580059116941 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A New Fascinating Documentary about An Internationally Renowned Human Rights Lawyer. Secretly filmed in Iran by women and men who risked arrest to make this film, an immersive portrait of attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, the world’s most honored human rights activist and political prisoner. In the courts and on the streets, Nasrin has long fought for the rights of women, children, religious minorities, journalists and artists, and those facing the death penalty. In the midst of filming, Nasrin was arrested in June 2018 for representing women who were protesting Iran’s mandatory hijab law. She was sentenced to 38 years in prison, plus 148 lashes. Narrated by Academy Award winner Olivia Colman, the film features interviews with acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and journalist Ann Curry. "Nasrin - the woman and the documentary - will make you angry at injustice, and give you hope. This is a must-see film!" - GLORIA STEINEM. "Nasrin Sotoudeh is an extraordinarily brave woman. I urge you to see this timely and important film!" - MARGARET ATWOOD. "Nasrin Sotoudeh should win the Nobel Peace Prize. She is a hero for our age." - NICHOLAS KRISTOFF, NEW YORK TIMES. "Long the voice of the voiceless in Iran, Nasrin Sotoudeh requires every ounce of her extraordinary courage to avoid being silenced herself." - THE GUARDIAN. "Nasrin Sotoudeh is Iran's Nelson Mandela." - THE INDEPENDENT
SING ME A SONG
From award-winning director/producer Thomas Balmès’ (Happiness, Babies) and Participant Media
A New Year's Day release is set for January 1 from Gravitas Ventures via virtual cinemas and on VOD platforms, including the Laemmle Theaters (https://www.laemmle.com/film/sing-me-song .) Stay tuned for upcoming details. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A PROFOUND WAY TO CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR! This insightful documentary is a rich character study, a captivating coming-of-age film about a young Buddhist monk searching to find a balance between tradition and technology. Balmès returns to one of his Happiness (2014) subjects, now a teenaged monk (Peyangki), living in a rural (yet Wi-Fi equipped) monastery in Bhutan, absorbed in the wonders of the world that are a simple click away. The structured daily village rituals of prayer and candle lighting now compete with the powerful lure of smartphones and TV. Apps for chats and dating introduce the monks to girls and violent video games, neither of which quite line up with the traditional vows of the monks. Peyangki is passionate about love songs and forms a relationship over an app, WeChat, with a young singer (Ugyen) in the “big city” of Thimphu. Distracted and disinterested in study, and often scolded by his masters and mother, he sells medicinal mushrooms to make enough money to leave the monastery and travel to Ugyen. A nuanced portrait of a young man’s introduction to the world, Balmès offers us an eye-opening snapshot of the effects of technology, and challenges us to reassess our perceptions of self-worth and beliefs in an age of unparalleled connectivity. SING ME A SONG premiered at 2019 Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim!
KING OF KNIVES
Gravitas Ventures will release KING OF KNIVES on VOD and Digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now and all major cable/satellite platforms on Tuesday, December 1.
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2807469709528237&id=1718261665115719 . Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_3uYbUkld4&feature=youtu.be
For more information, go to: https://www.kingofknivesthemovie.com/
Facebook -- @kingofknivesthefilm -- https://www.facebook.com/KingOfKnivesTheFilm/
Instagram -- @kingofknives -- https://www.instagram.com/kingofknivesthefilm/
Twitter -- @kokthefilm -- https://twitter.com/KOKtheFilm
Description: A Darkly Funny Take on the Modern Family. KING OF KNIVES tells the story of Frank and Kathy who are baby boomer parents and Sadie & Kaitlin, their millennial daughters. Frank is screaming towards a mid-life crisis. Kathy pretends she’s happy and doesn’t drink that much wine. Sadie is the good child; convinced her first and only boyfriend is the one to marry. Kaitlin is the rebel, the entertainer; the truth teller who will not filter how she’s feeling. Over three days, with much drama and humor, this family careens and skids straight towards a fateful anniversary. On the way, they realize they are more alike than they know. KING OF KNIVES has earned critical acclaim from audiences who have been lucky enough to see the film. It has also won awards from numerous festivals including “Best Narrative Feature Film” at the Williamsburg International Film & Music Competition, “Best Feature & Lead Actress” at the Milan World Cinema Festival, and seven Platinum awards including “Winner Narrative Feature” at the International Independent Film Awards. This refreshing comedy is written by Lindsay Joy with story by Gene Pope and directed by Jon Delgado. The film stars Gene Pope, Mel Harris, Roxi Pope, and Emily Bennett.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Gravitas Ventures will release GETTING TO KNOW YOU on VOD and Digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now and all major cable/satellite platforms on Tuesday, November 24.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/LByJh2GSpI8 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A COMEDY- DRAMA FROM WRITER-DIRECTOR JOAN CARR-WIGGIN. It’s an unusual request.Another guest at the small town hotel where Abby Sorensen is staying asks her to pretend to be his wife. Just for a few minutes. He flew from New York to reignite the flame with his old high school girlfriend, the beautiful, impetuous Kayla, only to discover she’s now married with two kids. But Kayla decides she wants him after all, and has shown up at the hotel drunk and demanding sex. But Luke isn’t a home wrecker, so if Abby, a married woman in town for her estranged brother’s funeral, could just say she’s his wife the problem will be solved. What could go wrong? It’s not like two strangers pretending to be husband and wife could possibly fall in love....The resulting mix of romance, heartbreak, second thoughts and laughs makes a very entertaining cocktail in this sophisticated comedy-drama from the proven team of Joan Carr-Wiggin and veteran producers David Gordian and Alan Latham. GETTING TO KNOW YOU stars Natasha Little (War of the Worlds, Night Manager, Vanity Fair), Rupert Penry-Jones (M.I.5, Persuasion), Rachel Blanchard (You Me Her, Fargo), Linda Kash (Best In Show) and stand-up comedian Mark Forward, along with Duane Murray, Ace Hicks, Zach Smadu and Christopher Jacot. The film was written and directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin (The Bet, If I Were You).
KINO LORBER DOMINATES THE BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE CATEGORY AT THE 30TH ANNUAL IFP GOTHAM AWARDS…WITH FOUR OUT OF SIX NOMINATIONS
Celebrate the best in international film by traveling the world with Kino Lorber…
BACURAU-Available on Home Video & digital on Kino Now: https://kinonow.com/film/bacurau/5e7f90c105afea00018af92d
A few years from now... Bacurau, a small village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Sônia Braga) notice that their village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead. There are forces that want to expel them from their homes, and soon, in a genre-bending twist, a band of armed mercenaries led by Udo Kier arrive in town picking off the inhabitants one by one. A fierce confrontation takes place when the townspeople turn the tables on the villainous outsiders, banding together by any means necessary to protect and maintain their remote community. The mercenaries just may have met their match in the fed-up, resourceful denizens of little Bacurau. Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2794213004187241&id=1718261665115719
BEANPOLE-Available on Home Video & digital on Kino Now: https://kinonow.com/film/beanpole/5e90b305bd39270001fcd093
In post-WWII Leningrad, two women, Iya and Masha (astonishing newcomers Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina), intensely bonded after fighting side by side as anti-aircraft gunners, attempt to readjust to a haunted world. As the film begins, Iya, long and slender and towering over everyone—hence the film’s title—works as a nurse in a shell-shocked hospital, presiding over traumatized soldiers. A shocking accident brings them closer and also seals their fates. The 28-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov won Un Certain Regard’s Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for this richly burnished, occasionally harrowing rendering of the persistent scars of war. Directed by Kantemir Balagov. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2783840335224508&id=1718261665115719
IDENTIFYING FEATURES-Opening Jan 2021 on Kino Now: https://kinonow.com/
Middle-aged Magdalena (Mercedes Hernandez) has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth. At the same time, a young man named Miguel (David Illescas) has returned to Mexico after being deported from the U.S., and eventually his path converges with Magdalena’s. From this simple but urgent premise, director Fernanda Valadez has crafted a lyrical, suspenseful slow burn, equally constructed of moments of beauty and horror, and which leads to a startling, shattering conclusion. Winner of the World Cinema Dramatic Audience and Screenplay Awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. -- Film at Lincoln Center. Directed by Fernanda Valadez. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
MARTIN EDEN-Available on Home Video & digital on Kino Marquee: https://kinomarquee.com/film/venue/5f6cc6d35e8e250001bc197f
Adapted from a 1909 novel by Jack London yet set in a provocatively unspecified moment in Italy’s history, Martin Eden is a passionate and enthralling narrative fresco in the tradition of the great Italian classics. Martin (played by the marvelously committed Luca Marinelli) is a self-taught proletarian with artistic aspirations who hopes that his dreams of becoming a writer will help him rise above his station and marry a wealthy young university student (Jessica Cressy). The dissatisfactions of working-class toil and bourgeois success lead to political awakening and destructive anxiety in this enveloping, superbly mounted bildungsroman. Winner of the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Platform Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Pietro Marcello. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2765427553732453/?type=3&theater
BORN TO BE
Opening Virtually Nationwide Wed, Nov 18
Screening at the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/born-be
Save the Date! Thurs, Nov 19—Dir. Tania Cypriano (she/her) and subjects Dr. Jess Ting (he/him), Mahogany (she/her), & Jordan (they/them) will participate in a virtual panel discussion moderated by Indiewire critic Jude Dry (they/them) hosted by the Human Rights Campaign. Stay tuned here and at Kino Marquee for more info: https://kinomarquee.com/film/venue/5f9832abd03d600001853aaf
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixCu3T_6NQ0&feature=youtu.be
Description: KINO marquee presents…The acclaimed, inspiring festival hit documentary on America's first hospital center for transgender medical care. BORN TO BE follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting, a plastic surgeon at the groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City-where, for the first time ever, all transgender and non-binary people have access to quality gender affirming health and surgical care. CTMS is Mount Sinai’s large, interdisciplinary transgender health program that includes adolescent health, adult primary care, hormone treatment, mental health support, and the surgical programs where Dr. Ting has played such a pivotal role with his innovative approaches.With extraordinary access, this feature-length documentary takes an intimate look at how one doctor's work impacts the lives of his patients as well as how his journey from renowned plastic surgeon to pioneering gender-affirming surgeon has led to his own transformation. BORN TO BE gives voice to those who refuse to conform to gender norms and stereotypes. The film addresses the nuances and complexities of gender, exploring key issues around the breadth of gender identity and expression among human beings. Through the gender affirming surgeries of Dr. Ting's patients, we witness the joys and torments that come with this brand-new territory-even as we see the limitations of Dr. Ting's renowned surgical skills, and his commitment to his new field being tested. "Intimate and highly compelling... poignant and finely tuned. Tania Cypriano treats her tireless subject with utmost sensitivity. With its cinematic eye, compelling subjects, and elegant awareness of the issues, Born to Be was conceived just in time." - Jude Dry, Indiewire. "Deeply moving and humane. Born to Be distinguishes itself with its sensitive, humane portrait of the dedicated Dr. Ting, his hard-working staff (some of whom are transgender themselves), and his diverse patients who yearn merely to live in a body that reflects their inner identity." - Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter. "A lively and moving documentary about the first major American hospital center for transgender surgery shows us what the future will look like. Moving and fascinatingly forward-looking. What the Mount Sinai center represents is a paradigm shift, if not a revolution." - Owen Gleiberman, Variety. Official selection: New York Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival. Directed by Tania Cypriano. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2793197510955457&id=1718261665115719
LAST CALL
Opens in Select Los Angeles Theatres on Wednesday, November 25.
Get more info from the film’s website: https://www.kstreetpictures.com/portfolio-item/last-call/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/474044023; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2796815720593636&id=1718261665115719
Description: A new drama inspired by the real life of Dylan Thomas, Regarded as one of the twentieth century's most influential lyrical poets. Written and directed by Steven Bernstein, LAST CALL stars Rhys Ifans (MISBEHAVIOUR, THE FANTASTIC FLITCROFTS) as Thomas, two-time Academy Award-nominee John Malkovich (IN THE LINE OF FIRE, PLACES IN THE HEART) as Thomas’ confidant and enabler, Dr. Felton, and in supporting roles, Rodrigo Santoro (“Westworld”), Romola Garai (ATONEMENT), Tony Hale (“Veep”) and Zosia Mamet (“Girls”). The story begins in New York City on Thomas’ final tour in 1953 – a tour that was meant to save him from ruin. The Welsh poet's reputation for heavy drinking and philandering would soon be forgotten as eager audiences are captivated by his poetry lectures. Full of poetry, passion, and an ultimate betrayal, the poet who gave us, "Do not go gentle into that good night," Under Milkwood, and stories and broadcasts such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, rages, loves and fights against the gathering darkness. One day at the local White Horse Tavern, he drinks 18 double scotches, naming each one after his life experience. Soon his fantasies, his memories, and an uncertain present blend into a wild, surreal farewell to the world.
RECON
Opens in close to 400 theaters nationwide the night before Veterans Day on November 10th (this year is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II)
Followed by a limited theatrical release on Friday, November 13th.
Check here for tickets: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/recon
Enjoy the trailer here: http://reconmovie.com/
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2782707758671099&id=1718261665115719
Description: A New World War II thriller, Based on a True Military Event. RECON centers around the true story of four young men stationed in Italy in the midst of war. The action occurs over the course of one long day as they debate both their fates and that of life itself. As they struggle to make it off the mountain alive guided by an Italian stranger these American soldiers face the worst that war can offer, and through this, each finds his own peace. The film is written and directed by Academy Award-winner, Robert Port, and adapted from the critically acclaimed New York Times best seller “Peace.” The novel was written by Air Force veteran Richard Bausch (it was awarded the 2010 Dayton International Literary Peace Prize). “Peace” will be re-published by Penguin Random House as an e-book this month. RECON stars Alexander Ludwig (BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, THE HUNGER GAMES, "Vikings") Sam Keeley (BURNT, "68 Whiskey"), Chris Brochu (DYNASTY, "Shameless") and Italian acting legend Franco Nero (DJANGO UNCHAINED, JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2). Nero was a young child living in Italy at the end of World War II.
Gravitas Ventures Presents…WHERE SHE LIES
Opens November 10th via all major video on demand platforms—more details to come!
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf5sTgFIU50&ab_channel=ZemmaProductions ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2782735368668338&id=1718261665115719
Description: WHERE SHE LIES tells the heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting true story of an assaulted teen, Peggy Phillips, who gives birth out of wedlock in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1962. Upon giving birth, Peggy receives conflicting narratives about her infant's fate, with one doctor claiming that her baby had passed, and another claiming it was thriving. Thirty-three years later, Peggy's mother reveals on her deathbed that Peggy's baby is still alive. After a series of new attempts to uncover the truth, including exhuming her infant's alleged grave, Peggy reaches an impasse when she runs out of money. Almost two decades later, a documentarian (Zach Marion) helps Peggy uncover the truth about what happened. They become friends, as they sift through an entanglement of local hearsay, claims from a greedy former inmate, and ultimately, DNA testing. Through its investigation of false narratives, memory, and motherhood, the film explores the gas-lighting and discrimination that Peggy faced as a sexual assault survivor in the 1960’s deep south. WHERE SHE LIES is directed by Zach Marion, a two-time student recipient of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Directing Award and is Marion's first feature-length film. The film was shot by Emma Kragen, a Motion Picture Association of America student award-winner and the Lisa Wiegand Fellowship in Cinematography recipient. Kragen was also featured in Variety's 110 Students to Watch in 2015. Winner: Nashville Film Festival, 2020—Official Selection
KILL IT AND LEAVE THIS TOWN
Exclusive Virtual Cinema Run Anthology Film Archives in New York
Begins November 27, 2020
Check here for screening info: http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screenings/series/52876
More info can be had at the film’s official website: https://killit.film/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqBoqMXV3I ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Outsider Pictures Presents the North American Premiere of Award Winning Polish Animated Feature… Polish artist Mariusz Wilczyński has been making visually striking, deeply personal short animations, as well as unique live animation performances, for twenty years. His body of work has won him widespread acclaim in Poland and tributes at institutions around the world, including MoMA, the National Gallery in London, the National Museum of Brasília, the Tokyo International Forum, and many others. The North American premiere run at Anthology Film Archives is a special two-week virtual engagement that will be accompanied by a program of Wilczyński’s earlier short films beginning December 3, 2020. Fifteen years in the making, KILL IT AND LEAVE THIS TOWN is Wilczyński’s first feature-length film. The winner of the Jury Distinction Award at Annecy International Film Festival and the Grand Prize for Feature Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, it is a hauntingly surreal meditation on aging, mortality, and loss. Adopting a visual style that makes visible the traces of its own creation, Wilczyński transmutes heavily autobiographical elements into a radically shape-shifting form in which outer reality and inner consciousness collapse into each other, and in which the laws of time, space, and identity are constantly in flux. “It is raw, rough, fragmented, angry, often brilliant with its own kind of aesthetic brusquery and pain. This is not animation which is there to exalt, or soothe, or celebrate human loveliness: it is animation which takes a fiercely miserable satirical stab at the world and itself, a language which is unreconciled, unaccommodated. Wilczyński serves up brutal images, often drawn on lined paper, for all the world as if that was the only thing to hand when he decided to spill his imaginative guts.” -- THE GUARDIAN. "One of the most important contemporary creators of artistic animation.” - THE NEW YORK TIMES . “Really stands out in the new Encounters competition thanks to its genre, mood, tone and emotional density.” -- CINEUROPA. “Mariusz Wilczynski’s terrifying first animated feature, Kill It and Leave This Town....depict(s) a world of monstrous inhumanity and devastating interpersonal cruelty —hell, in short.” -- HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. “This surreal and striking animation... [is] so personal and handmade that it almost bears fingerprints... a work of entrancing low-fi artistry and deeply felt emotion” -- SCREEN INTERNATIONAL. Awards and Festivals: Berlin International Film Festival - Official Selection – Encounters, Annecy Int'l Animation FF - Jury Distinction Award, Ottawa Int'l Animation FF - Best Film, Palic Int'l FF - Critics Jury Award, Viennale - FIPRESCI Prize
DIVINE LOVE, A Dystopian Futurist Film from Gabriel Mascaro
This Award-Winning Film Premieres in North American Theaters and Virtual Cinemas on Friday, November 13, including the Laemmle Theaters’ Virtual Cinema: https://www.laemmle.com/film/divine-love
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTwt5iqpgSk&feature=emb_logo : Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2785161411759067&id=1718261665115719
Description: An Unorthodox Religious Tale from Brazil. Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's (Neon Bull) DIVINE LOVE (Divino Amor) world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and intense audience reactions. Recommended for adult-viewing only, the film is sure to surprise and provoke viewers. It begins its North American theatrical premiere on Friday, November 13, from Outsider Pictures and Strand Releasing. It's the year 2027 in this futurist story of Joana (Brazilian star Dira Paes), who uses her position in a notary's office to convince divorcing couples to stay together. Her secret weapon is "Divine Love," an evangelical cult she belongs to that mixes group therapy and a little swinging, into its more traditional prayers and bible study. A crisis in her own marriage brings her closer to the God that is the cornerstone of her life. When Joana can't get pregnant with her husband, she prays regularly at a drive-in church, asking for a sign that she will conceive and ends up receiving a greater sign than she was prepared for. DIVINE LOVE is an unusual take on a future religion that is full of dance parties, ritualistic orgies, cults and Evangelical Christianity, as well as a critique of today's right-wing led Brazil. Director Gabriel Mascaro says, "The film takes place in a time when the majority of Brazil's population are now Evangelical, but the state still claims to be secular. It is a film that speculates the near future through an extraordinary allegory. DIVINE LOVE is a commentary on the conservative, fanatical and nationalist agenda that is spreading throughout the world and the way those that don’t espouse it, engage with it. Brazil has traditionally been referred to as a liberal and united country, where the annual Carnaval celebrations espouse the country’s diversity and cordiality. But the fact is that during the past few years, a cultural, social and political transformation led by powerful, ultra-conservative forces, has taken hold in the country.” Instead of telling the story of a character fighting against against this conservative shift, I wanted to tell the story of a woman consumed by a desire to advance the conservative religious agenda in a very personal way. If a societal chasm has emerged as a result of hatred and misunderstanding, cinema is a space where I can fantasize improbable encounters." "A lush, intricate sociopolitical commentary." —Eric Kohn, IndieWire. "Shocking, wonderfully acted and surprisingly erotic." —Tomris Laffly, RogerEbert.com."A thoughtful, intimate rumination on spirituality and sensuality."—Sarah Ward, Screen International. "The new age of Brazilian protest cinema begins here." —Guy Lodge, Variety
KINO NOW CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY WITH…A FREE MOVIE BINGE
A Special Selection of Eight Films Available to Rent Free Through November 15th
Featuring: BEANPOLE, BOY, THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS, IT FELT LIKE LOVE, DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME, VARIETY, THE HITCH-HIKER, WALK WITH ME
VISIT https://kinonow.com/series/
Redeem coupon code KNBDAY, Free Sign-Up, No Subscription Required
Click here to view the full lineup of the Kino Now Anniversary Binge: https://kinonow.com/series/anniversary-binge ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Reviews here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: Kino Lorber celebrates the one-year anniversary of its digital streaming platform, Kino Now, with a selection of its most essential films. To mark the anniversary, Kino Now is making available for a limited time eight films to rent for free, reflecting a mix of award-winning international, documentary, American independent, and classic cinema. The coupon can be redeemed through November 15, and once redeemed will be active for 15 days. Sign-up for Kino Now is free, no subscription required. Included in the free binge are recent international hits like Taika Waititi's heartwarming coming-of-age family drama Boy, and Oscar® shortlisted Russian WWII drama Beanpole. Kino Lorber's slate of critically acclaimed documentaries is represented by Dawson City: Frozen Time about the discovery of a treasure trove of lost films in Northern Canada. Fans of Eliza Hittman's new film Never Rarely Sometimes Always will want to check out her Brooklyn-set indie debut It Felt Like Love, while classic film buffs can enjoy restorations of Fritz Lang's silent masterpiece Metropolis, and fresh from their repertory re-releases, Ida Lupino's Film Noir thriller The Hitch-Hiker, and Bette Gordon's Variety, a feminist time capsule of seedy early-'80s Times Square. Finally, those looking for spiritual calm in these tumultuous times can find it in Walk With Me, a Benedict Cumberbatch-narrated portrait of Thich Nhat Hanh, who helped popularize the teachings of mindfulness in the Western world. Since its launch last fall, Kino Now has grown to more than 1000 titles individually offered for digital rental or purchase -- no subscription necessary -- culled from the rich library of Kino Lorber and its partner labels. Additionally, a new selection of approximately 50 titles are added to the platform each month. Kino Now brings movie lovers the masterworks of yesterday and new films destined to be the classics of tomorrow. Available a click away for rental and purchase all in a one-stop shop, this superbly curated digital library brings new convenience to savoring great cinema at home, as well as allowing film lovers to build permanent digital collections of their favorites to watch whenever they want on any device from portable handhelds to large home theater screens. Richard Lorber, President & CEO of Kino Lorber, said, "As a distributor we launched Kino Now as a fresh channel focused on the groundbreaking narratives and documentaries we offer. The anniversary binge was curated as a snapshot of the great works in our library and offered as a 'thank you' to our most loyal customers and a 'welcome' for newcomers wishing to experience cinema."
The Cinema Tropical Collection Presents WIÑAYPACHA (ETERNITY)
Premieres in English-Language Countries on Thursday, October 29 on Tropical on Demand
For information, including screening availability, visit: https://www.cinematropical.com/winaypacha
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/471161196 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2778187432456465&id=1718261665115719
Description: The First Peruvian Film in the Aymara Language by Óscar Catacora. The Cinema Tropical Collection is proud to announce the addition of Óscar Catacora’s acclaimed debut feature, Wiñaypacha (Eternity), as part of its prestigious VOD catalogue. Winner of the Best First Film and Best Cinematography awards at the Guadalajara Film Festival and the first Peruvian film shot entirely in the indigenous Aymara language, it premieres on Tropical on Demand on Thursday, October 29, 2020 and will available to stream in select English-language countries (USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland). A favorite at the 2019 edition of Neighboring Scenes Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center, Wiñaypacha tells the story of an elderly couple named Willka and Phaxsi (Sun and Moon) living in a remote part of the rugged Andes mountains. Like the elderly couple in Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story, the pair stoically face the challenges of daily life while waiting for the return of their son Antuku, who has migrated to the city. Based on the lives of the filmmaker’s maternal grandparents—his paternal grandfather plays the role of Willka—and drawing extensively from Aymara culture and cosmology, Wiñaypacha is an accomplished debut feature with magnificent cinematography, as well as an exciting addition to the vibrant, growing body of Latin American cinema featuring indigenous communities.
"Not just a great film, but a historic one... a deeply intimate and richly told tale of two people at the end of the lives while at the edge of the world." Winner, Best First Film and Best Cinematography, Guadalajara Film Festival, Official Selection, Neighboring Scenes Film Festival, New York, Official Selection, Mar del Plata Film Festival, Official Selection, Lima Film Festival, Official Selection, Montreal First Peoples Festival, Peru’s Academy Awards Candidate
About the Director: A strong new artistic voice from Latin America, the award-winning artist Óscar Catacora is a self-taught filmmaker from Peru. He began his career as an audiovisual producer at age 17 and went on to develop short and mid-length experimental films. The Path of the Pimp (2007), was his experimental middle length film in which he has also acted. He has a degree in Social Communication Sciences and has studies in Art in the specialty of Theatre of the National University of Puno Altiplano. Wiñaypacha (2017) marks his debut feature. —Joshua Brunsting, CriterionCast
THINGS WE DARE NOT DO
At the Chicago Film Festival (virtual screening for Midwestern audiences, October 14-25), followed by Nationwide Virtual Screening thru DOC NYC (https://www.docnyc.net/film/things-we-dare-not-do/ ) November 11-19
See the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/410038362 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2775678882707320/?type=3&theater
Description: U.S. Premiere of Bruno Santamaría’s Delicate and Inspiring Tale of Gender Expression. Things We Dare Not Do (Cosas que no hacemos), the second feature film by Mexican director and cinematographer Bruno Santamaría will have its U.S. premiere in the Documentary and Out-look competitions at the 56th annual edition of the Chicago International Film Festival, followed by its participation at the 11th edition of DOC NYC. Acclaimed at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Film Festival where it had its world premiere, Things We Dare Not Do offers a choral portrait of a small coast village on Mexico’s Pacific coast, featuring sixteen-year-old Ñoño, a teenager who dances, runs, and plays with the free spirit of the younger kids he hangs around. But when an incident disrupts the seemingly idyllic atmosphere, Ñoño bravely takes the bold step of coming out to his parents, telling them he wants to dress as a woman. Executive produced by Film of Vision and winner of the Best Film New Directors Award at the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival and the Best Documentary Award at the Lima Film Festival, the film will be available to stream for Midwestern audiences (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri) during the Chicago Film Festival taking place October 14-25, and to audiences nationwide during DOC NYC between November 11-19. With an exquisite cinematography by the director himself, Things We Dare Not Do takes the contemporary struggle for queer identity out of the usual urban setting, providing a fresh perspective on the issue and and a moving tale of emancipation. "Stunning.... a visually risk-taking, multilayered portrait of growing up and learning to live out loud.” —Lauren Wissot, Filmmaker Magazine. "Strong and engaging…A beautiful hybrid film tackles a difficult subject." —Nathaniel Muir, AIPT. About the Director: Bruno Santamaría (Mexico, 1986) is a cinematographer and documentary director graduated from Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) in Mexico City. Margarita marked his directorial debut, which received a a Mezcal Prize special mention at the 2016 Guadalajara Festival. As a cinematographer he has worked in Vivos by Ai Weiwei, The Best Thing You Can Do With Your Life by Zita Erffa and Artemio by Sandra Luz López, among others. His work has been shown at festivals such as Berlinale, Hot Docs, FIPA, Sheffield Doc Fest, Camerimage, Guadalajara and Morelia.
Kino Lorber PRESENTS…
THERE IS NO EVIL, Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
@AFI: Berlin Golden Bear Winner, Banned Drama Secretly Filmed & Smuggled Out for Berlinale
Virtual Screening at AFI Film Festival
Available to stream Oct 16 - 22
AFI: https://fest.afi.com/2020/world-cinema-2020/there-is-no-evil-sheytan-vojud-nadarad
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgyisKVoFzY ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2916610738614133&id=1718261665115719
Description: Iranian auteur’s banned drama about enforcement of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic was filmed secretly and smuggled out to the Berlin Festival where it won the Golden Bear. There is No Evil is an anthology feature comprised of four stories of men who are each put in front of an unthinkable but simple choice - to follow orders to enforce the death penalty upon others, or not. Whatever they decide, it will directly or indirectly corrode themselves, their relationships, and their entire lives. The humanistic stories offer insight into crucial themes of moral strength and the harshness of the death penalty under an oppressive regime. Due to a ban from the Iranian government, Rasoulof wasn’t allowed to attend the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, nor able to accept his award in-person. Along with fellow director Jafar Panahi, he has been sentenced to jail in the past and Iranian authorities have tried to enforce a 20-year ban to keep him from making movies. This is his sixth feature film, none of which have screened in Iran. “The movie provokes the wonder and terror of what it means to live in a world where every resolution brings new questions, and the prospects that a happy ending might carry the greatest risk of all.” -- Eric Kohn, Indiewire. "There Is No Evil" comes across as four films for the price of one, none of its segments anemic, and each contributing fresh insights to the paradoxes of capital punishment in Iran.” -- Peter Debruge, Variety. “Not since A Short Film About Killing has a filmmaker produced such a thrilling case against capital punishment, an enraging, enthralling, enduring testament to the oppressed.” -- Ed Frankl, The Film Stage. **WINNER! Golden Bear, 2020 Berlin Film Festival** Iranian independent director, writer and producer Mohammad Rasoulof was born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1972. His first film GAGOOMAN (THE TWILIGHT, 2002) won Best Film at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. Following the release of his second film, JAZIREH AHANI (IRON ISLAND, 2005), he faced issues with censorship laws in Iran, and, as a result, his films have been mostly banned. In 2017, he won the main prize in the Un Certain Regard section for LERD (A MAN OF INTEGRITY, 2017) at the Cannes Film Festival.
TEST PATTERN
Available for streaming in CA with MVFF43, Starting Fri. Oct 9 through Sun. Oct 18
https://tickets.cafilm.org/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=684470~e59f7b93-5494-4bb4-b96e-6aed676b1e8e&epguid=a2e58737-33e6-4346-ae14-6fe0b1238359&
Description: Kino Lorber presents a stunning new film!! Test Pattern is part psychological horror, part realist drama set against the backdrop of national discussions around inequitable health care and policing, the #metoo movement, and race in America. The film follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her white boyfriend drives her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit. The film analyzes the effects of the systemic factors and social conditioning women face when navigating sex and consent within the American patriarchy, along with exploring institutional racism from a Black female point of view. Shot in Austin and Los Angeles in 21 days, the feature had a woman at the head of every department on the film, a total production crew with more than 60% BIPOC and more than 40% of the cast and crew self-identifying as LGBTQIA. Shatara Michelle Ford is a Black American filmmaker born in rural Arkansas and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Her work explores class, power, womanhood, identity, memory, perception and race. Her script, Queen Elizabeth was featured on the 2017 Black List. Test Pattern is their debut feature. BlackStar Film Festival 2019 - Lionsgate/STARZ Producer Award. New Orleans Film Festival 2019 - Narrative Features Jury Award. West Coast Premiere—Mill Valley Film Festival, 2020. Theatrical Release set for Feb 2021. Directed by Shatara Michelle Ford, featuring Brittany S. Hall, Will Brill, Gail Bean, and Drew Fuller. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2859676260974248&id=1718261665115719
AULCIE, a film by Dani Menkin
AULCIE will stream between October 15 – 18 (a 72 hour period)
Tickets are available now through 10/18 at https://www.eventbrite.com/.../la-premiere-screening-of...
See the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/348279121
Description: The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Virtual Programs brings you the next film in their streaming series, "Courageous Conversations.” AULCIE tells the inspiring story of Aulcie Perry, a basketball legend who led Maccabi Tel Aviv to an upset win in the European Championship. During the summer of 1976, Aulcie Perry was spotted by a scout for Maccabi Tel Aviv while playing in Harlem and was quickly signed to play. After the season, Aulcie converted to Judaism and became an Israeli citizen. His relationship with Israel's top model was the focus of relentless media attention and cemented his status as an international phenomenon. But behind the scenes he struggled with addiction. This compelling film tells the story of this remarkable athlete who captured the spirit of a nation, triumphant and victorious against all odds, and put Israel on the map. This event is sponsored by The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival, the Consulate General of Israel, Los Angeles and Jewish Journal in partnership with the African American Film Critics Association. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2761895280752347&id=1718261665115719
TWO FASCINATING TRUE STORIES, PULLED FROM TODAY’S HEADLINES, BOTH AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON PBS!!
POV Presents Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra’s Docu-Thriller Hybrid
THE INFILTRATORS
An Unvarnished Look at a U.S. Immigration Detention Centers From the Inside
Monday, October 5, 2020 on PBS at 10p.m. ET (check local listings)
And at http://www.pbs.org/pov/ . The film will also be available to stream for free at pov.org until November 5, 2020. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2756451847963357&id=1718261665115719
AND…
Latino Public Broadcasting’s VOCES Presents
LATINO VOTE: DISPATCHES FROM THE BATTLEGROUND
Premiering Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 9pm-10pm ET (check local listings) on PBS, https://www.pbs.org/ and the PBS Video app. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2756758994599309/?type=3&theater
Both are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
THE INFILTRATORS is the winner of both the 'NEXT Innovator' and 'Audience Award' at the Sundance Film Festival. It tells the true story of two young immigrants who in 2012 were detained by the U.S. Border Patrol—on purpose—and put in a shadowy for-profit detention center in Broward County, Florida. Marco Saavedra and Viridiana “Viri” Martinez, who have protected status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention facilities.
However, when Saavedra and Martinez attempt a daring reverse ‘prison break,’ things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, The Infiltrators tells an incredible and thrilling true story by way of a genre-defying cinematic language.
LATINO VOTE: DISPATCHES FROM THE BATTLEGROUND follows Grassroots Activists and Political Operatives Working to Mobilize Latino Voters in the Coming Election. Directed by Bernardo Ruiz (Harvest Season, Reportero) and produced by Ruiz and Andrea Córdoba, Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground is an up-to-the-minute look at the ever-evolving 2020 election through the eyes of Latino voters who are poised to be the largest racial or ethnic group eligible to vote in a presidential election.
Told through a series of immersive dispatches from the battleground states of Nevada, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania, Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground follows the efforts of grassroots organizers, community leaders and political operatives working to ensure Latino voter turnout. The film follows left-leaning progressives as well as Latino evangelicals, many of whom support President Donald Trump.
The film begins in Las Vegas as candidates reach out to Latino workers ahead of the February caucus and then moves on to Super Tuesday, March 3, when Joe Biden’s candidacy seems assured. But less than two weeks later, the country is struck by an unexpected calamity: a pandemic that ravages communities both rural and urban, with Latinos bearing a disproportionate brunt of the devastation. Soon, the country is roiled again by the May 25 killing of George Floyd. What effect this seismic shift in the national landscape will have on Latino voters in November is a question organizers and candidates are hoping to answer as this very unique election draws near. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2756758994599309/?type=3&theater
HERB ALPERT IS...
Screens starting Friday, 10/2, through the Laemmle Theater’s Virtual Cinema at https://www.laemmle.com/film/herb-alpert .
You can also get more info and find out about related events through the film’s website: https://www.herbalpertis.com/
Enjoy the trailer here: https://vimeo.com/446842509 ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2753628824912326&id=1718261665115719
Description: Herb Alpert, legendary musician, artist and philanthropist has sold more than 72 million albums - 29 of them gold or platinum - outsold The Beatles in 1966 and co-founded A&M Records, the most successful independent record company in history. Herb Alpert Is…, directed by John Scheinfeld, looks at Herb’s extraordinary life with rare footage and interviews with colleagues like Sting and Questlove. Herb Alpert’s music has been a staple of American pop culture, winning nine Grammy Awards between 1966 and 2014, and receiving the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2012. A & M Records, which he co-founded with his business partner, Jerry Moss, recorded artists as varied as Carole King, Cat Stevens, The Carpenters, Janet Jackson, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendes, and The Police. Herb Alpert has shown his striking work as an abstract painter and sculptor worldwide. And through the Herb Alpert Foundation he has given significant philanthropic support to educational programs in the arts nationwide, from the Harlem School of the Arts and Los Angeles City College to CalArts and UCLA. John Scheinfeld’s documentary Herb Alpert Is… is a passionate and inspiring exploration of Alpert’s personal and creative journey that reveals the critical events, experiences and challenges that have shaped an extraordinary life and instilled deep within the Grammy-winning trumpeter the desire to make a difference each and every day. Colleagues ranging from Questlove to Sting to Quincy Jones to Burt Bacharach, Richard Carpenter, Sergio Mendes, Bill Moyers and Billy Bob Thornton bring their unique voices and perspectives to telling this remarkable story. In their words, the shy, unassuming trumpeter is a musical, artistic and philanthropic heavyweight. NOTE: A career-spanning HERB ALPERT Box Set will be released on OCTOBER 2nd in an LP format featuring a coffee-table book and a five-piece 180-gram vinyl set, and as a three-CD set. Both physical formats will feature 63 songs spanning five decades of ALPERT's career, 180 pages of vintage photos, liner notes and an essay from respected music journalist BUD SCOPPA.
THE INFILTRATORS—POV Presents Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra’s Docu-Thriller Hybrid
An Unvarnished Look at a U.S. Immigration Detention Centers From the Inside
Monday, October 5, 2020 on PBS at 10p.m. ET (check local listings)
And at pov.org. The film will also be available to stream for free at pov.org until November 5, 2020.
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvSuyItYudk ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2756451847963357&id=1718261665115719
Description: POV’s 33rd season is proud to present the national broadcast debut of the docu-thriller hybrid The Infiltrators, co-directed by Alex Rivera (Sleep Dealer) and Cristina Ibarra (Las Marthas, “Dirty Laundry: A Homemade Telenovela”.) Winner of both the 'NEXT Innovator' and 'Audience Award' at the Sundance Film Festival, The Infiltrators tells the true story of two young immigrants who in 2012 were detained by the U.S. Border Patrol—on purpose—and put in a shadowy for-profit detention center in Broward County, Florida. Marco Saavedra and Viridiana “Viri” Martinez, who have protected status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention facilities. However, when Saavedra and Martinez attempt a daring reverse ‘prison break,’ things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, The Infiltrators tells an incredible and thrilling true story by way of a genre-defying cinematic language. The activists that feature as protagonists — Saavedra, Martinez, and Claudio Rojas — were filmed as they planned and organized their campaign from a ‘safe house.’ Rivera and Ibarra then built the narrative around that documentary footage, additional interview material, community archival videos, broadcast news material and internal government documents that they obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Many of the film’s extras in the reenacted segments are undocumented or formerly detained individuals themselves. The filmmaking process, from start to finish, was designed to center the experiences of people whose perspectives are often left out of official renderings of the immigration process. Having made films on issues surrounding the border and U.S.–Latin American immigration since the mid 1990s, Rivera started noticing something in 2010 that he’d never seen before: immigrants getting arrested on purpose, and risking their own deportation, as an act of political protest. Rather than living in the shadows, these young undocumented activists were choosing to make their situations highly visible as a means to demand political change and freedom to pursue a full life in the only country they knew. “We live in a national reality in which hundreds of thousands of immigrants are being disappeared into for-profit detention centers, without trial, without attorneys representing them,” said Rivera. “Very few images of the insides of these facilities have leaked out—the corporations that run them tightly, control the flow of images. When we met the real-life activists—the infiltrators—we were captivated by their radical imagination. They had a bold plan for uncovering what was meant to remain in the Shadows.” "To tell this incredible true story we developed a new way of seeing," said Ibarra. "Inspired by the ‘performance’ that eventually got the infiltrators detained, we used our documentary camera to follow the real people, and then worked with actors and a script to tell the story inside detention that was otherwise un-seeable. The vision and voice of undocumented leaders pushed us to develop a new visual language. Following The Infiltrators 2019 festival premiere, lead protagonist Claudio Rojas was detained and launched into deportation proceedings—a surreal mirroring of the film’s plot in real time—and has since been deported back to his home country of Argentina after twenty years in the United States. Family members and lawyers close to his case believe that Claudio’s arrest may have been directly linked to his participation in the film – and part of an illegal pattern of retribution by ICE against immigrant activists.
THE KEEPER
Screens at the Laemmle Theaters Virtual Cinema starting 10/2: https://www.laemmle.com/film/keeper
Also available through Menemsha Films: https://www.menemshafilms.com/keeper and Kino Marquee: https://kinomarquee.com
Enjoy the trailer here: https://youtu.be/0k_y7FCjQik ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
Description: A compelling story about a former enemy overcoming bigotry and hate to become the hero of a nation! Winner of 10 U.S. Film Festival Audience Awards. ‘The Nazi soldier who became an English soccer star — with a rabbi’s help’…The Forward. The Keeper tells the incredible true story of Bert Trautmann (David Kross), a German soldier and prisoner of war who, against a backdrop of British post-war protest and prejudice, secures the position of Goalkeeper at Manchester City, and in doing so becomes a footballing icon. Struggling for acceptance by those who dismiss him as the enemy, Bert's love for Margaret (Freya Mavor), an Englishwoman, carries him through and he wins over even his harshest opponents by winning the 1956 FA Cup Final, playing on with a broken neck to secure victory. But fate will soon twist the knife for Bert and Margaret, when their love and loyalty to each other is put to the ultimate test. The Keeper is an extraordinary love story between a young English woman and a German prisoner of war, who together overcome prejudice, outrage and personal tragedy.
WE ARE MANY….100 CITIES. ONE NIGHT FOR PEACE. Livestream Premiere Screening Event
What: 100 Cities. One Night for Peace. A live, celebratory (virtual) premiere event with a screening of WE ARE MANY followed by Q&A with filmmakers, cast, musicians & more.
When: September 21, 2020, 5p PT / 8p ET
Where: Virtual - on screens across the world.
How: Get info and tickets here: http://wearemany.com/
DESCRIPTION: Mark your calendars for the Livestream premiere screening event of 2014’s We Are Many, an award-winning documentary about February 15th, 2003 the first-ever and largest nonviolent global demonstration and its impact on today’s social justice and peace movements. We Are Many, which will screen virtually on September 21st, the International Day of Peace, is not just the film’s North American movie premiere; it’s a virtual global gathering. There will be live conversations with film Director Amir Amirani, cast members, leaders in today’s social justice and peace movement, music performances, and other advocacy activities. 100 Cities. One Night for Peace. serves as a cinematic forum for joining together to reflect on the power of nonviolent protest, the sense of urgency to stand up, speak out and keep coming back to create change. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2743470139261528/?type=3&theater
NATIVE SON
The complete uncensored version, restored to its original length, available for the first time in the US!
Available at Laemmle Theatres Virtual Cinema 9/25: https://www.laemmle.com/film/native-son
NEW SPECIAL INTRODUCTION:
The film is preceded by a special filmed introduction by film historians Eddie Muller (Film Noir Foundation) and Jacqueline Najima Stewart (co-curator of Kino Lorber's PIONEERS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CINEMA), courtesy of Turner Classic Movies
VIEW THE INTRO: https://youtu.be/44vIBcz3wYI
Enjoy the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVPxgN8CY9g&feature=emb_logo
Description: Richard Wright Stars in the First Filmed Version of his Landmark Novel. Kino Lorber presents a new complete restoration of the 1951 film version of the novel, directed by Pierre Chenal and starring Richard Wright as Bigger Thomas. One of the most controversial novels of its day, Richard Wright's NATIVE SON (first published in 1940) exposed the injustices of urban African American life, witnessed through the eyes of Bigger Thomas, whose violent tendencies and moral confusion were the natural result of a lifetime of deprivation. In prison for murder and sentenced to death, Thomas reflects on the circumstances that led to his fate. "Genuine noir...an essential and previously missing link in mid-20th-century cinema." -- Eddie Muller, Film Comment. "The most powerful American novel to appear since The Grapes of Wrath...so overwhelming is its central drive, so gripping its mounting intensity." -- The New Yorker. ABOUT THE RESTORATION: When it was initially released in the U.S., NATIVE SON was heavily censored by regional state/municipal censor boards where it played. A complete 16mm print of the original Argentinian release and an incomplete 35mm duplicate negative of the uncensored cut were combined for the current restoration, the most complete version of NATIVE SON ever shown in the United States. CREDIT INFORMATION: Native Son is presented by Kino Lorber Repertory in association with the Library of Congress, Fernando Martin Peña and Argentina Sono Film. Special thanks to Edgardo Krebs for his years of research into the making of the film, and for being a tireless champion of its restoration and re-release. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2762164170725458&id=1718261665115719
ANNOUNCING THE 2020 EDITION OF MUSIC+FILM: BRAZIL
September 29 – October 5, 2020
GILBERTO GIL ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1, North American Premiere (Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2751809218427620/?type=3&theater )
WHERE ARE YOU, JOÃO GILBERTO?, The New York Premiere, Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
BEYOND IPANEMA, An Exclusive Tenth Anniversary Stream
All films will be available to stream at https://www.cinematropical.com/
Q&As with the filmmaker's on Cinema Tropical's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CinemaTropical/
Description: Cinema Tropical, Brasil Summerfest, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at New York University, are thrilled to announce a special online edition of the popular series Music+Film: Brazil, taking place September 29 through October 5, 2020 on cinematropical.com. This year’s exciting lineup, programmed by Mary Jane Marcasiano, celebrates the impact of Brazilian music on foreign audiences and features the premieres of two documentary films on music icons Jõao Gilberto, a pioneering figure of the bossa nova movement, and Gilberto Gil, a luminary acclaimed for his musical innovation as much as his social activism. The series will also feature a special tenth anniversary stream, free to the public, of the ultimate Brazilian music documentary, Beyond Ipanema by Béco Dranoff and Guto Barra. The virtual film series, available to audiences across the U.S., will present the North American premiere of Georges Gachot’s Where Are You, João Gilberto?, a probing documentary on the enigmatic and legendary Brazilian musician through the inquiries of a mysterious German writer, and the New York Premiere of Lula Buarque de Hollanda’s Gilberto Gil Anthology Vol.1, the first of a three-part series that will lead up to the iconic musician's 80th birthday in 2022. Since 2008, Music+Film: Brazil has showcased numerous screenings featuring the best of Brazilian music and a who’s who of performers from every corner of the South American country, and the 2020 special online edition of the series is no exception.
GILBERTO GIL ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1
(Gilberto Gil Antologia Vol.1, Lula Buarque de Hollanda, Brazil, 2019, 73 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. North American premiere.) The directing-producing team of Lula Buarque de Hollanda and Leticia Monte have been behind some of the most intimate, recent Brazilian music documentaries including The Mystery of Samba, starring Marisa Monte and the Portela Samba School, and Tempo Rei on Gilberto Gil. Their newest, Gilberto Gil Anthology Vol.1, is the first of a three-part series that will lead up to the iconic musician’s 80th birthday in 2022. This installment examines Gil's body of work between 1968 and 1987 through never before seen archival footage. A hit at the 2019 Rio Film Festival, the documentary, co-produced by the musician’s wife, Flora Gil, sheds light on his songs' background through conversations with the musician himself in which he discusses his worldview and expanding creative power at the beginning of his career during this turbulent Brazilian historical moment. Premieres, Tuesday, September 29 (available to stream for one week)
WHERE ARE YOU, JOÃO GILBERTO?
(Wo bist du, João Gilberto? Georges Gachot, Switzerland/France/Germany, 2018, 107 minutes. In German, Portuguese, English and French with English subtitles. New York premiere.) Swiss-born director Georges Gachot has made some of the most beautiful films on Brazilian music, including Rio Sonata on Nana Cayami, Music and Perfume on Maria Bethania, and O Samba on Martinho da Viola. In his latest film, Where Are You, João Gilberto?, acclaimed at over thirty international film festivals including Locarno and Vision du Reel, Gachot follows the footsteps of German writer Marc Fischer's obsessive search for the founding father of bossa nova, Brazilian musician João Gilberto. Fischer detailed his journey in a book, Hobalala, but committed suicide one week before its publication. Taking up the search, Gachot transcends Fisher’s obsession, managing to be delicate and respectful to both protagonists, while with access to Gilberto’s family and friends—including his second wife, singer Miúcha, and fellow bossa nova composers Marcos Valle and Roberto Menescal—he offers a portrait of this enigmatic figure. Premieres, Tuesday, September 29 (available to stream for one week)l Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/
BEYOND IPANEMA: BRAZILIAN WAVES IN GLOBAL MUSIC
(Guto Barra and Béco Dranoff, Brazil/USA, 2009, 89 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles.) A vibrant musical and graphic experience, Beyond Ipanema explores the Brazilian music experience outside of Brazil and why Brazilian music has captivated audiences worldwide for generations. Directed by Guto Barra and music producer Beco Dranoff (Red Hot + Rio), the film asks and answers the question, why does bossa nova still lure DJs and producers fifty years since its debut, and why is the alternative-rock crowd obsessed with tropicália? Beyond Ipanema, which had its world premiere at MoMA and played in over 50 international film festivals, features interviews and performances by David Byrne, Devendra Banhart, M.I.A., Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Tom Zé, Seu Jorge, Thievery Corporation, Bebel Gilberto, CSS, Creed Taylor, and many others. The film’s specially curated soundtrack features Brazilian classics reinterpreted by a new generation of artists—a Dranoff signature producing style. Streaming free for one day in celebration of its tenth anniversary, Beyond Ipanema represents a unique opportunity for U.S. audiences to be swept away by the Brazilian wave. Streaming for free on Monday, October 5
Latino Public Broadcasting’s VOCES Presents
LATINO VOTE: DISPATCHES FROM THE BATTLEGROUND
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) has announced the new VOCES special, Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground, premiering Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 9pm-10pm ET (check local listings) on PBS, pbs.org and the PBS Video app.
Premieres Tuesday, October 6, 2020; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2756758994599309/?type=3&theater
Description: New Documentary Follows Grassroots Activists and Political Operatives Working to Mobilize Latino Voters in the Coming Election; Directed by Bernardo Ruiz (Harvest Season, Reportero) and produced by Ruiz and Andrea Córdoba, Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground is an up-to-the-minute look at the ever-evolving 2020 election through the eyes of Latino voters who are poised to be the largest racial or ethnic group eligible to vote in a presidential election. Historically known as “the sleeping giant,” the Latino vote has been an elusive prize, but many believe that 2020 will be the year the giant awakens. Latino voters turned out at unprecedented rates in the 2018 midterms and candidates have stepped up their courting. Told through a series of immersive dispatches from the battleground states of Nevada, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania, Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground follows the efforts of grassroots organizers, community leaders and political operatives working to ensure Latino voter turnout. The film follows left-leaning progressives as well as Latino evangelicals, many of whom support President Donald Trump.The film begins in Las Vegas as candidates reach out to Latino workers ahead of the February caucus and then moves on to Super Tuesday, March 3, when Joe Biden’s candidacy seems assured. But less than two weeks later, the country is struck by an unexpected calamity: a pandemic that ravages communities both rural and urban, with Latinos bearing a disproportionate brunt of the devastation. Soon, the country is roiled again by the May 25 killing of George Floyd. What effect this seismic shift in the national landscape will have on Latino voters in November is a question organizers and candidates are hoping to answer as this very unique election draws near. "Latino Vote is a fascinating chronicle of this year’s highly charged political climate,” says Sandie Viquez Pedlow, executive director of Latino Public Broadcasting and executive producer of VOCES.
“With Latino voters poised to be a powerful non-white bloc this November, this film introduces us to those on the ground, working to realize this promise.” Says director/producer Ruiz, “I was eager to bring journalism to the screen that doesn’t rely on correspondents or pundits, but instead focuses directly on the Latinx organizers and voters who may very well determine the nation’s political future.”
“As one of the nation’s most trusted sources for news and public affairs programming, PBS is pleased to air Latino Vote and shine a light on the important role this community will play in our upcoming democratic process,” said Perry Simon, PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming.
About the Filmmaker: Bernardo Ruiz (Director/Producer) is a two-time Emmy® Award-nominated documentary filmmaker and a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He has directed and produced four feature documentaries and a host of nonfiction programming for a variety of outlets including PBS, HBO, ESPN and Facebook Watch. His feature credits as director include: The Infinite Race (ESPN’s 30 for 30, 2020), Harvest Season (Independent Lens, 2019), Kingdom of Shadows (Participant Media, 2015) and Reportero (POV, 2013). In the fall of 2015, Ruiz was a filmmaker in residence at the Investigative Reporting Program (IRP) at the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Previously he created and executive produced the two part bilingual PBS series, The Graduates / Los Graduados (Independent Lens, 2013). Edutopia called it “a winner that should be seen by as many students, teachers and parents as possible.”
SOFTIE
Coming to the Laemmle Theaters' Viirtual Cinema starting September 18th: https://www.laemmle.com/film/softie
First clip from SOFTIE, full trailer coming soon: https://vimeo.com/435350768
Description: What comes first, country or family? Boniface “Softie” Mwangi has long fought injustices in his country as a political activist. Now he’s taking the next step by running for office in a regional Kenyan election. From the moment Boniface decides to run, telling his wife, Njeri, in passing with a hesitant laugh, he responds to each challenge with optimism. But running a clean campaign against corrupt opponents becomes increasingly harder to combat with idealism alone. And Boniface soon finds that challenging strong political dynasties is putting his family at risk. Should country really come before family, as he’s always believed? Directed and Written by Sam Soko, Produced by Toni Kamau and Sam Soko. "A marvel of narrative storytelling..."-Filmmaker Magazine. "A compelling act of defiance…a powerful and personal election biopic... as intimate as it is brave" -The Film Stage. "...tremendous film" -The Times (UK). WINNER - Special Jury Award for Editing - 2020 Sundance Film Festival, Official Selection - 2020 CPH:DOX, Official Selection - 2020 Full Frame Film Festival, Opening Night - 2020 Hot Docs Film Festival. Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2741078056167403/?type=3&theater
THE DARK DIVIDE
Coming to the Laemmle Theaters' Viirtual Cinema starting September 18th: https://www.laemmle.com/film/dark-divide ; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club’s Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2739968719611670/?type=3&theater
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jp9J9V8tGY&feature=emb_logo
Description: Join the journey and get lost to find yourself! THE DARK DIVIDE is based on the true story of renowned butterfly expert Dr. Robert Pyle’s (David Cross) perilous 1995 journey across one of America’s largest undeveloped wildlands. At the urging of his dying wife Thea (Debra Messing), the shy author finds himself in over his head on an epic, life-changing expedition through Washington’s Gifford Pinchot National Forest in search of new species of butterflies. Over the course of his six-week adventure Pyle battles self-doubt, the grueling trail, and the people and creatures who call this forest home. And, somewhere deep in the heart of The Dark Divide, he makes a discovery that challenges everything he knows about the natural world. Director Tom Putnam; starring David Cross, Debra Messing, David Koechner. Music by The Avett Brothers, Krist Novoselic, The National Reserve, Samantha Crane, Bombidil, and more.
THE 12TH ANNUAL HOLA MÉXICO FILM FESTIVAL IS GOING VIRTUAL!!!
September 11-20 during Hispanic Heritage Month
For the first time ever, to watch the festival, you need to either be an already existing PANTAYA subscriber, or subscribe using this link https://www.pantaya.com/offers?c=aG1mZjIwMjA%3D . Use code HMFF2020 to for discount. Get more info here: https://www.holamexicoff.com/
Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review for AT´ANII´ here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2734982166776992/?type=3&theater; Enjoy the KPFK Film Club Review for BLANCO DE VERANO here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2735842243357651/?type=3&theater
Description: This highly regarded film festival will feature 20 films kicking off with CHICUAROTES from renowned Mexican actor, director, and producer Gael Garcia Bernal. Watch the Best in Mexican Cinema While Staying Safe at Home, for an Incredible Low Price! The festival will also include Q & A’s, Virtual Red Carpets and will try to mirror the physical festival in an online way as much as possible!
Opening film—CHICUAROTES by the Renowned Mexican Actor, Director, and Producer Gael Garcia Bernal. Chicuarotes centers upon ‘Cagalera’ and ‘El Moloteco’, a pair of young boys who struggle to overcome the poverty that engulfs their community. In order to do this, they perform clown acts on public transportation. Nonetheless, they realize that they do not earn a sufficient living, not even to cover their basic needs. The story takes a radical turn when the young boys begin to rob passengers. The 2019 Mexican drama film was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival and it was selected for competition at the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival.
The Hola México Film Festival is comprised of the following sections:
México Ahora features the best of Mexican films released in recent years, covering every genre:
ASFIXIA, Director Kenia Márquez;
AMORES MODERNOS, Director Matías Meyer;
CLASES DE HISTORIA, Director Marcelino Islas Hernández;
CHICUAROTES, Director Gael García Bernal;
LOS PAISAJES, Director Rodrigo Cervantes;
BLANCO DE VERANO, Director Rodrigo Ruiz Patterson;
EL DESEO DE ANA, Director Emilio Santoyo.
Documental includes top documentary films made by Mexican filmmakers:
RETIRO, Director Daniela Alatorre;
DISPARO, Director Rodrigo Hernández;
EL GUARDIÁN DE LA MEMORIA, Director Marcela Arteaga;
RADIO SILENCIO, Director Juliana Fanjul;
ERASE UNA VEZ, Director Juan Carlos Rulfo;
YERMO, Director Everardo González;
VAQUERO DE MEDIODÍA, Director Diego Enrique Osorno;
OBLATOS, EL VUELO QUE CURCO LA NOCHE, Director Acelo Ruiz Villanueva.
Hola Niños features Mexican-made animated films for children:
UN DISFRAZ PARA NICOLÁS, Director Ximena Beltrán.
El Otro Mexico highlights experiences of Mexicans rarely portrayed on screen, skillfully presenting perceptive narratives that challenge the status quo:
AT’ANII, Director Antonino Isordia Llamazares; TÍO YIM, Director Luna Maran.
Nocturno will present audiences with bizarre and purely horrifying films being produced in Mexico:
CLUB INTERNACIONAL AGUERRIDOS, Director Leandro Córdovs;
DESDE TU INFIERNO Director Alexis Pérez Montero.
The Hola México Festival is also proud to reveal this year’s key art by the México City-based muralist Mauricio Groenewold González. Supported by some of the most important film organizations in the world, Hola México Film Festival’s prestigious mentor program Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today connects Latino filmmakers based in Los Angeles to resources and industry leaders in order to help develop a creative community of like-minded individuals. Lastly, the festival will still include an award ceremony. Recognitions will include best director, best short film, and best audience award.
About Hola México Film Festival:Founded in 2008, Hola Mexico Film Festival, the largest Mexican Film Festival outside of Mexico, strives to highlight the best and brightest talents in Mexican cinematography. Spanning comedies, dramas, horror films and documentaries, the festival showcases high quality films in a festive atmosphere in conjunction with exclusive parties and outdoor concerts. Celebrating its 12th edition, Hola Mexico Film Festival will take place virtually in September 2020, offering film enthusiasts a chance to view a variety of significant Mexican films. Sponsors include: Cinelatino, Corolla, HBO, Delta Aeromexico, Herradura, and UNAM LA.
About Pantaya: The festival is in-partnership with PANTAYA, a joint venture between Lionsgate and Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. Pantaya is the first-ever premium steaming destination for world-class movies and series in Spanish, offering the largest selection of the biggest blockbusters and critically acclaimed films from Latin America and the US as well as bold never before-seen original series.
OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS 2020: LIVE ACTION, DOCUMENTARY, and ANIMATED at the LAEMMLE’S Pasadena Playhouse 7!!
All KPFK Listeners Are Invited to Call in for Available Tickets!!!
Fri 1/31 thru 2/6
Laemmle’s Playouse 7, 673 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91101
Get more info at the Playhouse 7’s website: https://www.laemmle.com/series/2020-oscar-nominated-shorts
Call 818-985-2711 to request an available pair of complementary tickets; you don’t have to be a KPFK Film Club Member for these events, but please, when you call, consider JOINING the KPFK Film Club and enjoy the benefits of membership!!!
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=30&v=L51rz7wmPac&feature=emb_logo
Description: Don't miss this rare opportunity to see all five Academy Award nominees in the categories of Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, AND the Documentary Shorts at Laemmle’s Playhouse 7!!
The Live Action Program includes: Brotherhood (Canada/Tunisia/Qatar/Sweden), about a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia who is deeply shaken when his oldest son returns home after a long journey with a mysterious new wife; Nefta Football Club (France/Tunisia), in which two young brothers come across a donkey in the desert—wearing headphones over its ears; The Neighbors’ Window (USA), the story of a frustrated wife and mother whose life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings move in across the street and she discovers that she can see into their apartment; Saria (USA), the tale of two inseparable orphaned sisters as they fight against daily abuse and unimaginable hardship at Virgen de La Asuncion Safe Home in Guatemala; and A Sister (Belgium), about a woman in trouble who must make the most important call of her life.
The Animated Program includes: Daughter (Czech Republic), about a daughter who recalls a childhood moment when as a little girl she tried to share her experience with an injured bird with her father; Hair Love (USA), a heartfelt story centering around the relationship between an African-American father, his young daughter, and the most daunting task a father could ever come across—doing his daughter’s hair for the first time; Kitbull (USA), revealing the unlikely connection that sparks between two creatures: a fiercely independent stray kitten and a pit bull; Mémorable (France), about a painter who begins experiencing strange events—slowly, furniture, objects and people lose their realism, sometimes disintegrating; and Sister (China/USA), in which a man thinks back to his childhood memories of growing up with an annoying little sister in China in the 1990s. What would his life have been like if things had gone differently? This program will be rounded out with additional animated shorts.
The Documentary Shorts Program includes: Life Overtakes Me -tells the story of traumatized children of the refugee diaspora who are in such profound despair that they withdraw into a coma-like state. in Sweden, over 400 refugee children have been afflicted with this life-threatening psychosomatic illness, and the film accompanies two of them and their families on their frightening odyssey through Resignation Syndrome; Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) - in Afghanistan, many young girls are not allowed to participate in sports. Cultural and religious norms, along with other factors such as safety concerns and years of warfare, have resulted in limited athletic and recreational opportunities for women and girls, especially those who come from impoverished neighborhoods. But there is a new generation of Afghan girls who believe they can do anything. Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) tells the story of young Afghan girls learning to read, write - and skateboard - in Kabul; In the Absence-When the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from the national authorities; Walk Run Cha-Cha - Paul and Millie Cao fell in love as teenagers in Vietnam but were soon separated by the war. Years later they finally reunited in California. Now, after decades of working hard to build new lives, they are making up for lost time on the dance floor. Shot over a period of six years, Walk Run Cha-Cha is an intimate, beautifully-crafted story about immigration, transformation and the power of love; St. Louis Superman - Bruce Franks Jr., a Ferguson, Missouri activist and battle rapper who was elected to the overwhelmingly white and Republican Missouri House of Representatives, must overcome both personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a bill critical for his community.
DISCO’D
Opens November 8th at the Downtown Independent in Los Angeles, 251 S Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Get more info here: https://downtownindependent.com/
AND, call 818-985-2711 to request an available pair of complementary tickets, if you’re a Film Club Member, or to JOIN the KPFK Film Club and ENJOY THE FUN!!!!!
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHCMMFmOqOk
Description: The film is a series of character-driven portraits of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. It’s a documentary that captures the moment-to-moment uncertainty and endless instability of life on the streets. Immersive and intimate, highlighting issues of displacement, affordable housing, addiction, consumerism, and sanitation, DISCO’D examines the nature and complexities of homelessness. Siretta and his producing partner, Sam Mantell, live in Los Angeles and spent four years, shooting over 180 hours of material predominantly at night, to create a meaningful portrait on homelessness, and the homeless crisis, in Los Angeles. Their encounters with their many subjects led them beyond Skid Row and to the streets of Hollywood and other local vicinities. DISCO'D Honors include the Belfast Film Festival, 2018 | Official Selection, Maysles Competition Visions Du Reel, 2018 | Media Library; and the Brooklyn Film Festival, 2017 | Audience Award (work-in-progress screening)
CHESLEY BONESTELL: A BRUSH WITH THE FUTURE—ATTENTION ALL KPFK LISTENERS!
Three encore screenings at Laemmle Theatre’s are all scheduled at 7:30pm:
--Laemmle’s Glendale, 207 N Maryland Ave, Glendale, CA 91206, on Oct. 21st,
--The Monica Film Center, 1332 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401, on Oct. 23rd, and
--Laemmle’s NoHo7, 5240 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601, Oct. 24th.
Post-Screening Q&As are scheduled at each location. The film's Producer/Writer/Director Douglass M. Stewart, Jr. will host the Q&A at the Monica Film Center Theatre and Associate Producer Christopher Darryn will host Q&As in Glendale and North Hollywood.
For more information please visit: https://www.laemmle.com/film/chesley-bonestell-brush-future
…AND, call 818-985-2711 to request a pair of available complementary tickets to a screening of your choice. Attention All KPFK Listeners!!! You don’t have to be a KPFK Film Club Member to request tickets for this event but you’ll want to call soon as supplies are limited and subject to availability. Call the same number to JOIN the KPFK Film Club and enjoy the benefits of membership!
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tASO0YHxRE4
Read the KPFK Film Club Review here: https://www.facebook.com/1718261665115719/photos/a.1718312808443938/2380451402230072/?type=3&theater
Description: What do the Chrysler Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the films Citizen Kane and Destination Moon and America's space program have in common? They were all touched by the creative vision of a forgotten artist named Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986). Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future is the first-ever documentary to focus on the amazing life and works of “The Father of Space Art.” Bonestell’s paintings of worlds beyond our own helped create America’s space program. On the eve of celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the lunar landing, it can be said that Chesley was a man who helped get us to the moon, not with technology, but with a paintbrush. "More than three decades after his death in 1986, Bonestell remains one of the most important and influential astronomical artists ever to put paint to canvas." - Don Vaughan, Filmfax Magazine, Jan. – Mar. Issue 2019. Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future features rare interviews with Bonestell himself, along with Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451), Douglas Trumbull (2001: A Space Odyssey) and veterans Ben Burtt, Craig Barron and Richard Edlund. Additional perspectives come from space artists David Aguilar, Don Davis, astronomer Dr. Lucianne Walkowicz and numerous others who knew him or were influenced by his art. This multi-award-winning film compellingly combines art, science fiction and science fact to engagingly tell the story of Bonestell’s life and his uncanny predictive ability to create visions of distant worlds that still resonate deeply within us. “If you’ve never heard of Bonestell, you’ll come away from the film wondering why not. And if, like me, you knew something of Bonestell’s life and work, you’ll be astonished to discover how much more you didn’t know...informative, entertaining, and inspiring." - “Meet Chesley Bonestell, The Most Important Space Artist You’ve Probably Never Heard Of”- Richard Tresch Fienberg, Astronomy Magazine, March 15, 2019.
THE MOUNTAIN
Screens 7/26 thru 8/1
Nuart Theater, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
The Saturday, 7/27 7PM screening will feature a Q/A with Actor Jeff Goldblum and Director/Co-Writer Rick Alverson!!
Visit The Nuart’s Website for more info: https://www.landmarktheatres.com/los-angeles/nuart-theatre/film-info/the-mountain
And… Call 818-985-2711 to request an available pair of complementary tickets for your choice of a Mon-Thurs Screening, if you’re a Film Club Member, or to JOIN the KPFK Film Club and ENJOY THE FUN!!!
See the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYCTxoXx-H8
Description: Set against the 1950’s "golden age" of American male supremacy, an introverted young photographer (Tye Sheridan) joins a renowned lobotomist (Jeff Goldblum) on a tour to promote the doctor’s recently-debunked procedure. As he increasingly identifies with the asylum’s patients, he becomes enamored with a rebellious young woman (Hannah Gross) and lost in the burgeoning New Age movement of the west. Also starring Denis Lavant and Udo Kier. “A beautiful… singular portrait of America’s fractured identity.”– Eric Kohn, Indiewire. “Genuinely menacing. A near-hypnotic pall of strangeness.” – Guy Lodge, Variety. “Dark and visionary.” – Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter. “Surreally gorgeous. Replete with unsettling, rewarding pleasures.” – Leonard Goi, MUBI. Awards include: Official Selection – Venice Film Festival, Official Selection – Sundance Film Festival, Official Selection – SXSW
INVISIBLE HANDS
--Sunday 6/9 2PM SPECIAL SCREENING EVENT at the Beautiful Choi Auditorium at nearby Occidental College (1600 Campus Road in Los Angeles (Location url: https://map.oxy.edu/?id=1103#!m/276705?s/choi?ct/22122,0 ) Doors at 2PM; Film screens at 3PM.
--This Special Event includes a Q&A with the filmmaker Shraysi Tandon, with KPFK General Manager Anyel Fields and Christine Blosdale in attendance!! SUBSCRIBERS FOR THIS EVENT WILL ALSO GET THE INVISIBLE HANDS DVD SENT TO THEM.
--Tickets available to the public by pledging a subscription to KPFK during the May Fund Drive at 818-985-5735. Or pledge online at http://catalog.kpfk.org/product-list.html
--Film Club Members are invited to call 818-985-2711 to request available complementary tickets (in limited supply, so call right away.) Note: Film Club Tickets do not include the DVD, but the INVISIBLE HANDS DVD alone will be also be available during the May Fund Drive as a subscription pledge—call 818-985-5735 during the May Drive for details.
Description: An Informative New Documentary about Child Labor and Child Trafficking!! Celebrate National Children’s Day by arming yourself with useful information that can help stop child trafficking and child labor!! Produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Charles Ferguson, INVISIBLE HANDS is the first feature documentary to expose child labor and trafficking within the supply chains of the world's biggest companies which produce some of our most loved items. INVISIBLE HANDS digs deep into a modern slavery system quietly supported by some of the world’s largest companies, demanding to know why top stakeholders continue to engage in this unlawful practice. Filmed in six countries including India, China, Hong Kong, the United States, Indonesia and Ghana, it is a harrowing account of children as young as 6 years old making the products we use every day. Chilling undercover footage shows children being sold to the highest bidder and others being abused by a pervasive system of slave labor. It profiles some of the people who have risked their safety to rescue children from slave labor, and gives viewers pragmatic and practical ways in which they can ACT to help stop this world wide epidemic.
KPFK is proud to announce that the Highland Park Independent Film Festival is a wonderful Community Sponsor for this event: https://www.hpifilmfest.com/index.html
KPFK is a progressive media outlet challenging corporate media perspectives and providing a voice to voiceless communities. Help keep KPFK a strong and independent source of music, arts, news and information.
Schedule
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Something's Happening honoring Roy Of HollywoodMidnight - 6:00am
News and programming on the cutting edge - dynamite radio for night people
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Informativo Pacifica6:00am - 6:30am
Un programa de media hora con noticias nacionales e internacionales con reportes y contribuciones de periodistas de mas de treinta paises de nuestra America y Europa.
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Sojourner Truth wMargaret Prescod7:00am - 8:00am
Sojourner Truth brings you news and views on local, national, and international policies and stories that affect us all.
Events
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Dayramir Gonzalez Live At Catalina Jazz Club April 17, 2024Dayramir Gonzalez: "V.I.D.A." CD Release Concert (Music Almbassador of Cuba) Wednesday April 17, 2024 8:30pm Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood
at Catalina Jazz Club -
15th TCM Classic Film Festival Hollywood April 18–21, 202415th TCM Classic Film Festival Hollywood Thursday April 18– Sunday April 21, 2024 Festival Passes On Sale Now!
at Hollywood Roosevelt -
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band April 19, 2024 Live At The Oxnard Canyon OPACKenny Wayne Shepherd Band April 19, 2024 Live At The Oxnard Canyon Oxnard Performing Arts Center
at Oxnard Performing Arts Center -
Urban Bush Women Legacy + Lineage + Liberation April 19, 2024 At Royce HallUrban Bush Women 40th Anniversary: Legacy + Lineage + Liberation Friday April 19, 2024 8pm At UCLA's Royce Hall
at Royce Hall -
Record Store Day 2024Record Store Day 2024 will celebrate the independent record store on April 20, 2024.
at Amoeba Music
Today's Weather
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Los Angeles Area ForecastSunny intervals
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