Woody Allen Film Opening Tribeca + Oscar Shorts

Woody Allen film to open Tribeca Film Festival: Whatever Works.

The most recent Woody Allen film, Whatever Works, will open the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival on April 22. Whatever Works is Allen’s first film shot in New York City since 2004: Match Point, Cassandra’s Dream, and Scoop were filmed in Britain, while Vicky Cristina Barcelona was filmed in Spain.

Thus far, the Whatever Works plot remains murky – something to do with an upper-class New Yorker who decides to go for a more bohemian lifestyle – but whatever it’s about, here’s hoping that Whatever Works will be funnier than Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Henry Cavill, Ed Begley Jr., and Patricia Clarkson, Whatever Works will open in the U.S. in late summer 2009.

Allen’s next project, as yet untitled, is set to be filmed in London. In the cast: Naomi Watts, Anthony Hopkins, and Josh Brolin. He may be filming in Ireland next – or perhaps Argentina, if someone invites him to check out cosmopolitan Buenos Aires.

“If someone offered to put up the money for me to shoot in Ireland,” he told the Irish Times, “I’m sure I could think of a story.

“I’ve been asked a few times if I could do a movie in Argentina, but I’ve never been there, so I’ve no idea where I could begin to think about making a movie there. Whereas I’ve been to Ireland a few times and I think it’s a very viable location. And there have been some wonderful films shot in Ireland.

“I couldn’t have been able to afford to make a film like Vicky Cristina Barcelona in New York City. I work on a very limited budget, but I can’t afford to work here too easily, so I have to go places where I can afford to film. I could raise more money here, but that would bring in people who would ask questions and it’s best to keep them out of it. I’d rather work for less money.”

The 2009 Tribeca Film Festivals runs through May 3.

Tribeca Film Festival website.

“Shorts!,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences program featuring the 2009 Oscar nominees in the Animated and Live Action Short Film categories, will be presented in New York City on Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International (111 East 59th Street). There will be two separate screenings of the nominated films, the first at noon and an encore presentation at 4 p.m.

Film historian Robert Osborne, who is a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, host of Turner Classic Movies, and author of the new book 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards, will act as host of the noon screening. Osborne will also be available at 11 a.m. to sign copies of his book.

The 2009 Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film nominees are:

Tickets for “Shorts!” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at the Academy’s website beginning Monday, Feb. 2, or at the Academy box office on the day of the event (subject to availability).

The box office will open at 10:30 a.m.; doors open at 11 a.m. for the first screening and 3 p.m. for the encore screening. All seating is unreserved. For additional information call (212) 821-9251 or visit www.oscars.org.

The 2009 Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. In the US, the Oscarcast will be televised live by ABC.

Gen-Art

PRESS RELEASE: The 14th Annual Gen Art Film Festival kicks off on April 1, 2009 in New York City. The Gen Art Film Festival (GAFF)’s unique format showcases seven features and seven shorts from emerging filmmakers which are followed by seven premiere parties. The festival allows film lovers to experience a movie premiere like a true insider. Each night of this cutting edge festival is an interactive experience, allowing filmmakers, media, and the audience to share in the excitement. The festival will be taking place at SVA; the completely redesigned, state-of-the-art Visual Arts Theater on West 23rd Street between 8-9th Avenue.

Adding to the anticipation, the star-studded LYMELIFE is set to open the GAFF festival. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Leonard Loventhal and starring Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon, Jill Hennessy, Emma Roberts, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, and Timothy Hutton, LYMELIFE world-premiered at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, where it received the coveted Prize of International Critics Award and had its U.S. debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The GAFF opening will serve as the official New York premiere and will kick-off LYMELIFE’s theatrical release. The film is co-written by Gen Art alums, brothers Derick Martini (Writer/Director) and Steven Martini (Writer) and marks Dericks directorial debut. They also co-wrote “Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish” which premiered at the 2000 GAFF. LYMELIFE is being released by Screen Media Films in New York on Wednesday, April 8th and in Los Angeles on April 17th, with additional markets to follow.

“It is incredibly exciting to continue to support our alumni filmmakers as they grow in their careers and as artists,” said Film Division Vice President, Jeffrey Abramson. “We are not only thrilled to have the Martinis back as our opening night filmmakers, but their film LYMELIFE, which is set in New York, strikes a deep chord with audiences who are seeking honesty and reflection on core values during these difficult times.”

Entering its 14th year, GAFF introduces audiences to films by emerging North American filmmakers, awarding prestigious Grand Jury Prizes for Best Feature and Best Short, as well as presenting audience awards for Best Feature, Best Short and the “Stargazer Award” honoring breakout talent for excellence in acting.

Gen Art offers both members and film fans an active role in the selection process, by forming screening committees comprised of young professionals, where they collectively sort through approximately 1,000 films and advance favorites to the programming committee for further consideration.  The Programming Committee consists of experts from various walks of the entertainment industry.

This year’s Programming Committee includes: Celine Rattray (Plum Pictures), Erik Davis (Cinematical.com), Liz Berger (42 West), David Pomes (Alumnus Director – Cook County), Julia Nickson (Alumnus Actor – Half-Life), Kenny Goodman (Good Management), Mike Jones (writer), Brian Chirls (chirls.com), and Deborah McIntosh (William Morris Independent).

Kevin Bacon, whose film “Loverboy” opened the 2005 GAFF recently told the media that, “Gen Art inspires me as a filmmaker. It is so exciting to share something with a really young, super hip audience.”

Other successful films from past festivals include: “Wristcutters: A Love Story” directed by Goran Dukic, (nominated for two 2007 Independent Spirit Awards), “Four Eyed Monsters” (nominated for two 2007 Indie Spirit Awards), Lori Silverbush & Michael Skolnik’s “On the Outs” (nominated for two 2006 Indie Spirit Awards, the award winning 2007 documentary “Sharkwater”,  Brian Dannelly’s “Saved!,” the documentaries “Hands on a Hard Body” and “My Date with Drew” and early work by the likes of Azazel Jacobs, Cary Fukunaga, Gerardo Naranjo, The Duplass Brothers, Jesse Peretz, Richard Shepard, Tim Blake Nelson and Brad Anderson whose debut feature “The Darien Gap” opened the first Gen Art Film Festival.

Additionally, 7 of 28 shorts GAFF has shown in the past four years have been nominated or have won a Student Academy Award.

Advance Full-Festival Passes are available for a limited time at a special discounted rate. Full-festival passes will grant you access to all seven film premieres and after-parties including our Opening Night red-carpet event. For more information on GAFF, please visit www.genart.org/filmfestival.

Synopsis:

LYMELIFE, a story about the dark side of suburban paradise and the loss of innocence centers on two deeply troubled, dysfunctional families during the late 1970s.  The film revolves around an awkward, sensitive 15-year old boy, Scott Bartlett (Rory Culkin), whose family life is turned upside-down after an outbreak of Lyme disease hits the community spreading illness and paranoia.  Scott’s parents a workaholic father, Mickey (Alec Baldwin) and an overprotective mother, Brenda (Jill Hennessy) are on the verge of a divorce as his older brother Jim (Kieran Culkin) is about to ship off for war.

Complicating matters, Scott has fallen in love with his next door neighbor, Adrianna Bragg (Emma Roberts).  Adrianna seems to be the only person in the world who understands Scott demonstrated by her equally troubled, less affluent family including an uptight mother, Melissa (Cynthia Nixon), carrying on a not-so-clandestine love affair, and a father, Charlie (Timothy Hutton), slowly slipping away from the effects of Lyme disease.  Both profoundly funny and deeply moving, LYMELIFE looks at first love and family.

ABOUT GEN ART

Gen Art is the leading arts and entertainment organization dedicated to showcasing the best emerging talent in film, fashion, visual arts and music. 2009 marks its 15th Anniversary. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco, Gen Art has succeeded in launching the careers of many young filmmakers, fashion designers, visual artists and musicians, providing them with high-profile events that welcome industry professionals and consumers alike. For more info, visit www.genart.org.

Fusion Focus: Pedro Nick Oceano.

Fusion 2009: The Sixth Annual Los Angeles LGBT People of Color Film Festival will be presented by Outfest and HBO on March 6-8, 2009. The three-day festival includes screenings of features and short films, in addition to panels, workshops, and parties throughout the Los Angeles area. The screenings will be held at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood; the panels and workshops will take place at Universal Studios and the Village at Ed Gould Plaza.

As per the Outfest press release, Fusion “is a growing part of Outfest and is the only multi-racial, gender-inclusive film festival of its kind.” I don’t believe that the color white is included, but I’m not going to get into the merits or lack thereof of a film festival devoted to gay/lesbian/bi/etc. ethnic minorities in the United States – considering that Outfest’s own summer festival already showcases numerous films featuring ethnic minorities – or question what exactly is “a person of color” (a Chilean descendant of German immigrants? A dark-skinned Pole? A Swede who forgot to apply his sunscreen lotion?).

Instead, I’d rather mention the films.

Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega’s Oscar-nominated short La Corona, for instance, is an intriguing look at a beauty pageant set within the confines of a Colombian penitentiary, where we witness several inmates prepping themselves up for the runway while discussing their (at times) blood-soaked past.

Also of particular interest are:

• Pedro, directed by Nick Oceano and written by this year’s Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black (for Milk). Pedro is a biopic chronicling the brief life of HIV-positive Pedro Zamora, who was a hit in MTV’s 1994 edition of The Real World.
• Shamim Sarif’s London-set I Can’t Think Straight, about two Muslim women coming to terms with their mutual attraction;
• several Metro/Sexual and Underground shots, including Todd Holland’s Wig and Julian Breece’s The Young and Evil

For more information and for a complete listing of Fusion 2009 films, see below or log on to the Outfest website. Festival tickets are on sale now to Outfest members and the general public. Special ticket packages are also available.

The schedule below is from the Outfest press release.

FUSION 2009 SCREENING PROGRAM

All films screened at the Egyptian Theatre.

Friday, March 6

8:00pm – OPENING NIGHT GALA

SHORTS PROGRAM

In this lineup of humorous, moving and sometimes disturbing short films, a young man pursues a harrowing obsession, a family struggles with gender identity, and women in prison battle for the ultimate crown. Poetic, erotic, and unapologetic, these acclaimed films boldly launch the 6th edition of Fusion.

EL ABUELO Dir. Dino Dinco; HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dir. Roberta Marie Munroe; THE BATH, Dir. Mi-rang Lee; THE YOUNG AND EVIL, Dir. Julian Breece, LA CORONA, Dir. Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega

Followed by drinks, food and dancing at the Opening Night After-Party.

Saturday, March 7

1:00pm – FUSION SHORTS: UNDERGROUND

Cher, Fufu the dog, and a diva in fishnets are the unequivocal stars of these innovative and uncompromising short films. Taking thematic and formal risks, these works challenge tradition, expectations and the very notion of queer history.

ARE YOU ME? (MRS. LEE), Dir. Erica Cho; BLUE COVERS, Dir. Indira Allegra; CROSSING, Dir. Visperd Madad-Doust ; CUSPS, Dir. Sara Zia Ebrahimi; FRAGMENTS, Dir. Natasha Mendonca; IT’S ME CHER: A DOLL-U-MENTARY, Dir. Timothy Ochoa; MARTI AND I, Dir. Juan Carlos Zaldivar; NIKAMOWIN (SONG), Dir. Kevin Burton; STRUGGLE BEFORE DAWN, Dir. Osuna UNTITLED #1 (FROM THE SERIES EARTH PEOPLE 2507), Dir. Nao Bustamante

3:00pm – I CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT

Dir. Shamim Sarif, 2008, UK, 80 min.

The sexual chemistry is undeniable between two beautiful and ostensibly straight women in this London-based, opposites-attract romantic comedy. An outgoing Jordanian woman and a shy Muslim British Indian woman deal with family pressures and expectations while attempting to remain true to themselves and each other.

With short: I’VE GOT YOU, Dir. Camrin Pitts

3:00pm – STILL BLACK: A PORTRAIT OF BLACK TRANSMEN

Dir. Kortney Ryan Ziegler, 2008, USA, 77 min.

Six black transmen in the US discuss their professional and personal lives as artists and lawyers, fathers and husbands. An exploration of race, sexuality and transgender identity, this honest and original documentary is a portrait of the lives of these men and allows them to tell their own unique stories.

With short: IN MY SKIN, Dir. Timothy Ochoa

5:00pm – DEEP INSIDE CLINT STAR

Dir. Clint Alberta, 1999, Canada, 89 min. – 10 year anniversary screening!

Clint Star, the dashing, dangerous and possibly trustworthy host of this bright, free-wheeling personal documentary traipses around his hometown of Alberta, Canada and provokes raw and scintillating conversations with family and friends about sexuality, Native culture, abuse, loss and personal triumph.

5:30pm – FUSION SHORTS: METRO/SEXUAL

Jargon-slinging, text-messaging youth roam Los Angeles, bullies in London terrorize a neighborhood, and an angst-ridden woman in Tokyo ponders her future. In these short films, big city lessons often mean relying on friends and family, the sage words of elders, or simply having faith in oneself.

QUEERER THAN THOU, Dir. Ramses Rodstein; SOULJAH, Dir. Rikki Beadle Blair; LAUNDROMAT, Dir. Edward Gunawan; WIG, Dir. Todd Holland; WHEN I BECOME SILENT, Dir. Hyoe Yamamoto; DISH, Dir. Brian Harris Krinsky

8:00pm  – CLOSING NIGHT GALA

PEDRO

Dir. Nick Oceano, 2008, USA, 93 min.

This biographical film reinvigorates the moving true story of Pedro Zamora, the openly gay and HIV-positive Cuban-American who captured the hearts of MTV viewers in the San Francisco edition of THE REAL WORLD in 1994. The first feature film directed by past Fusion filmmaker Nick Oceano (EL PRIMO) and written by Dustin Lance Black (MILK), PEDRO pays tribute to a young man and captures his passion for life and education around HIV prevention.

FUSION 2009 CONFERENCE – IGNITE THE FUSE: QUEER PEOPLE OF COLOR IN FILM, TV AND VIDEO

FRIDAY, MARCH 6

10:00am-4:00pm

Location: Universal Studios

Upload and Links

For the first time Fusion is offering a one-day program of professional development workshops for 20 People of Color LGBT filmmakers and community organizations seeking to develop commercial visibility in today’s queer media market. The first part of the day will be spent discussing effective means of using media to tackle social justice and political issues. The second part of the day will be dedicated to linking filmmakers up with community organizations to produce a short PSA or video that will be streamed on the Outfest website.

Application and registration are required for Upload and Links.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7

11:00am

Location: Village at LAGLC

Seeing in The Dark: An Insight into Cinema by Queers of Color

As race and sexuality top the US political agenda for 2009, an increasing number of today’s queer filmmakers are turning both eyes and ears to the body of work from queer communities of color from past decades. Dipping into the archives of the Outfest Legacy Collection at UCLA’s Film & Television Archive, filmmaker, scholar and curator Cheryl Dunye investigates a selection of the most popular works from the 1980s and 1990s and will screen them with a panel of film and video professionals and makers including: Shari Frilot, Ernesto Foronda, Jocelyn Taylor, Ming-Yuen S. Ma.

1:00pm

Location: Village at LAGLC

Prop 8 and the Fallacy of Single Issue Politics

November’s disheartening passage of Proposition 8 has stimulated a range of discussion within LGBT communities of color – from criticism of the tactics utilized by the No On 8 campaign to despair over the homophobic and racist fissures exposed in communities of color and the LGBT community in the aftermath of Prop 8’s passage. This esteemed panel will address tough questions such as: Is gay marriage really a civil rights concern for queer people of color? Should focus be placed upon combating racism within the LGBT community and homophobia within communities of color as a first step? Can both sides recover from depictions of gay marriage supporters as threats to children and gay marriage opponents as promoters of hatred?

Moderated by: Jonathan Kidd (Outfest Board Member, Professor and Filmmaker)

Panelists: Reverend Escoto (Metropolitan Community Church), Jasmyne Cannick (Journalist and Filmmaker), Maggie Gallagher (Institute for Marriage and Public Policy) and Doreena Wong (API Equality – Los Angeles)

SUNDAY, MARCH 8

11:00am

Location: Village at LAGLC

“Nuts and Bolts” Workshop Series

Need to learn the basics of web media making but were afraid to ask? Want some constructive advice for your next queer media master piece? Want to better understand how to get work in the entertainment industry? Fusion 2009 will close its conference with an afternoon of “Nuts and Bolts” workshops.

11:00 – 12:30

Instant Gratification Media Making

A panel of DIYers will explain how to make a short film using a camera phone, edit on a laptop and get it out in the world. They will share tricks of the trade, take questions and provide hands-on help.

Panelists: Rex Rude (MMA Creative Group), Jian Chen (QTpi Media), Pat Branch (Comic, Screenwriter, Blogger on theDinah.com), Erica Cho (Filmmaker, Visual artist), Jay Esguerra (Filmmaker)

12:30-1:00 Snacks and Networking

1:00 – 2:30

Breaking In

A variety of industry insiders and accomplished filmmakers will share their success stories and advice for emerging writers, directors, producers, cinematographers and editors.

Panelists: Tajamika Paxton (Producer and Director), Patti Lee (Cinematographer and Producer), Michelle Crenshaw (Cinematographer), Angel Lopez (Participant Productions)

CineKink NYC: ‘Mindflesh’

When a film festival’s community sponsors have names such as DDevious Delights, National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, Gay Male S/M Activists, Leather Invasion, Lesbian Sex Mafia, the film festival in question must be CineKink NYC, currently taking place at the Anthology Film Archives, at 32 Second Avenue & 2nd St. in New York City.

Among the screening films are Daryl Wein’s documentary Sex Positive, about an early AIDS activist; Robert Pratten’s horror thriller Mindflesh; a shorts program called – I kid you not – “Whips & Restraint”; the documentary Graphic Sexual Horror; and the sex-film industry parody The Auteur, which happens to be the only film among those listed that I’ve seen. (The best thing about The Auteur is an extreme case of male bonding at the film’s outrageous – both figuratively and literally – climax.)

CineKink NYC 2009 runs until March 1.

The schedule below is from the CineKink website:

Wednesday, February 25 – 6:45 PM

CineKink Season Opener!
SEX POSITIVE
(Daryl Wein, 2008, USA, 78 minutes)
When Richard Berkowitz arrived in New York City in the late 1970s, the sexual revolution was at its peak and, in a time when gay men lived and loved with wild abandon, he enjoyed lucrative work as an S/M top. And then he developed AIDS. Transforming himself from sex worker to ground-breaking AIDS activist, Berkowitz collaborated with performer Michael Callen and virologist Dr. Joseph Sonnabend to investigate and bring attention to the illness, and he helped author the first safe-sex manual. But instead of being lauded for such efforts, the assertion that a hedonistic lifestyle was contributing to the transmission of AIDS was denounced as self-hating and sex-negative, as few people–just as they were enjoying new freedoms–were ready to accept that they might be endangering their health with their choices.

With safer-sex practices a matter-of-fact occurrence for so many today, it’s hard to remember that they weren’t always in existence and Berkowitz’s influence on our early awareness has been all but forgotten. In the face of this, SEX POSITIVE weaves an absorbing story of an activist hero-and places something we now take for granted into a compelling historical context.

World Premiere
AIDS CONFERENCE COCKSUCKERS
A split-screen seques a spontaneous sexual encounter with myriad activities at an international AIDS conference, all culminating in a big birthday climax with a charismatic Bill Clinton at the dais. (Charles Lum, 2008, USA, 15 minutes)

Filmmakers Daryl Wein and Charles Lum will be on hand following the screening for discussion.

Wednesday, February 25 – 9:00 PM

New York Premiere
MINDFLESH
(Robert Pratten, 2008, United Kingdom, 75 minutes)
In this psycho-sexual horror/thriller, a London taxi driver is haunted by increasingly realistic apparitions of a beautiful woman and fantasies that suddenly veer well beyond the realm of consent. Enlisting the help of a parapsychologist, he learns he must relinquish his obsession with this goddess from a parallel dimension-or alien beings will destroy the one he truly loves. (Based on the Buddhist horror novel, “White Light” by William Scheinman.)

World Premiere
THE OTHER HALF
(Bret Wood, 2008, USA, 17 minutes)
To evade the psychological cruelty of her disabled husband, a woman arranges a tryst for him and a ‘dancer’ at a cheap motel.

Filmmakers Robert Pratten and Bret Wood will be on hand following the screening for discussion.

On Thursday, February 26 at 6:45 PM it’s WHIPS & RESTRAINT, a kinky collection of shorts that dip into the toy-bag and play with the dynamics of sexual power and release, control and submission.

Program includes: GRAVUREN DESADE (John Campbell, 1992, USA), BUTLER (Erik Rosenlund, 2005, Sweden), IN THE CLOSET (Hungry Heart, 2007, Norway), 20 LICKS (Joseph S. Valle, 2008, USA), BELLE DE NATURE (Maria Beatty, 2008, France, 12 minutes), SERVING MADAME GINA (Gabriele Hoff, PsyD, 2008, USA) and KINK, INC. (Casey Clark, 2008, USA).

Then, at 9 PM, put on your favorite dress-up for LIPSTICK & CRINOLINES, a colorfully pansexual mash-up of gender frolics, blurred boundaries, several pairs of Lycra bicycle shorts–and some very high style!

Program includes: MISS JEZEBEL’S FEATHERS (Jesse Miksic, 2008, USA), DORIAN: A PICTURE (above, Joe E. Jeffreys, 2008, USA), PRITCH AND PANCH DO… THE CINDERFELLA EXPERIENCE AT MISS VERA’S FINISHING SCHOOL (Dylan Wynn Davies, 2005, UK) and THE TOUR DE PANTS (Luke Woodward, 2008, USA).

On Friday, Feb. 27 at 6:45 PM, THE WORKSHOP travels to a wooded glade near San Francisco, where a controversial 10-day seminar challenges the boundaries of normal convention and takes on societal constructs of sexuality and monogamy.

At 9 PM the shorts program, WANTON FEMALE DESIRE, celebrates the pursuit of female pleasure and offers up some general guidance as to what it is that a woman might want.

And at 11:10 PM, GRAPHIC SEXUAL HORROR takes a long peek behind the imposing facade of the notorious bondage website Insex.com, to explore the dark mind of its artistic creator and ask hard questions about personal responsibility and consent.

Kicking off Saturday, February 28 at 12:30 PM, and playing with several other BDSM-related shorts, KINKY is a sexy, informative and humorous look at black sexuality, fetish and kink.

At 2:30 PM, HAPPY ENDINGS? is an intriguing exploration of the Asian massage parlor industry in a city where a 25-year-old loophole has made the exchange of sex for money legal–as long as it happens indoors.

At 4:30 PM, the comedic MARTA’S SEX TAPE, about a painter who decides to make “special films” to pay off a loan, plays with two other colorful shorts on some ins-and-outs of work in the adult sphere.

At 6:45 PM it’s TWISTED KNICKERS, a swirl of assorted kinky comedic bits, some of them funny “ha-ha,” some of them just a little bit off-kilter.

At 9 PM, THE AUTEUR [above], a mélange of romantic comedy and raunchy satire set in the world of adult film, tells the story of renowned porn director Arturo Domingo, the creative genius behind such classics as ‘Five Easy Nieces’ and ‘Requiem for a Wet Dream.’

And, closing out the festival’s regular screening schedule at 11:10 PM, a special event, BRING IT!, features a dazzling array of talent from today’s adult cinema, each representing a wide range of genres and visual styles, all stepping up with a hot sampling of their recent creative endeavors.

CineKink NYC concludes the evening of Sunday, March 1 at 6 PM, with an Awards Celebration, including encore screenings of jury-selected best shorts from the week and presentation of the annual festival awards, to be followed at 8:3O PM by the CineKink Afterglow Party, one last chance to mingle with like-minded festival-goers and enjoy a few additional screenings, this time in a relaxed play party setting. The locations for both events will be announced at a later date.

Tickets: Tickets for each program – $10/door; $8/advance; $6/seniors & students, door only

Discounted pass: http://cinekink.bside.com/2009/films/cinekinknycfestivalpass_cinekink2009

‘American Primitive’ trailer

From Utah to Southern California: Directed by Gwen Wynne, and co-written by Wynne and Mary Beth Fielder, American Primitive is set in early 1970s Cape Cod, where two young women (Daniele Savre and Skye McCole Bartusiak) living with their father (Tate Donovan) and his business partner (Adam Pascal) struggle to come to terms with a secret – dad’s relationship with his partner goes beyond business dealings – that may destroy their unconventional family.

Also in the American Primitive cast: veteran Susan Anspach (best known for Five Easy Pieces, but whose best performance thus far is probably her mom-on-the-brink in the bizarre 1981 comedy Montenegro), Josh Peck, James Sikking, Anne Ramsay, Johanna Braddy, Corey Sevier, Stacey Dash, Jordan Claire Greene, John Savage, and Jason Stuart.

American Primitive is having its world premiere tonight at the 2009 Palm Springs Film Festival. The film will be screened again on Tuesday afternoon, January 13, at Palm Springs’ Camelot Theatres.

Official Site.

Narrative Feature Competition

Artois the Goat

Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart

Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest goat cheese the world has ever known and reclaim the heart of his beloved Angie.  Cast: Mark Scheibmeir, Sydney Andrews, Stephen Taylor Fry, Dan Braverman (World Premiere)

Bomber

Director/Writer: Paul Cotter

A bittersweet comedy about love, family and dropping bombs on Germany. Cast: Shane Taylor, Benjamin Whitrow, Eileen Nicholas (World Premiere)

Breaking Upwards

Director: Daryl Wein. Writer: Peter Duchan, Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones

A young New York couple who, desperate to escape their ennui, but fearful of life apart, decide to intricately strategize their own break up.  Cast: Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones, Julie White, Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin, Pablo Schreiber, La Chanze, Olivia Thirlby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (World Premiere)

It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home

Director: Kris Swanberg. Writer: Kris Swanberg, Jade Healy, David Lowery, Ben Kasulke

A woman tries to get over her recent breakup by backpacking in Costa Rica with her best friend, and through traveling together, the two women realize they may be on separate trips.  Cast: Kris Swanberg, Jade Healy (World Premiere)

Made in China

Director: Judi Krant. Writer: Judi Krant and Dan Sumpter

Lost in Shanghai, an inventor discovers that it takes more than a bright idea to succeed.  Cast: Jackson Keuhn, Dan Sumpter (World Premiere)

The Overbrook Brothers

Director: John Bryant. Writer: John Bryant and Jason Foxworth

Jason brings his girlfriend home for Christmas… and bad things happen.  Cast: Nathan Harlan, Mark Reeb, Laurel Whitsett, Steve Zissis, John Jones (World Premiere)

That Evening Sun

Director/Writer: Scott Teems

A ruthless grudge match between two old foes.  Lines are drawn, threats are made, and the simmering tension under the Tennessee sun erupts, inevitably, into savagery.  Cast: Hal Holbrook, Mia Wasikowska, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Carrie Preston (World Premiere)

True Adolescents

Director/Writer: Craig Johnson

Aging indie rocker Sam Bryant takes two teen boys on an ill-fated hiking trip that forces everyone to grow up, and fast.  Cast: Mark Duplass, Melissa Leo, Bret Loehr, Carr Thompson (World Premiere)

24 Beats per Second

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Director: Sacha Gervasi

At 14, Toronto school friends Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it. Cast: Steve “Lips Kudlow,” Robb Reiner.

All Tomorrow’s Parties

Director: All Tomorrow’s People

A kaleidoscopic journey into the parallel musical universe of cult music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties. (World Premiere)

Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

Director: Chai Vasarhelyi

Youssou Ndour, one of Africa’s most prominent musicians, returns home for the release of his highly controversial album, Egypt. (U.S. Premiere)

Intangible Assets Number 82

Director: Emma Franz

An Australian drummer searches for an enigmatic Korean shaman and is transformed by the journey. (North American Premiere)

Number One with A Bullet

Director: Jim Dziura

A feature-length documentary that pulls back the curtain on gun violence in Hip Hop.

The Promised Land – A Swamp Pop Journey

Director: Matthew Wilkinson

The story of South Louisiana super group Lil’ Band o’Gold. 8 members, 25 egos, 6 livers – coming together to just play music. (World Premiere)

RiP: A Remix Manifesto

Director: Brett Gaylor

A documentary feature exploring issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. (North American Premiere)

Soul Power

Director: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte

Jeffrey Levy-Hinte takes us on an epic trip back to 1974 when the most famous R & B acts in the world, including James Brown, B.B. King, and Bill Withers, put on 12 hour long concert to help promote Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s historic “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire. (U.S. Premiere)

When You’re Strange

Director: Tom DiCillo

Using only original footage shot between 1966 and 1971, When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors, attempts to disentangle truth from myth, depict Jim Morrison, artist and alcoholic/addict, and showcase the other members of the band: Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore, who together channeled the group’s magic.

SX Global

Calling E.T. (Netherlands)

Director: Prosper de Roos.

A close-up look at a small group of people listening, watching, waiting and preparing for their perceived inevitable earthly encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence. (U.S. Premiere)

Favela on Blast (Brazil)

Director: Leandro HBL

Globe trotting taste-maker DJ Diplo presents a look at Brazil’s Baile Funk music scene from directly inside the mountain ghettos where it spawned and thrives.

The Forgotten Tree (Mexico)

Director: Luis Rincon

A documentary that revisits the slums featured over fifty years ago in Los Olvidados, (Luis Buñuel), and reveals the current and similar conditions for the people in this area of Mexico City.

Journey to the End of Coal (France)

Director: Samuel Bollendorff

Millions of Chinese coal miners are making sacrifices everyday, risking their lives and spoiling their land to satisfy their country’s appetite for economic growth. Meet them and learn more about how they live in this valley of death and pollution in the frozen winter of Northern China. (U.S. Premiere)

Love on Delivery (Denmark)

Director: Janus Metz.

In a remote fishing village in Denmark, 575 Thai women are married to Danish men. An intimate look at the unique relationships between these Danish men and their Thai wives. (U.S. Premiere)

Roadsworth: Crossing the Line (Canada)

Director: Alan Kohl

Stencil artist Peter Gibson’s personal and professional struggle to defend his work, define himself as an artist and address difficult questions about art and freedom of expression. (U.S. Premiere)

Snowblind (England)

Director: Vikram Jayanti

Rachael Scdoris, 23, and legally blind since birth, is racing in her third Iditarod, the grueling 1,100 mile dog sled race in Alaska that’s the toughest race in the world. (World Premiere)

Sounds Like Teen Spirit…a popumentary (England)

Director: Jamie Johnson.

Behind the scenes look at of the world’s premiere youth music spectacle: The Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Ticket to Paradise (Denmark)

Director: Janus Metz.

The sequel to Janus Metz’ Love on Delivery’ follows the story of a young Thai-girl’s journey from peasant to sex worker. (U.S. Premiere)

Emerging Visions

Awaydays

Director: Pat Holden. Writer: Kevin Sampson

A blade-sharp rites-of-passage that buzzes with the post-punk energy of its late-70s Liverpool setting. Based on the classic novel by Kevin Sampson. Cast: Nicky Bell, Liam Boyle, Stephen Graham, Oliver Lee (North American Premiere)

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

Director: Jessica Oreck

Untangling the web of cultural and historical ties underlying Japan’s deep fascination with insects… and what it says about the rest of us. (World Premiere)

Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be The Same

Director: Jody Lee Lipes

Artist Brock Enright’s unbridled creative force clashes with the confines of love, family, and industry, as he crafts the most significant show of his career. (World Premiere)

Creative Nonfiction

Director/Writer: Lena Dunham

Reality and fiction are indistinguishable as a college student tries and fails to differentiate her creative writing screenplay from her increasingly awkward social life. Cast: Eleonore Endricks, David Unger, Audrey Gelman, Sam Lisenco, Lena Dunham (World Premiere)

Crude Independence

Director: Noah Hutton

A rumination on the future of small town America through the lens of a humanistic tale of change at the hands of the global energy market and its unyielding thirst for oil. (World Premiere)

Four Boxes

Director/Writer: Wyatt McDill

A snarky social thriller about three suburban nobodies watching a creep named Havoc on a website called fourboxes.tv – Rear Window on the internet. Cast: Justin Kirk, Terryn Westbrook, Sam Rosen (World Premiere)

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

Director: David Russo

When Dory’s life seems like it’s going down the drain, a strange “new life” takes shape inside him and he learns that sometimes you don’t have to find meaning, it grows in you. Cast: Marshall Allman, Vince Vieluf, Natasha Lyonne, Tania Raymonde, Tygh Runyan.

Luckey

Director: Laura Longsworth

After sculptor Tom Luckey’s devastating fall through a window, his family must cross delicate lines drawn long ago by divorce and remarriage while Tom, fully paralyzed and wacky personality intact, pursues building his biggest, most complicated sculpture ever. (World Premiere)

Make-Out with Violence

Director: The Deagol Brothers. Writer: The Deagol Brothers, Cody DeVos and Eric Lehning

A rock musical wherein the living love the dead and break into silence instead of song. Cast: Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos, Leah High, Brett Miller, Shellie Marie Shartzer

Modern Love is Automatic

Director/Writer: Zach Clark

A story about an apathetic nurse who moonlights as a dominatrix, her aspiring model roommate and the sad, strange world they live in. Cast: Melodie Sisk, Maggie Ross (World Premiere)

Motherland

Director: Jennifer Steinman

Six grieving mothers journey to Africa in order to test the theory that “giving is healing.” (World Premiere)

My Suicide

Director: David Lee Miller. Writer: David Lee Miller, Eric Adams, Gabriel Sunday, Jordan Miller

An isolated, media obsessed teenager announces he’s going to kill himself for his high school, video production class final project. Cast: Gabriel Sunday, David Carradine, Joe Mantegna, Nora Dunn, Mariel Hemingway (North American Premiere)

Pulling John

Director: Vassiliki Khonsari

The universal story of a champion arm wrestler’s glory in an unsung sport, who after 25 years of success is now burdened with the inevitable transformation of aging. (World Premiere)

RATS and CATS

Director: Tony Ayres. Writer: Jason Gann, Adam Zwar

Ex-soap star Darren McWarren destroyed his career with a series of indiscretions. Now he’s living the live away from the spotlight when a “Where are they now” journalist comes to call. Cast: Jason Gann, Adam Zwar, Anya Beyersdorf, Tony Rogers (North American Premiere)

Sissyboy

Director: Kate Turinski

A juncture in the lives of performance art revolutionaries, the film explores a Portland-based gender-bending drag troupe that has served up their audacity, ambivalence and social commentary throughout the Rose City for over 3 years before hundreds of devoted fans.

Sorry, Thanks

Director: Dia Sokol, Writer: Dia Sokol and Lauren Veloski

Disaster looms when Kira (reeling from a brutal break-up) sleeps with Max (who already has a girlfriend) and Max takes up two new pursuits: an obsessive-tending interest in Kira, and the mystery of whether he may in fact be an ass. Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Kenya Miles, Andrew Bujalski, Ia Hernandez (World Premiere)

Splinterheads

Director/Writer: Brant Sersen

For Justin Frost, a typical day is rolling out of bed at one, practicing improvised karate, and mowing grass for his best friend’s landscaping business. But when a traveling carnival lands in his small town, Justin falls for a sexy con artist and wakes up to the life he has yet to begin living. Cast: Thomas Middleditch, Rachael Taylor, Christopher McDonald, Lea Thompson, Dean Winters (World Premiere)

St. Nick

Director/Writer: David Lowery

A stark, haunting portrait of childhood following the adventures of a runaway brother and sister as they try to survive, all on their own, out on the wintry plains of the great southwest. Cast: Tucker Sears, Savanna Sears, Barlow Jacobs, Mara Lee Miller (World Premiere)

The Time of Their Lives

Director: Jocelyn Cammack

With a combined age of almost 300, Hetty, Rose and Alison are still powerfully engaged in their individual forms of activism – from journalism, to public speaking to anti-war demonstrations – while quietly negotiating the final moments of their lives. (North American Premiere)

Trust Us, This Is All Made Up

Director: Alex Karpovsky

Immortalized in the world of improv comedy, Second City veterans TJ Jagodowksi and David Pasquesi explore the unique partnership and transcendental forces that govern their legendary performances. (World Premiere)

Wake Up

Director: Jonas Elrod

An average 36-year old guy suddenly wakes up with the ability to see and hear angels, demons, auras and ghosts. With his girlfriend by his side, he goes on a journey to figure it all out, and his search becomes a guide to revealing larger truths about the world and everyone in it. (World Premiere)

Spotlight Premieres

Adventureland

Director/Writer: Greg Mottola

In 1987, a recent college graduate takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park and discovers the job is perfect preparation for the real world. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Martin Starr

Alexander the Last

Director/Writer: Joe Swanberg

A sensual and intimate portrait of a young marriage. Focusing on an artistic young couple, the film illuminates the challenges of monogamy amidst myriad sexual and creative temptations. Cast: Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, Barlow Jacobs, Josh Hamilton, Jane Adams (World Premiere)

Beeswax

Director/Writer: Andrew Bujalski

Something like a legal thriller for anyone who considers “legal thriller” an oxymoron, the film revolves around a pair of twin sisters, Jeannie and Lauren – “same face, different bodies” – and Jeannie’s brewing conflict with business partner Amanda. Cast: Maggie Hatcher, Tilly Hatcher, Alex Karpovsky (US Premiere)

Best Worst Movie

Director: Michael Paul Stephenson

When an Italian filmmaker, an Alabama dentist and fledgling Utah actors filmed the low-budget horror movie, Troll 2, they’d no idea that twenty years later they would be celebrated for making the worst movie ever made. (World Premiere)

For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

Director: Gerald Peary

The first documentary to dramatize the rich, fascinating history of American film criticism. (World Premiere)

Goodbye Solo

Director: Ramin Bahrani. Writer: Ramin Bahrani and Bahareh Azimi

On the lonely roads of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, two men from very different worlds forge an improbable friendship that will change both of their lives forever. Cast: Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Carmen Leyva, Lane ‘Roc’ Williams

Humpday

Director/Writer: Lynn Shelton

A farcical comedy about straight male bonding gone a little too far. Cast: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard.

The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow. Writer: Mark Boal

Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce (US Premiere)

I Love You, Man

Director/Writer: John Hamburg

The film centers on a man who, upon getting engaged, realizes he has no close male friends and must find someone to be the Best Man at his wedding. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressly (World Premiere, Opening Night Film)

The Last Beekeeper

Director: Jeremy Simmons

This documentary follows the lives of three commercial beekeepers over the course of one year as they struggle with Colony Collapse Disorder. As they all take their bees to California’s enormous annual almond pollination, they are forced to ask the question “If all the bees die, what do you have to live for?” (World Premiere)

Monsters from the ID

Director: David Gargani

The untold story of 1950’s American Sci-Fi Cinema and the role of the Modern Scientist. (World Premiere)

Moon

Director: Duncan Jones. Writer: Nathan Parker

Before returning to Earth after three years on the moon, things go horribly wrong for astronaut Sam Bell.

Cast: Sam Rockwell

New World Order

Director Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer

Impassioned conspiracy theorists travel the globe trying to expose the group that they claim rules the world. (World Premiere)

Objectified

Director: Gary Hustwit

A glimpse into our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. (World Premiere)

Observe and Report

Director/Writer: Jody Hill

This dark comedy follows the story of Ronnie Barnhardt, a deluded, self-important head of mall security who squares off in a turf war against the local cops. Cast: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Peña and Ray Liotta (World Premiere, Centerpiece Slot)

Passing Strange

Director: Spike Lee. Lyrics: Stew. Music & Lyrics: Stew and Heidi Rodewald

A musical documentary about the international exploits of a young man from Los Angeles who leaves home to find himself and ‘the real’. A theatrical stage production of the original Tony-Award winning book by Stew. Cast: De’Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Stew.

Sin Nombre

Director/Writer: Cary Fukunaga

Writer/director Cary Fukunaga’s firsthand experiences with Central American immigrants seeking the promise of the U.S. form the basis of this epic dramatic thriller. Cast: Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mej’a, Luis Fernando Pe-a, Diana Garc’a.

The Square

Director: Nash Edgerton. Writer: Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabner

Nash Edgerton’s debut feature is a film-noir in a bleak Australian town where a simple crime goes horribly wrong and escalates into a nightmare of unforeseen events. Cast: David Roberts, Claire Van Der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes, Peter Phelps and Bill Hunter (North American Premiere)

Three Blind Mice

Director/Writer: Matthew Newton

Three young Navy officers hit Sydney for one last night on land before being shipped over to the Gulf to fight. Throughout the night the boys lose each other, find themselves, and along the way discover courage, friendship and redemption. Cast: Ewen Leslie, Toby Schmitz, Matthew Newton, Tina Bursill

The Two Bobs

Director/Writer: Tim McCanlies

Just as they finish their groundbreaking violent video-game masterpiece, the two gaming legends known as “The Two Bobs” discover that their precious game-software has been stolen… and with it, their livelihoods, genius reputations, everything they own. Cast: Tyler Francavilla, Devin Ratray, Mika Boorem, Cody Kasch, Leonardo Nam (World Premiere)

Winnebago Man

Director: Ben Steinbauer

Jack Rebney’s outrageously funny outtakes from a Winnebago sales video became an underground phenomenon and made him an internet superstar. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer sets out to find him. (World Premiere)

Women in Trouble

Director/Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez

One day in the lives of ten desperate women with one thing in common: trouble. Cast: Carla Gugino, Josh Brolin, Connie Britton, Adrianne Palicki, Simon Baker (World Premiere)

Documentary Feature Competition

45356

Director: Bill Ross

An inquiring look at everyday life in middle America, the film explores the congruities of daily life in an American town Sidney, Ohio. (World Premiere)

Garbage Dreams

Director: Mai Iskander

Filmed over four years, the film follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village. Each boy chooses a different path when their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of their trade. (World Premiere)

MINE: Taken By Katrina

Director: Geralyn Pezanoski

After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of pets were rescued and adopted by families around the country, leading to many custody battles. Through these stories, the film examines issues of race, class and animal welfare in the U.S. (World Premiere)

Say My Name

Director: Nirit Peled

A story is built around the lives of entrepreneurs, mothers and artists fighting to be themselves in a society that offers few opportunities for women. (World Premiere)

Severe Clear

Director: Kristian Fraga

Armed with the world’s most lethal ordnance and his home video camera, First Lieutenant Michael T. Scotti captures the chaos and complexity of war. (World Premiere)

Sons of a Gun

Director: Rivkah Beth Medow

A family of 3 schizophrenic men and their alcoholic caregiver/Dad get evicted, move into one motel room, argue, joke around, and find a new home. (World Premiere)

The Way We Get By

Director: Aron Gaudet

On call 24/7 for the past 6 years, a group of senior citizens transform their lives by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. (World Premiere)

Trimpin: The Sound of Invention

Director: Peter Esmonde

A wild ride through the sonic world of an eccentric creative genius of Artist inventor/engineer/composer Trimpin. (World Premiere)

‘I Love You Man’

PRESS RELEASE

The South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced today that the DreamWorks Pictures film “I Love You, Man” will be the 2009 Opening Night film. The De Line Pictures comedy, co-written and directed by John Hamburg (“Along Came Polly,” co-writer of “Meet The Parents,” Meet The Fockers, and “Zoolander”) stars Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Rashida Jones. The film centers on a man who, upon getting engaged, realizes he has no close male friends and must find someone to be the Best Man at his wedding. The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival runs March 13 – 21, 2009 in Austin, Texas.

“We are thrilled to have ‘I Love You, Man’ kick off the 2009 festival. The film is the perfect representation of the kind of smart and unconventional humor that SXSW audiences flock to,” said Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson, “and we are happy to welcome back SXSW Alumni Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.” Rudd appeared in three films at the 2007 Festival (“Knocked Up,” “The Ten” and “Diggers”) and Segel attended in 2008 with Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In true SXSW synergy where film, music and new media intersect, Rashida Jones’ father, legendary music producer Quincy Jones, will serve as Keynote speaker for the SXSW Music 2009. 2008 SXSW Opening Night film “21” opened theatrically to $24.1 million following its highly successful debut at the festival.

“I Love You, Man” follows Peter Klaven (Rudd), a successful real estate agent who, upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, (Jones), discovers that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man, so he embarks on a series of bizarre and awkward “man-dates,” before meeting Sydney Fife (Segel). But the closer the two men get, the more Peter’s relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancée and his newfound “bro,” in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a “friend.” The film opens wide on March 20th, 2009.

DreamWorks Pictures Presents A De Line Pictures Bernard Gayle Productions Montecito Pictures Company Production A John Hamburg Movie “I Love You, Man” starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J. K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressly. The film is directed by John Hamburg. Screenplay by John Hamburg and Larry Levin. Story by Larry Levin. The producers are Donald De Line and John Hamburg. The executive producers are Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock, Jeffrey Clifford, Andrew Haas and Bill Johnson. The director of photography is Larry Sher. The production designer is Andrew Laws. The film is edited by William Kerr. The costume designer is Leesa Evans. The music is by Theodore Shapiro. The film is distributed through DreamWorks/Paramount Distribution. This film has not yet been rated.

Previously announced panelists for the 2009 SXSW Film Conference & Festival include acclaimed writer/directors Todd Haynes and Richard Linklater in conversation together, longtime Stanley Kubrick producer Jan Harlan, as well as a rare appearance by Col Needham, Vice President of IMDb.com Service Limited. The complete festival lineup will be announced in early February 2009. South By Southwest Film Conference & Festival SXSW offers a uniquely creative space for filmmakers, film fans, and even cinephiles to partake in the big and small picture discussions about filmmaking today. The Conference hosts a five-day adventure in the latest filmmaking trends and new technology, featuring Conversations with film icons, intimate mini-meetings and one-on-one mentor sessions with industry veterans. The internationally-acclaimed, nine-day Festival boasts some of the most wide-ranging programming of any US event of its kind, from provocative documentaries to subversive Hollywood comedies, with a special focus on emerging talents. Learn more at sxsw.com/film.

SXSW Film Festival: Special Screenings

American Prince

Director: Tommy Palotta

After being forgotten for 30 years, filmmaker Tommy Pallotta revisits Martin Scorsese’s lost documentary American Boy and its raconteur subject, Steven Prince. (World Premiere)

Berlin Calling

Director/Writer: Hannes Stoehr

Berlin Calling is an extraordinary story that starts in pre-war Berlin, spans three generations, and concludes in the dark and sweaty rock n’ roll clubs that line the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Cast: Paul Kalkbrenner, Rita Lengyel, Corinna Harfouch, Araba Walton, Peter Schneider (U.S. Premiere)

Blood Trail

Director: Richard Parry

War photographer Robert King let a camera crew follow him for over 15 years. From his first assignment in Bosnia to his breakthrough work in Chechnya, and on to his recent coverage in Iraq, Blood Trail is an extraordinary look at this difficult and dangerous profession. (U.S. Premiere)

Burma VJ

Director: Anders Ostergaard

Armed with small handy cams, undercover Video Journalists in Burma risk their lives to keep up the flow of news from their closed country as in September 2007 thousands of monks take to the streets of Rangoon in a peaceful protest against the country’s military rulers.

Daytime Drinking

Director/Writer: NOH Young-seok

A drinking road trip fable of a guy who just got dumped… Cast: SONG Sam-dong, YUK Sang-yeop, KIM Kang-hee (U.S. Premiere)

For All Mankind

Director: Al Reinart

A trip to another world disguised as a documentary.

De Ofrivilliga (Involuntary)

Director: Ruben Östlund. Writer: Erik Hemmendorff and Ruben Östlund

A tragic comedy or comic tragedy about group pressure on the individual. Five separate episodes on everyday disasters. Cast: Maria Lundqvist, Leif Edlund, Olle Lijas, Vera Vitali, Cecilia Milocco (North American Premiere)

It Came From Kuchar

Director: Jennifer M. Kroot

The hilarious and touching story of the legendary, underground filmmaking twins, George and Mike Kuchar, and how their outrageous, no-budget movies inspired generations of filmmakers (World Premiere)

Know Your Mushrooms

Director: Ron Mann

Filmmaker Ron Mann puts the fun in fungus with his newest documentary. (U.S. Premiere)

Letters to the President

Director: Petr Lom

Exclusive access film about President Ahmadinejad of Iran, and what life is like under his regime. The film takes as its narrative thread the letters that supposedly ten million Iranians have written to the President. (North American Premiere)

Office Space – 10th Anniversary – LIVE PRESENTATION

Director Mike Judge will present a special screening of the cult phenomenon film on the occasion of its 10th Anniversary.

The Paranoids

Director: Gabriel Medina. Writer: Gabriel Medina and Nicolas Gueilburt

An aspiring screenwriter who lives in constant state of paranoia, faces the return of his successful friend Manuel and his girlfriend in this off-beat romantic comedy. (U.S. Premiere)

Saint Misbehavin: The Life and Time of Wavy Gravy

Director: Michelle Esrick

The true story of cultural phenomenon Wavy Gravy – a man whose life proves that you can change the world and have fun doing it. (World Premiere)

The Snake

Director/Writer: Adam Goldstein and Eric Kutner

The funniest movie about dating a bulimic… possibly ever. Cast: Adam Goldstein, Nina Braddock (World Premiere)

Strongman

Director: Zachary Levy

Stainless Steel bills himself as the world’s strongest man (at bending steel) and hopes to make it big despite his advancing age.

Sweethearts of the Rodeo

Director: Bradley Beesley

Amidst stories of murder, hardship, heartache and redemption, the film follows the convict cowgirls of the Eddie Warriors Correctional Center in their preparation for the only rodeo where female prisoners compete rough-stock and as equals against male prison teams. (World Premiere)

We Live in Public

Director: Ondi Timor

The story of the Internet’s revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of Internet pioneer and visionary, Josh Harris.

The Yes Men Fix the World

Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno and Kurt Engfehr

A pair of notorious troublemakers sneaks into corporate events disguised as captains of industry, then use their momentary authority to expose the biggest criminals on the planet. Cast: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno

You Won’t Miss Me

Director: Ry Russo-Young. Writer: Ry Russo-Young and Stella Schnabel
A portrait of a modern day rebel, Shelly Brown, a twenty-three year-old alienated urban misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Cast: Stella Schnabel, Rene Ricard

SXSW Film Festival 2009: Lone Star States

American Violet

Director: Tim Disney. Writer: Bill Haney

The astonishing story of Dee Roberts, a young African American single mother, whose courageous fight against her unwarranted drug arrest forever changes her life and the Texas justice system. Cast: Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Michael O’Keefe, Xzibit, with Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard.

Blaze Foley Inside

Director: Kevin Triplett

A documentary on the everyday man behind the legend, Blaze Foley. Born in a tree house, killed in a friend’s living room and 86?ed from his own funeral, is now a bona fide country music legend whose songs are covered by Merle Haggard, John Prine, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett. (World Premiere)

Exterminators

Director: John Inwood. Writer: Suzanne Weinert

A dark comedy about a group of women who meet in court mandated rage therapy and decide to form a traditional business with very untraditional methods. Cast: Heather Graham, Jennifer Coolidge, Amber Heard, Joey Lauren Adams, Matthew Settle (World Premiere)

The Least of These

Director: Clark Lyda

Detention of immigrant children in a former medium-security prison leads to controversy when three activist attorneys discover troubling conditions at the facility. (World Premiere)

Over the Hills and Far Away

Director: Michel Orion Scott

This documentary chronicles the journey of the Isaacson family as they travel through Mongolia in search of a mysterious shaman they believe can heal their autistic son.

Sunshine

Director: Karen Skloss

In 1975 rural Texas, the local mayor’s daughter grapples with an unplanned pregnancy finally deciding to have her baby in secret before giving her away in a hidden adoption. Twenty-three years later, the adopted child also has an unplanned baby out of wedlock. The film tells the intimate story of these two single mothers, while exploring the times and circumstances that afforded them very different options. (World Premiere)