quietearth [Film Festival 04.29.09] movie news



Man, where I live (near Denver, Colorado) we really don't have much in the way of fests except for the Denver Film Festival and the one in Boulder which both heavily favor high-brow fest circuit stuff which really isn't interesting to us around here which is why I'm jealous of our own Dr. Nathan who will get to see the opening night film White Lightnin' (stills here), the story of the dancing outlaw Jesco White. Also playing will be Tokyo!, QE favorite Visioneers (review), and the indy Norse discovery of America flick (which Magnolia picked up and I have a screener of, woop!) Severed Ways.

But OTT not only does film, they do music to.. so check it all out at the website below.

Fest website with tickets and more

Feature film descriptions and short film list after the break.


OPENING FILM
WHITE LIGHTNIN' (UK) - Canadian Premiere
7:00 @ The Royal Cinema (608 College Street W)

Written by Vice Magazine co-founders, Shane Smith and Eddy Moretti, White Lightnin' tells the story of Jesco White, 'The Dancing Outlaw'. Jesco is the last of the Appalachian Mountain dancers. Ever since he was a child who was hooked on huffing gas and lighter fluid, his daddy D Ray tried to keep his boy on the right hand of the Lord. But it didn’t always take. As Jesco puts it, “There’s tha devil runnin’ through my blood.”

Official Selection: Sundance 2009 (Midnight), Berlinale 2009 (Panorama)
TOKYO! (France/Japan/Germany/South Korea) – Toronto Premiere
9:15 @ The Royal Cinema (608 College Street W)
Co-presented with Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Directors, Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind), Leos Carax (Pola X), and Bong Joon-ho (The Host) each direct a segment of this fantastic three part omnibus film set in the city of Tokyo.

Official Selection: Cannes 2008, Fantastic Fest 2008, Calgary Underground Film Festival 2009
Nominated: Sitges 2008 - Best Film

Friday, May 22nd
VISIONEERS (USA) - Canadian Premiere
7:00 @ National Film Board of Canada, John Spotton Theatre (150 John St.)
Co-presented with Eye Weekly

George Washington Winsterhammerman (Zach Galifianakis of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job! and The Comedians of Comedy) hasn't felt emotions or had a dream for as long as he can remember. He works for “the largest corporation in the history of mankind”, the Jeffers Corporation, and doesn't have time for dreaming. All of his co-workers are the same boat, but lately some have started dreaming again. When their repressed desires and emotions flood forth, it proves to be too much for them and they explode. When George starts to dream (of being General George Washington), he worries he might be next to blow.

Official Selection: CineVegas 2008, AFI Film Festival 2008
Winner: CineVegas 2008 – Audience Award (Narrative Feature)

SEVERED WAYS: THE NORSE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA (USA) - Canadian Premiere
8:50 @ National Film Board of Canada, John Spotton Theatre (150 John St.)

On the coast of North America in AD 1007, two Norsemen are stranded when their expedition is attacked and they are left for dead. As they struggle to survive in the vast forests of the New World, their paths diverge as one pursues a spiritual quest and the other reverts to his primal instincts.

Official Selection: Los Angeles Film Festival

Saturday, May 23rd

SHORT FILMS PROGRAM
4:00 @ National Film Board of Canada, John Spotton Theatre (150 John St.)
Co-presented with CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU (USA) - Toronto Premiere
Oscar nominated animator, Don Hertzfeldt's latest film, I Am So Proud of You puts its audience into the mind of Bill, an elderly man losing his mental faculties. A combination of stick figures, live action footage, and optical effects illustrate Bill’s thoughts as he contemplates events from his life, those of his friends and family, and ultimately his mortality.

Official Selection: Sundance 2009
Winner: Florida Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize, Fargo Film Festival – Best Picture and Best Screenplay (beating out feature films for both awards), Nashville Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize.. and many more.

with
OOOM: OUT OF OUR MINDS (USA) - Canadian Premiere
Three time periods, one connection: Blood. A fantasy world where a Viking heart, a car crash and a bleeding forest connect. Using music rather than dialogue, the film tells a universal tale in striking optics. Borrowed from mythology, the Hunt for the Heart is the eternal quest envisioned in OOOM. Conceived by musician Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole / Smashing Pumpkins) and birthed by Filmmaker Tony Stone (Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America) this mini epic was proudly self-produced and shot in HD fuelled by solar power.

Official Selection: Sundance 2009

with
thumbnail. (USA) - Canadian Premiere
“Condoms and dog bones!!!” The days of sending love letters are over. Now people just send girls cell phone pictures of their penises and put videos of their boyfriends confessing sexual secrets up on YouTube.

Winner: Boston Underground Film Festival - Best Short (Director's Choice)

and
EBAY (Canada) - World Premiere
BALD STATIC (Canada) - World Premiere
Trying to summarize the latest animated shorts by Sub Pop recording artist, Chad VanGaalen is pointless, but expect a skateboarder jumping over a crucified Jesus’ massive erection in Ebay, and a sprawling abstract sci-fi story told with various types of animation (hand-drawn, stop motion, etc.) in Bald Static. Both films feature new music composed and performed by VanGaalen.

CLOSING FILM
PVC-1 (Columbia/Greece) - Canadian Premiere
7:00 @ National Film Board of Canada, John Spotton Theatre (150 John St.)
Co-presented with Twitch

Shot in real time and one continuous take, PVC-1 is based on the true story of a woman who is turned into a human time bomb in an act of terrorism.
Official Selection: Cannes 2007 (Director's Fortnight)
Winner: International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for Best Film in the International Competition

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Inevitable Zombie Apocalype (13 years ago) Reply

You're in Denver? I'm in Denver! We should meet up sometime, sort of a meeting of Denver-based apocalyptic minds.

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