Archive for the 2017 Films Category

Trophy – USA – South Africa (2017)

On November 2, 2017   /   2017 Environmental, 2017 Films  
Trophy - USA - South Africa (2017)

Environmental Selection

Trophy – USA – South Africa (2017)

Directed by:  Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz

Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions march closer to extinction each year. Their devastating decline is fueled in part by a global desire to consume these majestic animals. Trophy investigates the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation. Through the eyes of impassioned individuals who drive these industries – from a Texas-based trophy hunter to the world’s largest private rhino breeder in South Africa – the film grapples with the consequences of imposing economic value on animals. Trophy will leave you debating what is right, what is wrong and what is necessary in order to save the great species of the world.

Nominated for the Grand Jury Documentary Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival

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Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators – USA (2017)

On November 2, 2017   /   2017 Special Screening, 2017 Films  
Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators - USA (2017)

Special Screening

Monkey Business: The Adventures of Curious George’s Creators – USA (2017)

Directed by:  Ema Ryan Yamazaki

Narrated by:  Sam Waterston 

Curious George is the most popular monkey in the world. Since his introduction in the first publication in 1941, the beloved series has sold over 75 million books in more than 25 languages. Monkey Business explores the lesser-known tale of George’s creators, Hans and Margret Rey. After their four-week honeymoon to Paris turned into a four-year residency, their life in Paris abruptly came to an end in June of 1940 when they were forced to escape from the Nazis riding makeshift bicycles – a manuscript of the first Curious George book was one of the few possessions they could smuggle out with them. Arriving in New York as refugees, they started their life anew and over the next three decades they created a classic that continues to touch the hearts and minds of children around the world.

Monkey Business premiered on June 17. 2017 at the Los Angeles Film Fest

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The Midwife

On October 26, 2017   /   2017 - French Films, 2017 Films  
The Midwife

French Sidebar

The Midwife – France (2017)

Directed by:  Martin Provost

Two of French cinema’s biggest stars shine in this bittersweet drama about the unlikely friendship that develops between Claire (Catherine Frot), a talented but tightly wound midwife, and Beatrice (Catherine Deneuve), the estranged, free-spirited mistress of Claire’s late father. Though polar opposites in almost every way, the two come to rely on each other as they cope with the unusual circumstance that brought them together. An official selection at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.

French with English subtitles

Print courtesy of Music Box Films

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An Inconvenient Sequel:  Truth to Power – USA (2017)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 Environmental, 2017 Films  
An Inconvenient Sequel:  Truth to Power - USA (2017)

Environmental Selection

An Inconvenient Sequel:  Truth to Power – USA (2017)

Directed by:  Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk

More timely than ever, this rousing follow-up to the Oscar winning An Inconvenient Truth – which more than a decade ago brought climate change into the popular consciousness – charts former Vice President Al Gore’s ongoing mission to help try to solve our climate crisis before it’s too late. The years since the original film have seen Gore’s predictions sadly come to pass, as evidenced by a sobering tour of areas around the globe already impacted by rising sea levels and record-breaking temperatures. But all is not dire in this inspirational film, which also details how close we are to an alternative energy revolution, Gore’s training of an army of climate leaders to spread his message, and his pivotal role in influencing global climate policy.

A selection at both the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival

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Aqui Sigo (Still Here) – Mexico (2017)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 - Latino, 2017 Films  
Aqui Sigo (Still Here) - Mexico (2017)

Latino Selection

Aqui Sigo (Still Here) – Mexico (2017)

Directed by:  Lorenzo Hagerman

On an intimate journey around the world, we discover what existence looks like from the perspective of those who have had more than ninety years of life. These stories of ordinary people, who for almost a century, have loved, laughed, sung and suffered, together make a symphony to life. With determination and humility, they declare to themselves and to the world,

“ I am still here.”

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Back to Burgundy – France (2017)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 - French Films, 2017 Films  
Back to Burgundy - France (2017)

French Sidebar

Back to Burgundy – France (2017)

Directed by: Cedric Klapisch

Back to Burgundy tells the story of Jean, who left his family and his native Burgundy ten years ago to tour the world. When learning of his father’s imminent death he returns to his childhood home where he, his sister Juliette, and brother, Jeremie, inherit the family vineyard. As the seasons go by and they work to save the vineyard, they’ll have to learn to trust each other again and reinvent their relationships.

French with English subtitles

Print courtesy of Music Box Films

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El Vigilante (The Night Guard) – Mexico (2016)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 - Latino, 2017 Films  
El Vigilante (The Night Guard) - Mexico (2016)

Latino

El Vigilante (The Night Guard) – Mexico (2016)

Directed by:  Diego Ros

Salvador works the night shift as a security guard in a construction site located on the outskirts of Mexico City. During one particular evening, while the rest of the country basks in annual festivities, Salvador tries desperately to sneak out of the site, insistent on attending an important engagement elsewhere. A series of bizarre and improbable situations, however, turn his night into a strange and unfortunate experience.

Los Angeles Film Festival – Winner – World Fiction Award – Best Film

Morelia International Film Festival – Winner – Best Film and Best Actor

Print courtesy of Imcine

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Josephine’s Demon – USA (2017)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 Special Screening, 2017 Films  
Josephine’s Demon - USA (2017)

Special Screening

Josephine’s Demon – USA (2017)

Directed by:  Stephen Bohnet

Summer has just begun, and a group of kids who call themselves the Puggles are free to roam all day long. While out on adventure, they try to avoid the Hammerheads, an older group of kids that love nothing more than to pick on and bully the Puggles. A new neighbor, Joey, has just moved to town. He fits right in with the Puggles, and starts venturing out with them. While fleeing on his bike from the Hammerheads, Joey finds a strange stone. Little does he know that it holds the spirit of Josephine, a young healer from generations ago, that once scorned by society, turned dark and evil. The oblivious Puggles face a collision course with Josephine’s dangerous spirit, while navigating through confrontation after confrontation with the Hammerheads. They must discover Josephine, and set Joey free.

Josephine’s Demon is a low budget film shot with local children and filmed on location and around Truckee, California

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Elian – USA – Cuba (2017)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 - Latino, 2017 Films  
Elian - USA - Cuba (2017)

Latino Selection

Elian – USA – Cuba (2017)

Directed by:  Tim Golden and Ross McDonnell

As the new millennium began, one news story captured the attention and hearts of nearly every American. On Thanksgiving, 1999, a young Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez was found floating in the Florida Straits by himself after his mother drowned trying to seek refuge in the United States. Before long, the 5-year old Gonzalez became the centerpiece of an intense custody battle between his father back in Cuba and his relatives in Miami, which, in turn, brought attention to the long-brewing tensions between Fidel Castro’s Cuba and the United States. Throughout the news coverage though, one voice was too young to join the heated international conversation – that of Elian himself. Eighteen years later, in the wake of Fidel Castro’s monumental death last November, the now 23-year-old Elian tells his story, along with the other key players, of one of the biggest news events in modern times.

Elian premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2017

Print courtesy of The Film Collaborative

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Faces Places – France (2017)

On October 25, 2017   /   2017 - French Films, 2017 Films  
Faces Places - France (2017)

French Sidebar

Faces Places – France (2017)

Directed by:  JR, Agnes Varda

Film auteur Agnes Varda and street photographer JR are creators of images from different generations. Varda, the revered female filmmaker of the French New Wave, has long been associated with the art film and inner circles of film lore, including Jacques Demy, Alain Resnais, Jean-Luc Godard, Anna Karina, and Chris Marker. JR views the street as with murals of his works. Their mutual commitment to human stories creates a path for collaboration and an opportunity to visit the French countryside. These singular artists traveling together makes for an extraordinary journey. This is a brilliant film from one of the most iconic and visionary talents in cinema, whose openness in her conversations with another original – JR – brings us an extraordinarily layered portrait: of two artists, of two generations, of the people they encounter, of France – and the French.

Winner of L’Oeil d’Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival

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