Four from Dances With Films

I was hoping to do full reviews of all these Dances With Films features but turns in the real world have reduced my ability to do so.

COVID19 GROUND ZERO

Based upon true stories this is the story of a hospital nurse and her boyfriend during the covid lock down. Well acted and earnest, the film suffered for me from covid burn out. I’ve seen too many covid films  over the last year and I’m at the point where I know that unless something is truly different I’m having a tough time taking the films on their own merits. While the film is definitely good I am uncomfortable saying how much due to the glut of films. If you are interested it is definitely worth a look.

1-800 HOT-NITE

A group of teenaged friends attempt to help one of their group get thrown in foster care after his parents are picked up in a drug raid. Interesting mix of comedy, drama, social commentary and coming of age is not like any other film out there. While there are definite signs that the film is trying to do way too much, it’s really nice to see any film being as ambitious as this one.  Worth a look for anyone who doesn’t  want a typical Hollywood film.

MY FRIEND TOMMY

Surprisingly charming documentary about friends trying to help one of their number find love and sex. Billed as a real world 40 Year Old Virgin this film defies expectations to be come a solid look at life and friendship. Doing more than just being about a guy trying to lose his virginity, the film instead becomes a weirdly insightful look at life and how we live it.   Recommended

REWILDING

NYC artist takes part in a program to help reentry for former inmates by  going into the wild and rock climbing.  What starts off as a look at a program hoping to help people by changing their perspective changes in the middle into an interesting look at matters of race in these helpful programs.  Because of the change this film becomes something more than just a feel good film. It’s a film that makes you really think about how you feel about such programs. Worth a look.

A DIRE STRAIT (2022) Dances With Films 2022

A Dire Strait (2022 short) - Trailer from Liang-Chun Lin on Vimeo.

A mother has to try and get around the Chinese tradition of keeping a new mother in bed for a month so she can build up her strength, fight depression and learn how to be a good mother. However in this modern world one mother has to sneak out at night to get the food and freedom she wants.

Wicked dark comedy shines a light on seeming out of date tradition that would seem to result in a deeper depression. I can’t imagine any mother I know willingly staying in bed for a month. They would probably slug anyone, including their own mothers who tried to keep them locked up.

The film itself is very funny. It walks that fine line between being funny and being kind of sad and manages never to trip.  I laughed even as I was horrified at what was going on on screen.

This film is wonderful mix of funny and heady- forcing us to consider if some of  our traditions are that helpful after all.

Recommended

DELUSIONE (2022) DANCES WITH FILMS 2022

Beautiful dance film has two women dancing in a bar.

I hate films like this because they are impossible to review. How do you write up a wordless dance? How I see the movement is not necessarily how you see it. How you react may not be how I react. Worse not being a dance student I don’t have the words to fake a review that sounds deep and meaningful.

On the other hand I love a film like this because it is a delight for the eye and ear. The motion of the dancers matched with the framing by the camera and music result in a film that is a visual feast. It is a look at two souls entwining and it is wonderful

Recommended.

El Carrito (2022) Dances With Films 2022

EL CARRITO
The life of a young woman from Latin America who makes money selling fruit from cart in New York. As someone who has had dealing with similar ladies over the year this film really hit home. It makes clear how hard their lives are. This is a super film, and one I would love to see expanded into a feature film, because there is so much here we should know. Recommended.

LOVESEAT (2022) Dances With Films 2022

A man has an unnatural attachment to a love seat in the store where he works.

This is a wickedly funny little film. It takes a (not so) out there concept and turns it into a film that will make you smile. I was wary of the film, but I fell into it from the start.

That the film works, credit writer director Jerry Pylewho gets the tone dead nuts perfect.  Normally in short films like this the filmmakers will go for the goofy, or go for a heightened sense of silly, but --- doesn’t do that. Yea there is a brief bit of nuttiness right at the start, but after that he pulls it in and pulls us along

LOVESEATis a charmer and recommended

Live Out Loud (2022) Dances With FIlms 2022

Three homeless people take advantage of a program at  local homeless shelter and learn to make movies and use it to find a direction in their lives.

A sweet little gem of a film  over comes an initial feeling of having been here before by flipping things and focusing not so much on the the program itself but the people involved instead. Having seen numerous docs on the power of programs to change people where the director remains at arms length from the participants and focuses instead on the program and the people running it, here the focus is squarely on the people and we are so much better for it

Bless director Melissa Gregory Rue for being bold enough to turn the camera on and let it run while at the same time letting everyone talk. The camera never seems to look away and as a result we really get to know the people we are following. We get to see the changes taking place because we really get to see th change happen.

What a marvelous film.

Recommended.

Eternal Spring (2022) Dances With Films 2022

 

“In China they will kill a thousand people just to get the right one”

Daxiong, comic illustrator and member of the  Falun Gong , recounts the story of the groups bold hijacking of the official state TV channel to broadcast a message counter to the official Chinese message that members of Falun Gong were dangerous terrorists. Horrific reprisals resulted where the government crushed and killed anyone they thought might have even been remotely part of the plan.

This  tale of a doomed plot to get the truth out is both heartbreaking and suspenseful. If you know anything about the Chinese government feelings toward Falun Gong you know that a lot of people are going to die. The group is their boogieman and they love to destroy its members in the most horrific ways. There have been numerous accounts of the criminal things they have done against the innocent people of the group and this is another. The suspense is there because you have to see how it was all done and how it played out. It’s a real version of the Star Wars Film Rogue One, but sadder, since the broadcast message didn’t change anything.

I was rocked.

What helps make this film work is the amazing animation. Designed by Daxiong, the animation adds so much to the tale. Not only does it allow events to be illustrated, it also results in a definite feel. We are in China at the turn of the millennium and not in the theater where we are seeing the film. Its beautifully done and gives the viewing a tactile quality that a straight live action recreation might not have ever achieved.

While the world is focused on the evils of Putin and Russia with their war in Ukraine, Eternal Spring is a reminder that China is probably worse and that we need to be very careful in our dealing with the Mainland government.

Highly recommended

A Little Dead (2022) Dances With Films (2022)

A LITTLE DEAD is slow burn horror short premiering at Dances with Films.

The story as a young woman and her brother going to visit her grandfather. Each night he puts out two glasses of a drink on the dining room table and tells them not to move them until they are finished. Why he does this isn’t clear but as you can guess you really should take his word for it.

While long time horror fans can probably figure out where this may be going, it won’t stop the chills. As the film moved toward its ending it had me talking to the screen.

When the film ended I emailed a couple of fellow writers who love spooky things to say they had to check it out.

This is a little gem that’s destined to play many horror fests.

Recommended

And I miss You Like a Little Kid (2022) Dances With Films 2022

Bi-sexual Jason falls into a relationship with the older Clarissa just as covid hits.  He is thrilled with the way she makes him feel and the quickly decide to move in together. However things turn dark as Clarissa becomes controlling and abusive. Jason isn't certain how to handle things and desperately wants to leave. However there is genuine feeling there which makes everything complicated.

While I am still sorting out my feelings for this film I want to  seriously recommend this film to everyone who is interested in an atypical drama well done. I absolutely love that this film spins things in a different way. This is not a film I really saw coming in it's narrative plotting and as a result it made me sit up and take notice. I also loved that the film doesn't give us easy answers to everything. We have to really consider what is going on.

To be certain the film isn't perfect. Some bits play better than others, there is enough good here to recommend it for anyone tired of the run of the mill or just a solid little film. 

It is the work of a great filmmaker and the perfect antidote to Hollywood sameness.

Iron Family (2022) plays Dances with FIlms 2022 June 12

This is a repost of a Slamdance  film that is now playing Dances with films on the 12th

Jazmine Faries,is a 32-year old young woman with Downs Syndrome who writes and stars in plays that she wrote.

Wonderful portrait of a young woman and her life. This is not a typical this is what life is like for someone with a disability, rather it is the best of all things, a portrait of a kick ass young woman who you just want to know. Its a film that makes a case that we shouldn't be seeing people with disabilities as something other than just regular folk. By simply being and pushing forward Jazmine ends up bringing together all sorts of people. 

The reason that the film works is simply that we just watching Jazmine and her family as if she as just another person. Yea she has Downs, but at the same time she isn't going to let that stop her she is just going to go straight a head doing what she does.

What an absolute delight.

Recommended

THE WALK (2022) Dances With Films 2022

A retelling of the summer leading into the forced desegregation of the Boston school system in 1974 is turned into a story of various families effected by the change in particular two young women, one the daughter of a white cop and the other the daughter of a black medic.

While the THE WALK is most certainly heartfelt and is in no way a bad film, it never manages to  generate much genuine emotion.  I liked the film and I watched it from start to finish, but at the same time I never was fully engaged. Yes the filmmakers try their best but in taking a huge story and reducing it to a human level, usually the best thing to do with a story, they lost the connection to life.

The biggest problem with the film is that the film feels a bit too artificially constructed. Every side is covered and the characters don’t feel real so much as the films standard bearer for  a white student or black student. Most of the characters seem rather free of conflict in their thinking and behave according to their type. Its not bad but it feels more like a TV movie of the week from the period instead of film from today. It doesn't help that the budget wasn't larger because the events depicted were earth shaking on a huge scale. There were large scale riots inside and outside the schools and the film never really gives us a real sense of the scope.

On a technical end the clothing and props look right but not lived in and or used.The result is very much a feeling that the proceedings are all dress up. 

To be honest despite my brickbats the film isn't bad. I did enjoy it. Ultimately the problem is  that there is enough good here (The cast is excellent) that I can't not unsee the the things that keep the film from being great. Its good enough that I want it to be great- a line its so close to.

Worth a look, especially if you can be forgiving.

VICA, DANCES WITH FILMS and OPEN ROADS all start this week

I know this week the focus at Unseen Films is going to be on Tribeca however there are three other festivals happening at the same time and they are all worth your time.

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Film at Lincoln Center is hosting the annual Open Roads look at recent Italian films. 

This is one of my favorite film fests every year because it always shows me some really cool films. Running the complete gamut of films genres this film always surprises us. As this posts I've seen about half a dozen of the titles and I've pretty much liked them all. 

While reviews will be coming, if you want to see something special I highly recommend THE CODE OF SILENCE (see the picture above) a film about a search for truth and revenge.

Details can be found here. 

(FYI there is no online component so you will have to go in person)

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I discovered Dances with Films a bunch of years ago when I was sent films from a number of filmmakers who told me their films were at the festival. I investigated it and fell madly in love.

Based in LA and showcasing every type of film under the sun the festival shows well over 250 films every year making it nigh impossible to see everything- though I know it would be fun to  try.

If you love off Hollywood films this is the fest for you. The level of creativity is amazing. While I have not seen a lot of films from this year's fest as this posts what I've seen has amazed me with their insistence at not taking the road well traveled.

While not well known in some cinema circles it is a festival programmed to near perfection as I've seen.

If you are in Los Angeles this is a must.

Details can be found here.

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In 2020 as we went into lockdown I was asked to cover the Venice Institute of Contemporary Art's (VICA)Fine Art Film Festival.  My jaw  dropped because this mix of art films and films about art blew me away. I had not seen anything like this before.

I dove into the films with abandon and was delighted beyond words.

Last year despite the festival ended up colliding with Tribeca I ended up buying a full virtual pass and spent my off hours from that fest watching the treasures from this one. (And no I never wrote them up because the films were for me- I mean I have to be able to just watch and enjoy films for myself now and again)

This year the festival is going to crash into Tribeca again- and guess what I am going to be doing to relax- watching films virtually from VICA.

As this posts I have seen none of the films. I have limited notions of whats playing- but I don't care, they program such great stuff that it doesn't matter, I'll try everything.

While the festival is in person and if you can get to VICA  I highly recommend you go. 

On the other hand if you can't get to the theater stay home and watch the fest at home. While you can buy blocks of films for ten bucks or buy it all for twenty five. (Its thirty five to buy access to everything on line and in person) Also if you buy the All Access you get access for the whole festival so you have 10 days to watch it all.

For more information for in person or virtual options or to buy an All Access Pass like me go here.

L.A.’S DANCES WITH FILMS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AND SETS LINEUP; “THE WALK” TO OPEN FESTIVAL ON JUNE 9 @ THE TCL CHINESE THEATER IN HOLLYWOOD

Titles Star Jeremy Piven, Jay Duplass, Common, Terrence Howard, Danny Glover, Shane West, Taryn Manning, Henry Rollins & Many More!

 Los Angeles, Calif. – (May 5, 2022) –The most defiantly independent film festival, DANCES WITH FILMS (DWF:LA), is celebrating 25 years of championing innovation, talent and creativity with a 2022 lineup that founders Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent declare is “the most dynamic and diverse we’ve ever seen.” The Los Angeles-based indie film event will take place at the TCL Chinese Theater from June 9-19.

 The festival will kick off opening night with THE WALK, directed by Daniel Adams and starring Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven, Malcolm McDowell and Justin Chatwin, a powerful story based on true events about Boston's 1974 desegregation busing.

Additional titles include ASHGROVE, a pandemic era film starring Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale), THE LATIN FROM MANHATTAN, which follows the wild life of adult film icon Vanessa Del Rio, starring Shane West, Jesse Metcalfe, Taryn Manning, Esai Morales, Drea de Matteo and Dita Von Teese. Documentary selection WE PAID LET US IN! chronicles the inspiring journey of Chicago rhyme duo, Abstract Mindstate, who reunited after a 16-year hiatus when Kanye West signed them to his newly launched record imprint in 2021. WE PAID LET US IN! also features Common, Coodie & Chike, and Deon Cole. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A PROBLEM? traces the phenomenon of othering in America, how marginalized groups of people are mistreated in a nation that allegedly cares about justice and equality, and features Ed Asner, Danny Glover, Henry Rollins and music by Jackson Browne. Closing out the festival is thriller GHOSTWRITTEN starring Jay Duplass and Maria Ditzia.

 Dances With Films, who champions diversity and inclusion has chosen to close the festival on Juneteenth to further shed light on this important legal holiday.  Topics highlighted throughout programming include women’s rights, segregation, homelessness, mental health, refugee stories, and sexual abuse.

Festival Founders Leslee Scallon, Michael Trent and Producing Partner Jackie Tepper state “25 years is no small feat in Hollywood, and Dances With Films continues to be about new voices, and new perspectives that help transform the way people see the world through the visual medium. We have always provided a safe space for emerging filmmakers to enhance awareness and understanding of the world through their art.  The impact of filmmaking in terms of creating change is undeniable, and DWF:LA is proud to be a part of that.”

In addition to the film screenings, Dances With Films will also host a series of panels and performances. Previous panelists include Academy Award nominated DUNE Producer Cale Boyter, Director Paul Greengrass, Producer Michael London, Lord of The Rings Executive Producer Mark Ordesky, President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and Casting Director David Rubin, and more.

 You can check out the entire film slate on the Dances With Films Website and follow @danceswithfilms on Instagram.

 The 2022 Dances With Films Festival is sponsored by PRG, Simple DCP, Filmmaker Magazine, Fandor, Lucas Bols, The Loews Hotel Hollywood and Josh Cellars.

About Dances With Films

 In 1998 DWF began as a film festival dedicated to finding tomorrow’s talent today and continues to carry on this mission. With many World and West Coast Premieres, DWF provides a coveted first stop on the festival circuit. With a vast number of submissions, the selection process is based solely on merit and discoverability. DWF continues its dedication to and is a devoted champion of fresh and creative voices. For the past 25 years, DWF has proudly provided access and opportunity to thousands of films and filmmakers from all over the world who diligently work year after year to see their dreams realized.