THE TORONTO TRUE CRIME FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL LINEUP!

Two days of complicated cases and compelling cinema comes to downtown Toronto this Summer!

The Toronto True Crime Film Festival  |  www.torontotruecrimefilmfestival.com

Check out the program and schedule on our website now!

The Toronto True Crime Film Festival will have its first annual edition this June 8th - 9th, 2018 at The Royal Cinema and Monarch Tavern in Toronto. The inaugural lineup includes five film screenings and three symposium events, with 15% of all pass and ticket sales being donated to charity.

ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT

Dir. Skye Borgman / USA / 2017 / 91 min / International Premiere

​ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT is a stranger-than-fiction documentary about the Brobergs; a naïve, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor who would stop at nothing to be with their twelve-year-old daughter. You will not believe how bizarre this true tale of obsession gets! Screens with short film MAYBE IF IT WERE A NICE ROOM (Dir. Alicia K. Harris, Canada, 2016).

MY NAME IS MYEISHA
Dir. Gus Krieger / USA / 2018 / 82 min / Canadian Premiere

The award-winning Slamdance hit MY NAME IS MYEISHA is a hip-hop musical inspired by the 1998 police shooting of California teen Tyisha Miller (as well as countless other acts of police brutality against African American citizens) and adapted from the internationally acclaimed play, Dreamscape. Screens with Oscar-nominated short film TRAFFIC STOP (Dir. Kate Davis, USA, 2017).

THE STRANGER
Dir. Nicole Nielsen Horanyi / Denmark / 2017 / 100 min / Canadian Premiere

​After meeting the man of her dreams on Facebook, Amanda finds herself being swept off her feet by Casper, the dedicated father and charming heir to a family fortune. There’s only one problem—everything that Casper has told her is a lie. This documentary-narrative hybrid is made all the more fascinating with reenactments played out almost entirely by the actual characters of this twisted story of an imposter. Fans of the investigative podcast Dirty John will find themselves being drawn in by the similar themes of love, lies, and con artistry in THE STRANGER and won’t want to miss this DOC NYC Grand Jury Prize-winning film. Screens with short-film 42 COUNTS (Dir. Jill Gevargizian, USA, 2018).

HOSTAGES
Dir. Rezo Gigineishvili / Georgia | Russia | Poland / 2017 / 103 min / Canadian Premiere

​HOSTAGES is a tension-filled drama based on the true story of a 1983 airplane hijacking by a group of Georgian youth trying to escape the Soviet Union. Screens with short film DON’T BE A HERO (Dir. Pete Lee, USA, 2018).

MONSTER

Dir. Patty Jenkins / USA / 2003 / 109 min

​The film programming is rounded out by a 15th-anniversary screening of Patty Jenkin’s Academy Award-winning biopic MONSTER, which tells the tale of one of the world’s most infamous female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos. Screens with short film THE SANDMAN (Dir. Lauren Knapp, USA, 2017).

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Our symposium section will feature three daytime events through which audiences can get up close and personal with true crime professionals and media practitioners whose work centers on the world of true crime. First up is the panel “Why Do Women Love True Crime?” presented by Investigation Discovery, America’s top-rated women’s network. Featuring ID’s own Keila Woodard, as well as filmmaker Catherine Legge (Met While Incarcerated) and more to be announced, this panel will look at womens’ historical engagement with true crime fandom, from the Victorian era to today. Next, The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies presents visiting filmmaker and writer Rémy Bennett, who will present “L.A. Despair: Chasing Death with John Gilmore,” a multimedia presentation exploring the life and work of the late Noir and true crime writer John Gilmore that is a meditation on the relationship between pop-cultural crime landmarks of the past century and celebrity iconography viewed amidst the landscape of the tragedies he chronicled. And finally the symposium will close with the star-studded panel “The Rise of the Armchair Detective,” moderated by author Naben Ruthnum (who writes crime stories under the pen name Nathan Ripley), which looks at non-law enforcement professionals who have taken it upon themselves to investigate – and sometimes solve! – ongoing and cold cases, including journalists Christine Pelisek (who broke L.A’s Grim Sleeper case) and Kevin Flynn (who broke the Sheila LaBarre case), filmmaker Joshua Zeman (A&E’s The Killing Season, Cropsey), Bek and Tyler Allen of The Minds of Madness podcast and more to be confirmed.

The Toronto True Crime Film Festival is organized by Lisa Gallagher (programmer at Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival, formerly producer of The MUFF Society screening series), Steven Landry (Programming Director at Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival and programmer at Ithaca Fantastik, Toronto After Dark Film Festival), Kier-La Janisse (owner/artistic director of Spectacular Optical Publications, founder of The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies), Gina Rim (staff at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival), and Jeff Wright (founder of Refocus film series and Programmer at Calgary Underground Film Festival, CUFF Docs). Elizabeth Munro and Claire Bonduro round out the festival team as staff with academic backgrounds in justice services, victims advocacy, and criminology.

The TTCFF team is joined by an advisory committee consisting of Erin Lee Carr (director: Mommy Dead & Dearest, Thought Crimes), Kevin Flynn & Rebecca Lavoie (authors, podcasters: Our Little Secret, Notes on a Killing, Crime Writers On..., These Are Their Stories: the Law & Order Podcast), Christine Pelisek (journalist, author: PEOPLE Magazine, The Grim Sleeper: The Lost Women of South Central), Anthony Timpson (producer: The Field Guide To Evil, Deathgasm, Turbo Kid, The ABCs of Death, The Greasy Strangler), and Keila Woodard (Supervising Producer: Investigation Discovery, Web of Lies, Deadly Women). This committee has been alongside the festival every step of the way, offering advice, support, guidance, and expertise as they make their way towards opening night.

The Hermit (short): It’s a Bug’s Life

Insects survive. It’s what they do. However, it is not always such a bed of roses being the last species standing. One insect survivor endures the threats of a hostile environment as well as a profound sense of alienation in the Raúl & Daniel Díez’s animated short film The Hermit, which kicks off a week of special screenings this Friday in Los Angeles.

The opening titles tell us this was a time when warring insects ruled our planet. That sounds like the distant past, but the décor is rather post-apocalyptic looking. Either way, The Hermit would make quite provocative pairing with The Hellstrom Chronicle or perhaps Saul Bass’s Phase IV. Initially, viewers will just soak up the stunningly immersive world-building, as the armored mantis, grasshopper, or whatever forages about his desert wasteland. Eventually, it builds to a Twilight Zone-style ironic ending. Frankly, it would be a pretty potent twist, but it is just overshadowed by the awesome spectacle of the 3D animation and the harsh wonders of the surrounding world.

For the records, Raúl Díez is credited as director, screenwriter, co-producer, and co-executive producer, while his brother Daniel is listed as co-artistic director, co-3D supervisor, co-producer, and co-executive producer. No matter what you call them, they both most likely spent many sleepless nights on the project. However, the resulting film should make the animation world sit up and take notice. This is a macabrely beautiful film, subtly enhanced by José Abenza’s eerie sound design.

The Hermit is only fifteen minutes, but it is exactly the kind of viewing experience Shane Acker’s feature treatment of 9 promised, but never quite delivered. Festival programmers could also consider it on a bill proceeding Birdboy: The Forgotten Children. In any event, The Hermit should be Oscar-qualified after its Laemmle screenings—and it deserves to be a contender. Very highly recommended, The Hermit starts a week of special afternoon screenings this Friday (5/11) at the Laemmle Royal.

Anything (2018)

ANYTHING is exactly the sort of film Unseen Films was started to highlight. A wonderful little film that is not going to get its full time in the spotlight unless someone shines a light one it. If you want to see small gem of a film then put anything on your must see list for this upcoming weekend.

When Earl‘s(John Carroll Lynch) wife dies he is left deep in mourning. Deciding to pack up and move to Los Angeles to be closer to family he takes an apartment in one of the less affluent parts of town. Delighted with the cast of characters living around him Earl begins to reawaken. He also becomes entranced with Frida(Matt Bomer), a trans woman who finds Earl just as intriguing.

Sweet little film is about finding and accepting love where it happens. It is an absolute delight.

That the film works as well as it does is due entirely to the characters and the actor who inhabit them. Both John Carroll Lynch and Matt Bomer are note perfect. You completely see how they could end up colliding. The rest of the cast is equally good keeping things real and not letting things to get out of hand. While I’m certain things play out a little too neatly, I also have no trouble believing that it all could happen this way.

I smiled a lot- and I got misty.

What a great film.

Recommended

ANYTHING opens in theaters Friday

Measure of a Man (2018)

Unexpectedly moving cinematic adaption of 'One Fat Summer' by Robert Lipsyte is one of the best of a number of recent coming-of-age films I've seen. Full of great characters, music and real emotion, the film soars.

Bobby Marks is a teen who hates summer. Weighing 200 pounds he is uncomfortable in his own skin. The last thing in the world he would ever want to do is do anything that would leave his large frame exposed such a swimming. Going once more to his family's summer home on a lake Bobby is given his choice of summer camps to attend. Instead he opts to work for Dr Kahn a rich man with a large piece of property. Over the course of the summer of 1976 Bobby comes to terms with himself, with life and the bullies who seem to plague him.

Where the hell did this film come from and why didn't I hear of it sooner? The only reason I heard of the film is that several weeks ago the PR person handling the film asked me if I wanted to see it and I offhandedly  said yes, never expecting that the film would be this kind of bolt of summer lightning.

The story of a kid coming to terms with himself is beautifully told. The film has the feel of real life bleeding off the screen. I could relate to whole sections of the film which mirrored moments of my teen years. I love that the film gets the feeling of 1976 exactly right. Being ancient enough to have been slightly younger than Bobby is in the film at the time I can attest that it all feels right in a nostalgic way if not a literal one. I love that there are no easy answers and no cliches. Things happen as they do in life, and while Bobby clearly arcs in a literary way it still feels dead on perfect and real.

Blake Cooper as Bobby is wonderful. Watching him go through his summer I felt a kindred spirit.

Equally wonderful is Donald Sutherland as Dr Kahn who hires Bobby and becomes a kind of surrogate father and mentor to the boy. While he doesn't do anything except give Bobby a chance or occasional bit of advice,he is a commanding presence because he treat the boy as an adult when no one else will. He also breaks your heart with all of his pent up emotion hiding behind his eyes or in his inflection of his vice. It's always clear that he feel Bobby is not just a son but kindred spirit.

I can't say enough good about the film other than you must see it when it opens Friday in theaters.

The Day After (2017)

For a movie about betrayal and disappointment, THE DAY AFTER doesn’t let one down despite director Hong Sang-soo’s efforts to involve the audience in these experiences directly. Oh, playfully, to be sure, but directly nonetheless. Key dramatic confrontations are relegated to off-screen events narrated at a  later date. The character who is most intriguing and relatable is not only denied an internal “arc,” but is also literally forgotten by someone you’d think would never do that. And the protagonist, like a refugee from the core SEINFELD cast, arguably never grows or learns much about himself by the time the end credits roll. 

None of that matters because the writer-director—and it’s hard to name another so prolific whose batting average is also so high—delivers payoffs all along, not waiting until the final act to reward us in this quasi-farce about adultery, mistaken identity, and intellectualism that's lost touch with how life is actually lived. Along the way, many of Hong’s aesthetic and thematic trademarks are gloriously on display. Shot in low-contrast monochrome with a largely stationary camera, Hong’s deadpan approach to overwrought emotion leaves one unsure if the intended result is humor or anguish—until, as usual, it becomes clear that it’s a combination of these. The overall feel, then, is typical of his work: a lowkey tragic absurdity that, in this case, conveys both the insanity and the inevitably of romantic love.

As a brilliant writer and critic who never once utters anything brilliant, Kwon Hae-yo is perfect as the head-nodding, bland center of a love quadrilateral. His smooth vacuity, ostensibly informed by emotional sobriety and a questionable sense of professionalism, is played off sharply against the three women in his life who think, feel, and intuit more deeply than he ever will. The director repeatedly uses basically the same two-shot to frame the conversations between Kwon’s character and all three of the women. The result is a sense not just of a static camera, but of a static life. Kwon seems destined to repeat the same sorts of scenes out of cowardice—and not even be aware of it.

The only moments that are not static owe themselves to Hong’s emphatic use of minimalist pans and zooms, a device he has used elsewhere and to similar effect. Your initial reaction might be that hey, this overt artifice is mannered to the point of silliness, but upon its repeated, almost rhythmic deployment, it becomes less about formal camera maneuverings and more, paradoxically, about the humanity of the characters. It’s a testament to the artfulness that it’s hard to put into words why this works but, if forced, I’d venture that the artist is helping us sense the artifice and pretense of human relationships themselves.

Besides, Hong knows well what Buster Keaton demonstrated way back in SHERLOCK JR: the most spectacular thing in all of film is the edit, not the shot. Here of course it’s narrative special effects we care about, not visual ones, and by the close of THE DAY AFTER the results are dazzling. Telling its story via recursive flashbacks, the film gradually comes to suggest a kind of all-time-is-right-now awareness, with the past pretty indistinguishable from a future we seem to be slouching towards none the wiser for having lived through it before. Twice I was sure that what was a flashback turned out not to be one, and flood of disorientation was wonderful.

In fact, the expert manipulations of time might obscure just how careful and effective Hong is when dealing with space, with emptiness being the keynote. In ways that are suggestive of the inner world of our protagonist, THE DAY AFTER presents its settings with a ghost-town feel that is almost eerie. Again, this sensibility is not new in terms of Hong’s body of work, but is particularly impactful this time out. Numerous scenes take place in cafes, in restaurants, and on the sidewalks of city streets—but no one else is ever visible except the one or two characters we’re focused on; no wait staff ever takes an order or delivers a drink, no other patrons are in the background or heard off-screen. In terms of a psychic landscape, this approach affirms the way that, to those in intense relationships, the outside world itself can recede as they indulge in all their private dramas and melodramas. THE DAY AFTER invites us into that realm, with all its high-stakes ridiculousness, and it’s an invitation you’ll probably want to honor.

***

THE DAY AFTER opens at the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York on May 11, 2018.

Class Rank (2018)

CLASS RANK saddens me. Its not that it's a bad film, rather it has a bad character and as a result the film lost me with in the first five minutes. And despite the character's changes I never really connected to it.

The film is about a couple of super smart, but not so socially adept, high school kids who hatch a plan to run for the school board and change the ranking system for students. Of course this results in unexpected consequences such as romance.

The problem for me is Skylar Gisondo's Bernard. A brainy kid with a very intellectual way of speaking and seeing the world he is also incredibly annoying. He speaks and thinks in large flowery ways and I wanted to smack him. Yes, he gets better, but I never much cared for him. While I freely admit that part of my dislike for Bernard is the fact that I knew kids  exactly like him growing up and they always annoyed me. I never wanted to spend tie with them and clearly I still don't.

As for the rest of the film, its great. This is, on its own terms a sweet litttle comedy. I loved Olivia Holt as Bernard's partner in crime and romance, Kristen Chenoweth is great as her mom and Bruce Dern as Bernard's grandfather . Dern is a national treasure and I would say let's bronze him but that would prevent any later performances. Dern single-handedly made the film a delight for me.

If you can get past the annoying kid at the center CLASS RANK is a really good film and recommended.

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER AND ISTITUTO LUCE CINECITTÀ ANNOUNCE COMPLETE LINEUP FOR THE 18TH EDITION OF OPEN ROADS: NEW ITALIAN CINEMA, May 31-June 6

Opening Night selection is Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s Sicilian Ghost Story

17-film festival features nine North American and seven New York premieres

New York, NY (May 7, 2018) – The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà announce the complete lineup for the 18th edition of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, May 31 – June 6.

Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is the leading screening series to offer North American audiences a diverse and extensive lineup of contemporary Italian films. This year’s 18th edition again strikes a balance between emerging talents and esteemed veterans, commercial and independent fare, outrageous comedies, gripping dramas, and captivating documentaries, with in-person appearances by many of the filmmakers.

The Opening Night selection is Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s second feature, Sicilian Ghost Story, a transfixing blend of realism and mythology based on the true events of a missing young boy, which won the David di Donatello award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This year’s edition showcases 16 additional titles, including the premiere of Boys Cry, a gritty gangster genre debut by the D’Innocenzo brothers; Roberto De Paolis’s feature debut about youthful self-discovery, Pure Hearts; Sergio Castellitto’s emotionally raw Fortunata, featuring legendary Rainer Werner Fassbinder leading lady Hanna Schygulla and Jasmine Trinca, who won the Un Certain Regard Best Actress prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival; and three works by returning Open Roads filmmakers: Marco Tullio Giordana’s Nome di donna, Ferzan Ozpetek’s Naples in Veils, and Vincenzo Marra’s Equilibrium.

Open Roads will also present Rainbow: A Private Affair, the latest and final film by legendary filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Vittorio sadly passed away this April at age 88), paired with a special screening of their classic Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner, The Night of the Shooting Stars; as well as the new digital restoration of iconoclast Marco Ferrari’s The Ape Woman, screening with Anselma Dell’Olio’s new documentary about the provocateur, Marco Ferreri: Dangerous but Necessary.

Tickets for Open Roads: New Italian Cinema + the Visconti retrospective go on sale May 18, with Film Society members receiving an early access period beginning May 15. Tickets are $15; $12 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $10 for Film Society members. See more and save with the 3+ film discount package or Open Roads Access Pass. Learn more at filmlinc.org. 

Open Roads: New Italian Cinema is co-presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Istituto Luce Cinecittà. Organized by Dennis Lim and Dan Sullivan, Film Society; and by Carla Cattani, Griselda Guerrasio and Monique Catalino, Istituto Luce Cinecittà. Special thanks to: Italian Cultural Institute New York; Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò.

FILMS & DESCRIPTIONSAll screenings take place at the Walter Reade Theater (165 West 65th Street) unless otherwise noted.

Opening NightSicilian Ghost Story
Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza, Italy, 2017, 120m
Italian with English subtitles
New York Premiere Winner of the David di Donatello award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza’s spellbinding follow-up to their acclaimed 2013 drama Salvo is by turns fantastic and ripped-from-the-headlines. One day after school, 12-year-old Luna (Julia Jedlikowska) follows her classmate crush Giuseppe (Gaetano Fernandez) into a possibly enchanted forest—and, just like that, he vanishes. Was he kidnapped by the Mafia, for whom his father used to work as an assassin before he turned informant? Grassadonia and Piazza’s film, based on true events, renders Luna’s quest for the truth as a transfixing blend of realism and mythology.
Thursday, May 31, 1:00pm & 6:00pm (Q&A with Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza at the 6:00pm screening) ***Grassadonia, Piazza, and actors Vincenzo Amato and Filippo Luna are available for interview.***

The Ape Woman / La donna scimmia
Marco Ferreri, Italy/France, 1964, 100m
Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere “One of Marco Ferreri’s earliest and most beloved films, The Ape Woman is inspired by the true story of 19th-century carnival performer Julia Pastrana. Annie Girardot gives a signature performance as “Marie the Ape Woman,” an ex-nun whose body is completely covered in black hair. She is discovered at a convent by sleazy entrepreneur Focaccia (Ugo Tognazzi), who marries her and swiftly gets her on the freak show circuit to cash in on her distinctive appearance. A freewheeling satire both hilarious and grotesque, The Ape Woman is distinguished by the irreverent wit and anarchic energy of Ferreri’s greatest work. New digital restoration!
Tuesday, June 5, 8:45pm

Beautiful Things
Giorgio Ferrero & Federico Biasin, Italy/Switzerland/USA, 2017, 94m
North American Premiere This wildly ambitious documentary follows four men who work in isolation at remote scientific and industrial sites around the world. Like monks, they carry out their daily tasks in silence and solitude, creating products soon to enter the capitalist cycle of production, consumption, and destruction. A ravishingly beautiful audiovisual experience, Giorgio Ferrero and Federico Biasin’s debut feature is a transfixing work about the origins of consumer society imbued with a musical sense of rhythm (Ferrero is also a composer and sound editor) and a wealth of aesthetic ideas about the way we live now.
Sunday, June 6, 6:00pm (Q&A with Giorgio Ferrero)

Boys Cry / La terra dell'abbastanza
Damiano & Fabio D'Innocenzo, Italy, 2018, 96m
Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere The D’Innocenzo brothers reinvigorate the gangster genre with their gritty, surprising debut feature, set on the outskirts of Rome. Best friends and aspiring restaurateurs Manolo (Andrea Carpenzano) and Mirko (Matteo Olivetti) kill a pedestrian in a car accident, kicking off a series of events that enmesh them with the local crime syndicate and push their mutual allegiance to the breaking point. Smart, stylish, and muscular, this critical hit at the 2018 Berlinale announces the D’Innocenzos as formidable and film-savvy new voices in Italian cinema. 
Sunday, June 3, 3:30pm (Q&A with Damiano & Fabio D'Innocenzo)
Tuesday, June 5, 2:30pm

Crater / Il cratere
Silvia Luzi & Luca Bellino, Italy, 2017, 93m Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere Documentarians Luzi and Bellino’s fiction debut stars Rosario and Sharon Caroccia (playing versions of themselves) as a carnival worker and his ostensibly unambitious daughter. He dreams she’ll hit it big as a pop singer, but when Sharon loses interest in pursuing this potentially lucrative profession, tensions build between the two. Luzi and Bellino summon their nonfiction filmmaking background to lend naturalism and spontaneity to this tale of helicopter-parenting that consciously recalls Luchino Visconti’s Bellissima. Crater is a moving parable about the gulf that exists between our desires and those of the people closest to us.
Saturday, June 2, 1:00pm (Q&A with Silvia Luzi & Luca Bellino)
Monday, June 4, 4:15pm

Diva!
Francesco Patierno, Italy, 2017, 75m
Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere Valentina Cortese starred in films by such masters as Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, and François Truffaut (she was nominated for an Oscar for her turn as an over-the-hill, hard-drinking thespian in the latter’s Day for Night). In this inventive work of cinematic biography, eight actresses play Cortese at various stages of her career, amidst a kaleidoscopic wealth of film clips and archival footage. In a work that is by turns glamorous, celebratory, and soberly confessional, “Cortese” often addresses the viewer directly, yielding a direct and engaging portrait of an actress whose offscreen complexity often exceeded the roles she memorably incarnated.
Friday, June 1, 4:00pm (Q&A with Francesco Patierno)
Wednesday, June 6, 8:30pm

Equilibrium / L'equilibrio
Vincenzo Marra, Italy, 2017, 90m
Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere The director of Vento di terra returns to Open Roads with this realist parable about faith and crime in Campania. After Roman priest Don Giuseppe (Mimmo Borrelli) begins developing an attraction to an employee of the refugee center where he works, he requests a transfer, settling just north of Naples. There, he finds himself in conflict with the Camorra when he tries to intervene in the local industrial-waste crisis, their nefarious tactics putting the priest’s spiritual resolve to the test. Working with a mix of professionals and non-actors, Marra renders a scrappy, moving drama about the antagonism between religious belief and the modern world.
Sunday, June 3, 1:00pm (Q&A with Vincenzo Marra)
Wednesday, June 6, 4:30pm

Look Up / Guarda in alto
Fulvio Risuleo, Italy/France, 2017, 90m
Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere While taking a cigarette break on a rooftop in Rome, a young baker (Giacomo Ferrara) notices a curious fowl plummeting from the sky. He crosses from one rooftop to the next to get a closer look, and what he discovers is the beginning of a journey down an urban rabbit hole of incredible situations and bizarre characters (including one played by a delightfully off-kilter Lou Castel). Documentary filmmaker Fulvio Risuleo’s fiction debut is an odd bird indeed, an unpredictable and imaginative twist on the road movie that evokes Alice in Wonderland and recalls the early work of Michel Gondry. 
Sunday, June 3, 8:30pm

Fortunata
Sergio Castellitto, Italy, 2017, 103m
Italian with English subtitles
New York Premiere Jasmine Trinca plays the ironically named Fortunata, a young mother and hairdresser living in Rome whose ambitions are constantly thwarted by inept, needy friends and family baggage. Awaiting a divorce from her soon-to-be-ex-husband and dealing with the resultant issues her 8-year-old daughter has developed, Fortunata begins taking her daughter to a handsome child therapist (Stefano Accorsi), with whom she has immediate chemistry. Also featuring legendary German actress Hanna Schygulla, Fortunata is an emotionally raw melodrama anchored by Trinca’s powerhouse performance, which earned her the Best Actress prize in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Friday, June 1, 6:15pm (Q&A with Jasmine Trinca)
Monday, June 4, 2:00pm

Marco Ferreri: Dangerous but Necessary / La lucida follia di Marco Ferreri
Anselma Dell’Olio, Italy, 2017, 77m
Italian and French with English subtitles
North American Premiere Marco Ferreri: Dangerous but Necessary is a complex, multilayered portrait that seeks to give an underappreciated iconoclast his due. Directed by journalist-critic (and former Ferreri collaborator) Anselma Dell’Olio, the film draws upon interviews with such performers as Isabelle Huppert, Roberto Benigni, Hanna Schygulla, and Ornella Muti, as well as cinematic luminaries like Philippe Sarde and Dante Ferretti, to make the case for Ferreri as a figure who belongs on the same historical wavelength as such artistic revolutionaries as Godard, Fassbinder, and Buñuel. This fast-paced documentary’s enthusiasm for its legendarily provocative subject is positively infectious. 
Tuesday, June 5, 6:30pm 
Nome di donna
Marco Tullio Giordana, Italy, 2018, 90m
Italian with English subtitles
North American Premiere A woman courageously tries to break the silence in a culture of complicity surrounding sexual harassment in this all-too-timely film from Open Roads veteran Marco Tullio Giordana. Nina (Cristiana Capotondi) is a single mother who takes a job at a home for the elderly in Lombardy, where the inappropriate verbal treatment of her new manager (Bebo Storti) turns into outright assault. Nina’s quest to seek justice brings her face to face with the cultural and institutional mechanisms that allowed for the harassment in the first place. Ultimately, Nina is one of the most multidimensional and inspiring protagonists in recent Italian cinema.
Saturday, June 2, 3:30pm (Q&A with Marco Tullio Giordana)
Tuesday, June 5, 4:30pm

Naples in Veils / Napoli velata
Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy, 2017, 113m
Italian with English subtitles
New York Premiere In this moody, baroque thriller from Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek, Giovanna Mezzogiorno stars as Adriana, a medical examiner who meets cute with younger man Andrea (Alessandro Borghi) during a party at her eccentric aunt’s garish apartment. They hit it off immediately, though their romance is curtailed when Andrea later stands her up. While inspecting a corpse at work, Adriana notices a distinctive tattoo that reminds her of Andrea’s—at least as she remembers it. So begins a gripping metaphysical murder mystery, in which Naples becomes a shadowy, mysterious labyrinth of desire and memory. 
Saturday, June 2, 8:30pm (Q&A with Ferzan Ozpetek)

The Night of the Shooting Stars / La Notte di San Lorenzo
Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, Italy, 1982, 35mm, 105m
Italian with English subtitles The Taviani brothers’ crowning achievement and winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize, The Night of the Shooting Stars remains one of world cinema’s great war films. The story of a group of Italians in Tuscany fleeing the Nazis, who intend to bomb their small town before it can be liberated by the Americans, this is an enthralling chronicle of everyday people refusing to sit back and wait for history to redeem them, instead seeking their own salvation. This tonally eclectic, humanistic masterwork affectingly melds comedy, tragedy, and melodrama to convey the resilience of the Italian people during the war’s darkest hours.
Monday, June 4, 8:45pm

The Place
Paolo Genovese, Italy, 2017, 105m
Italian with English subtitles
New York Premiere
An enigmatic, nameless man (Valerio Mastandrea) sits in the corner of a bar, receiving visitor after visitor. They tell him of their profoundest wishes and desires, and he assures them they can have exactly what they want . . . but there will be a price, and the extreme deeds they must perform will lead them to question who they are and to what lengths they will go. An elegant reworking of the American television series The Booth at the End, this gripping, minimalist moral thriller boasts an all-star cast that includes Alba Rohrwacher, Silvio Muccino, and Rocco Papaleo.
Thursday, May 31, 3:30pm & 9:00pm (Q&A with Paolo Genovese at the 9:00pm screening)

Pure Hearts / Cuori puri
Roberto De Paolis, Italy, 2017, 114m
Italian with English subtitles
New York Premiere An impeccably acted drama about youthful self-discovery, De Paolis’s feature debut is a fresh take on the “opposites attract” tale, set on the outskirts of Rome. Seventeen-year-old Agnese (Barbora Bobulova) plans to take a vow of chastity to appease her intensely devout mother, but then she encounters 25-year-old parking lot attendant Stefano (Simone Liberati) while shoplifting a cell phone. Stefano represents for Agnese an alternative way of being in the world beyond the strictures of the church, from which she feels increasingly alienated. Partly improvised and deftly filmed by DP Claudio Cofrancesco, Pure Hearts marks an auspicious debut for De Paolis. 
Friday, June 1, 8:45pm (Q&A with Roberto De Paolis)
Wednesday, June 6, 2:00pm

Rainbow: A Private Affair / Una questione privata
Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, Italy, 2017, 85m
Italian with English subtitles
New York Premiere Few filmmakers have better embodied Italian cinema over the past 50 years than the Taviani brothers. Their latest and final film together (Vittorio died in April) is an elegant tale of young love caught in the whirlwind of war, loosely adapted from a book by Beppe Fenoglio. Set near Turin in 1944, Rainbow follows student Milton (Luca Marinelli) and his friend Giorgio (Lorenzo Richelmy), who both love the same woman (Valentina Belle). Their friendship is put to the ultimate test against a backdrop of violent struggle after the two men are swept up in the anti-fascist movement. A sensitive, atmospheric film about the connection between the personal and the global, this is an essential capstone to the Tavianis’ vital oeuvre.
Friday, June 1, 2:00pm
Monday, June 4, 6:30pm 

Stories of Love That Cannot Belong to This World / Amori che non sanno stare al mondo 
Francesca Comencini, Italy, 2017, 92m 
Italian with English subtitles 
New York Premiere 
Francesca Comencini adapts her own novel for this intelligent, intensely felt romantic comedy. Academics Claudia (Lucia Mascino) and Flavio (Thomas Trabacchi) have been a couple for seven years, but their physically and intellectually passionate relationship seems to have reached an impasse, and neither of them understands why. As a result, Claudia begins a process of reflection and self-exploration to come to terms with Flavio’s love in light of her own insecurities and neuroses. This funny, charming movie reveals the inner work we must do in order to move on with our lives.
Saturday, June 2, 6:00pm (Q&A with Lucia Mascino)
Wednesday, June 6, 6:30pm

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTERThe Film Society of Lincoln Center is devoted to supporting the art and elevating the craft of cinema. The only branch of the world-renowned arts complex Lincoln Center to shine a light on the everlasting yet evolving importance of the moving image, this nonprofit organization was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international film. Via year-round programming and discussions; its annual New York Film Festival; and its publications, including Film Comment, the U.S.’s premier magazine about films and film culture, the Film Society endeavors to make the discussion and appreciation of cinema accessible to a broader audience, as well as to ensure that it will remain an essential art form for years to come.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Shutterstock, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. American Airlines is the Official Airline of the Film Society of Lincoln Center. For more information, visit filmlinc.org and follow @filmlinc on Twitter. 

ISTITUTO LUCE CINECITTA
Istituto Luce Cinecittà is the state-owned company whose main shareholder is the Italian Ministry for Culture subsidizing its activities on an annual basis. Istituto Luce Cinecittà holds one of the most important European film and photographic archives in which materials are collected and digitally categorized, including its own productions and materials, derived from private collections and acquisitions by a variety of sources. Istituto Luce Cinecittà owns a film library, Cineteca, containing around 3000 titles of the most significant Italian film productions in order to promote Italian culture at major national and international institutes around the world. In collaboration with the Italian Ministry for the Foreign Affairs, restorations and new prints are added every year. 

Istituto Luce Cinecittà cooperates with major film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Locarno, New York, London by organizing national selections, guaranteeing the presence of Italian films and artists in the various festivals, and by providing multifunctional spaces to help the promotion of our cinematography and it is the reference place for all Italian and foreign operators. It is also involved with the direct organization of numerous Film Festival around the world: The Festival of Italian Cinema in Tokyo, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema in New York, London’s Cinema Made in Italy, Mittelcinemafest, and The Festival of Italian Cinema in Barcelona, Istanbul, and Buenos Aires. For more information, visit www.filmitalia.org and www.cinecitta.com. 

The 10th K+S Soccer Film Festival in NYC kicks off May 22 Tickets on sale now!

Hard to believe it, but 2018 marks the 10th year for the Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in New York. To celebrate, we've got our most amazing lineup of films yet, a roster that spans the globe and reflects the multitude of our beautiful game -- joy, sadness, friendship, inclusion, tragedy, resurrection, politics, style, and more. K+S New York 2018 runs for four nights, May 22-25, and will once again be held at Scandinavia House in midtown Manhattan (MAP). The festival will, as always, feature a full slate of soccer cultural events, including film screenings, panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, post-screening parties, and raffles. Without further ado, here are the films:

Night 1: Football for Better or Worse

Tuesday, May 22 | 7:00PM FC Rosengård is one of the world's top women’s clubs. But that doesn’t mean everything is easy. This documentary exposes the inherent struggles of women’s football, following the team through a dramatic year of triumph and loss. Led by new sporting director Therese Sjögran and Brazilian star Marta, the club fights every day to lift the women’s game. Can they win? | U.S. PREMIERE MORE INFO + TRAILER

PLUS: I Love Hooligans (short) -- A football hooligan feels unconditional love for his club. However, when that hooligan is gay, he has to hide his identity in order to survive. Directed by Jan-Dirk Bouw. Night 1 presented by Societe Generale and the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

 

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Night 2: Messi & Me | Boniek et Platini

 

 

Wednesday, May 23 | 7:00PM | DOUBLE FEATURE Messi & Me -- In the summer of 2013, former college player Matt Eliason scored this amazing bicycle kick goal while playing in an exhibition with superstar Lionel Messi. This is the story of what happened next. | WORLD PREMIERE Boniek et Platini -- While their national team competes at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, two young Polish boys are recreating the action in the street. But their country is under martial law, and after two police officers confiscate their ball, they challenge them to a match. What's at stake? The ball. And so much more. MORE INFO

 

PLUS: On the Bench (short) -- Marci has an important match. He also has a family. So winning and losing are complicated. Directed by Csaba Vékes.

 

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Night 3: Nossa Chape

 

 

Thursday, May 24 | 7:00PM In the wake of the 2016 Chapecoense airplane crash that claimed all but three of the players' lives, the team and the city were divided about how to handle the tragedy: Should they focus on keeping the memory of the dead alive? Or move on? And as the team travels to play the championship game that the ill-fated roster should have played, can everyone come together around a common goal? MORE INFO

 

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Night 4: American Fútbol

 

 

Friday, May 25 | 7:00PM In 2014, four American filmmakers and college friends undertake a four-month journey through Latin America to the World Cup in Brazil. Over 7,000 miles and 8 countries, they explore Latin America's passion for fútbol and emerge not only with a newfound understanding of the Americas, but also a deeper respect for the power of the beautiful game. | WORLD PREMIERE MORE INFO + TRAILER

 

PLUS: 1994 (short) -- Football and politics collide just as Italian hero Roberto Baggio strides up to take an infamous penalty kick at the 1994 World Cup. Directed by Gianluigi Antonelli & Ilaria Fini. Closing night party presented by the New York Red Bulls.

 

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