News

Exclusive: The Dtla Film Festival has set the full feature lineup for its 15th edition, taking place at Regal L.A. Live from November 1-5, announcing the Jack Huston starrer Hail Mary as its opening night film.

Also starring Angela Sarafyan, Natalia del Riego, and Benny Emmanuel, the film from Rosemary Rodriguez is described as a genre-bending retelling of the Mary and Joseph story following an undocumented, pregnant migrant’s journey to make it safely across the U.S. border.

Nicki Micheaux’s Summer of Violence will serve as Centerpiece film for the fest, being put on in accordance with SAG-AFTRA strike guidelines, with Deborah Attoinese’s Women in Fire to close it out. Additional feature highlights include the sci-fi rom-com Molli and Max in the Future starring Zosia Mamet, Aristotle Athari, and Okieriete Onaodowan; Maxim Pozdorovkin’s animated doc The Conspiracy featuring voice actors like Mayim Bialik, Liev Schreiber,...

As many beneficiaries of the program well know, Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program supports an inclusive variety of projects: shorts, features, both narrative and nonfiction. Plus the occasional new media project, special event or advocacy initiative. And in each month’s Fiscal Spotlight column, we announce three new projects entering the program worth of your support. But maybe you’re curious how some of those prior subjects have turned out. Today’s your lucky day! Because it’s time for another FiSpo Update highlighting the recent achievements of previous Fiscal Spotlight subjects.

Support Film Independent during our summer matching campaign!

Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. The projects and makers participating in the program express a uniqueness of vision, celebrate diversity and advance the craft of filmmaking through the creation of these special works. To see the...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011)

Directed by: Vivi Friedman

Written by: Mark Lisson

Starring: Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Brittany Robertson, Chi McBride, Max Thieriot, Rachael Leigh Cook, Keith Carradine, Selma Blair, Christina Hendricks, Madeline Zima, Shad Moss, Gabrielle Anwar, Evan Handler and Jane Seymour

A teeming cast inhabits this sprawling narrative from first-time feature director Vivi Friedman. And that seems to be the film’s problem — a lack of focus.

Opening with picturesque frames of manicured lawns, Volvo drivers and a priest smoking weed, “The Family Tree” begins with a family — constituted by Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Brittany Robertson and Max Thieriot — on its emotional edge. So screwed up that she and her family are fired by their therapist (a minute turn by Rachael Leigh Cook), Davis’ Bunnie Burnett lives to turn on most of the town’s male population (other than her husband) until an accident delivers short-term...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011)

Directed by: Vivi Friedman

Written by: Mark Lisson

Starring: Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Brittany Robertson, Chi McBride, Max Thieriot, Rachael Leigh Cook, Keith Carradine, Selma Blair, Christina Hendricks, Madeline Zima, Shad Moss, Gabrielle Anwar, Evan Handler and Jane Seymour

A teeming cast inhabits this sprawling narrative from first-time feature director Vivi Friedman. And that seems to be the film’s problem — a lack of focus.

Opening with picturesque frames of manicured lawns, Volvo drivers and a priest smoking weed, “The Family Tree” begins with a family — constituted by Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Brittany Robertson and Max Thieriot — on its emotional edge. So screwed up that she and her family are fired by their therapist (a minute turn by Rachael Leigh Cook), Davis’ Bunnie Burnett lives to turn on most of the town’s male population (other than her husband) until an accident delivers short-term...

From July 19-25, 2011, Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Sidney Lumet with a commemorative showing titled “Prince of the City: Remembering Sidney Lumet.”

The screenings at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City will include:

- “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975). One of the seminal films of the 1970s, Pacino and Cazale exhibited a sensitivity not often seen on the big screen. Pacino received one of his Oscar nominations for the role.

- “Network” (1976). Another all-time classic, “Network” still resonates with viewers, Peter Finch’s “Mad as hell” speech an ever-lasting element of cinematic history.

- “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (1962). A telling of Eugene O’Neill’s most personal play, Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards Jr and Dean Stockwell brought the stage to the screen, and wowed the French at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.

- “Serpico” (1973). Another of those films that has burnt a place in the psyche of `70s cinema-watchers.

From July 19-25, 2011, Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Sidney Lumet with a commemorative showing titled “Prince of the City: Remembering Sidney Lumet.”

The screenings at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City will include:

- “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975). One of the seminal films of the 1970s, Pacino and Cazale exhibited a sensitivity not often seen on the big screen. Pacino received one of his Oscar nominations for the role.

- “Network” (1976). Another all-time classic, “Network” still resonates with viewers, Peter Finch’s “Mad as hell” speech an ever-lasting element of cinematic history.

- “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (1962). A telling of Eugene O’Neill’s most personal play, Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards Jr and Dean Stockwell brought the stage to the screen, and wowed the French at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.

- “Serpico” (1973). Another of those films that has burnt a place in the psyche of `70s cinema-watchers.

There aren’t too many outlets that review short films. At Moving Pictures we have a tradition known as “The Short List,” short reviews of short films we’ve seen that we think are worth a look.

From this past weekend’s Palm Springs ShortFest, here are five reviews of shorts that caught our eye at the festival and marketplace.

“Library of Dust”

Directed by: Ondi Timoner, co-directed by Robert James

Sundance-winning “Dig,” “We Live in Public” and “Cool It” director Ondi Timoner takes time out to deliver a short documentary that opens with shots of a crematorium turning flesh to ashes, positioning the viewer to understand the relevance of the unclaimed, unloved human “cremains” being harbored in 3,500 crumbling copper cans discovered at the Oregon State (Mental) Hospital.

Inspired by David Maisel’s book of photography, copper containers of former patients of the mental facility sat in a dis-used, decaying facility,...

There aren’t too many outlets that review short films. At Moving Pictures we have a tradition known as “The Short List,” short reviews of short films we’ve seen that we think are worth a look.

From this past weekend’s Palm Springs ShortFest, here are five reviews of shorts that caught our eye at the festival and marketplace.

“Library of Dust”

Directed by: Ondi Timoner, co-directed by Robert James

Sundance-winning “Dig,” “We Live in Public” and “Cool It” director Ondi Timoner takes time out to deliver a short documentary that opens with shots of a crematorium turning flesh to ashes, positioning the viewer to understand the relevance of the unclaimed, unloved human “cremains” being harbored in 3,500 crumbling copper cans discovered at the Oregon State (Mental) Hospital.

Inspired by David Maisel’s book of photography, copper containers of former patients of the mental facility sat in a dis-used, decaying facility,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(April 2011, screening at the 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival)

Directed by: Nick Tomnay

Written by: Nick Tomnay and Krishna Jones

Starring: David Hyde Pierce, Clayne Crawford, Nathaniel Parker, Megahn Perry and Helen Reddy

Having debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, where it was a feature effort stemming from a short film shown almost 10 years earlier, “The Perfect Host” is finally making its way into the world, ushered by Australian producer Stacey Testro (“Saw,” “Insidious”). Helmer Nick Tomnay, another Aussie, has been working in advertising for the past few years, but with his feature effort now coming to theatrical fruition with Magnolia Pictures, he’s sure to be offered other opportunities, and hopefully audiences won’t have to wait as long for whatever’s next.

Tomnay’s central cast is a solid coupling of faces seen before, assembled for roles in which we’ve not seen them previously.

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(April 2011, screening at the 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival)

Directed by: Nick Tomnay

Written by: Nick Tomnay and Krishna Jones

Starring: David Hyde Pierce, Clayne Crawford, Nathaniel Parker, Megahn Perry and Helen Reddy

Having debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, where it was a feature effort stemming from a short film shown almost 10 years earlier, “The Perfect Host” is finally making its way into the world, ushered by Australian producer Stacey Testro (“Saw,” “Insidious”). Helmer Nick Tomnay, another Aussie, has been working in advertising for the past few years, but with his feature effort now coming to theatrical fruition with Magnolia Pictures, he’s sure to be offered other opportunities, and hopefully audiences won’t have to wait as long for whatever’s next.

Tomnay’s central cast is a solid coupling of faces seen before, assembled for roles in which we’ve not seen them previously.

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Ed Gass-Donnelly

Starring: Martha Plimpton, Peter Stormare, Aaron Poole, Jill Hennessy, Ari Cohen, Jackie Burroughs and Steven Eric McIntyre

Shot with stunning simplicity by Brendan Steacy, “Small Town Murder Songs,” the sophomore feature effort of 33-year-old Toronto native Ed Gass-Donnelly, finds its footing in a Mennonite Christian community. When a girl turns up dead on the banks of the local “beach,” the town’s police chief Walter Ruden has issues from his past dredged to light. Like fellow Canadian David Cronenberg’s “History of Violence,” “Small Town Murder Songs” explores the issues of how deep one can bury what is innate within each of us and whether faith alone is truly enough to maintain strength.

With a detective at the helm, Chief Walter does the rounds, from the religious community leaders to old-school farmers and the nearby strip club,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Ed Gass-Donnelly

Starring: Martha Plimpton, Peter Stormare, Aaron Poole, Jill Hennessy, Ari Cohen, Jackie Burroughs and Steven Eric McIntyre

Shot with stunning simplicity by Brendan Steacy, “Small Town Murder Songs,” the sophomore feature effort of 33-year-old Toronto native Ed Gass-Donnelly, finds its footing in a Mennonite Christian community. When a girl turns up dead on the banks of the local “beach,” the town’s police chief Walter Ruden has issues from his past dredged to light. Like fellow Canadian David Cronenberg’s “History of Violence,” “Small Town Murder Songs” explores the issues of how deep one can bury what is innate within each of us and whether faith alone is truly enough to maintain strength.

With a detective at the helm, Chief Walter does the rounds, from the religious community leaders to old-school farmers and the nearby strip club,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath

Written by: Michelle Margolis, Karen Gorham, Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath

Starring: Suziey Block, Karen Baird, Karen Gorham and Joshua Grote

Handheld camerawork shot on the fly around Los Angeles by Dallas Hallam sets the tone for this collaboration among a half-dozen creatives.

Following Suziey as she gets by without a car, works at a coffee shop, gets her hair done and falls asleep to a horror movie, we’re unsure of anything story-related and know little other than that she looks good on camera. The lack of any detail upon which to hang our expectations is initially translated (by this audience member) as a confident start to a film that feels as if it’s going to deliver something artistically fulfilling.

One small thud and a series of footsteps later,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath

Written by: Michelle Margolis, Karen Gorham, Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath

Starring: Suziey Block, Karen Baird, Karen Gorham and Joshua Grote

Handheld camerawork shot on the fly around Los Angeles by Dallas Hallam sets the tone for this collaboration among a half-dozen creatives.

Following Suziey as she gets by without a car, works at a coffee shop, gets her hair done and falls asleep to a horror movie, we’re unsure of anything story-related and know little other than that she looks good on camera. The lack of any detail upon which to hang our expectations is initially translated (by this audience member) as a confident start to a film that feels as if it’s going to deliver something artistically fulfilling.

One small thud and a series of footsteps later,...

Just came across the line-up of panelists at ShortFest for this Saturday, June 25, 2011. Even as a film journalist myself, I’ll be interested to listen to the advice of some of the best in the business. The line-up is enviable, and a rare opportunity for filmmakers (shorts, features, whatever) to get the key information for their next steps.

Saturday, June 25: Expand Your Network Day

These interactive panels feature festival programmers, top film journalists and major agents, managers and producers, moderated by John Anderson, film critic for Variety, The New York Times andWashington Post.

11:00 a.m. Meet the Programmers

Festival programmers from around the globe speak about their unique festival programming styles. Filmmakers will have a chance to meet all panel participants.

Panelists: Sharon Badal, Tribeca Film Festival; Penny Bartlett, Chicago International Film Festival; Beth Barrett, Seattle International Film Festival; Andrew Crane, American Cinematheque; Claudette Godfrey, SXSW; Todd Luoto,...

Just came across the line-up of panelists at ShortFest for this Saturday, June 25, 2011. Even as a film journalist myself, I’ll be interested to listen to the advice of some of the best in the business. The line-up is enviable, and a rare opportunity for filmmakers (shorts, features, whatever) to get the key information for their next steps.

Saturday, June 25: Expand Your Network Day

These interactive panels feature festival programmers, top film journalists and major agents, managers and producers, moderated by John Anderson, film critic for Variety, The New York Times andWashington Post.

11:00 a.m. Meet the Programmers

Festival programmers from around the globe speak about their unique festival programming styles. Filmmakers will have a chance to meet all panel participants.

Panelists: Sharon Badal, Tribeca Film Festival; Penny Bartlett, Chicago International Film Festival; Beth Barrett, Seattle International Film Festival; Andrew Crane, American Cinematheque; Claudette Godfrey, SXSW; Todd Luoto,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Na Hong-jin

Starring: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yun-seok and Cho Seong-ha

“The Yellow Sea” is a seriously exciting film, a pulse-checking visceral experience that will have you questioning when, if ever, you saw car chases and butchering skills quite this inventive.

The title of the film doesn’t do the picture justice; despite its relevance — signifying the divide between China and Korea that must be crossed by many in hope of a Western-world future — the words themselves are suggestive of a quiet epic.

“The Yellow Sea” takes you by the hand into the life of Ha Jung-woo’s Gu-nam cab-driving character, a man who has lost his wife to the West, carelessly gambles away any chance of a decent existence and has delivered his future (in the form of his daughter) to a family member with whom he has little contact.

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Na Hong-jin

Starring: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yun-seok and Cho Seong-ha

“The Yellow Sea” is a seriously exciting film, a pulse-checking visceral experience that will have you questioning when, if ever, you saw car chases and butchering skills quite this inventive.

The title of the film doesn’t do the picture justice; despite its relevance — signifying the divide between China and Korea that must be crossed by many in hope of a Western-world future — the words themselves are suggestive of a quiet epic.

“The Yellow Sea” takes you by the hand into the life of Ha Jung-woo’s Gu-nam cab-driving character, a man who has lost his wife to the West, carelessly gambles away any chance of a decent existence and has delivered his future (in the form of his daughter) to a family member with whom he has little contact.

By Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011)

There have been lists about the best car chases on film and lists about the best cars in film, but with “Cars 2” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” driving into theaters in the next couple of weeks, we’d like to recognize that sometimes in the movies cars have traits that elevate them to the status of characters.

Moving Pictures identifies films with cars who’ve been given character names, cars bearing personalities that are instrumental to their movie(s), cars able to depict good or evil, to elicit laughter or invoke fear. These 12 movies contain the best car characters in film.

Click for the list >> Search Terms Leading to This Post: cars 2 characters names, transformers characters, transformers dark of the moon characters, cars 2 photos, cars, pictures of cars 2, Pictures of Cars characters, all the vehicles in transformers dark of the moon, review movie An Ordinary Family,...

By Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011)

There have been lists about the best car chases on film and lists about the best cars in film, but with “Cars 2” and “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” driving into theaters in the next couple of weeks, we’d like to recognize that sometimes in the movies cars have traits that elevate them to the status of characters.

Moving Pictures identifies films with cars who’ve been given character names, cars bearing personalities that are instrumental to their movie(s), cars able to depict good or evil, to elicit laughter or invoke fear. These 12 movies contain the best car characters in film.

Click for the list >> Search Terms Leading to This Post: cars 2 characters names, transformers characters, transformers dark of the moon characters, cars 2 photos, cars, pictures of cars 2, Pictures of Cars characters, all the vehicles in transformers dark of the moon, review movie An Ordinary Family,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Amber Sealey

Starring: Kent Osborne, Amber Sealey, Amanda Street, Dan Ewen, V. Kim Blish and Gabriel Diamond

Watching an out-of-shape middle-ager bounce around his backyard wearing nothing but his (lack of) dignity is a rare beginning to a rare movie about a married limo driver who sketches raunchy stick figures on Post-it notes and for whom sex with his wife is something slotted between appointments for the purposes of conception. While traffic congestion is forever imminent, and L.A.’s concrete streets are represented with a poetic prettiness, the idiosyncrasies inherent in this union sit uncomfortably in the foreground of all decisions and actions to unfold.

Kent Osborne’s brand of real man was used to apt effect in Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Uncle Kent,” and Osborne again brings an...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Amber Sealey

Starring: Kent Osborne, Amber Sealey, Amanda Street, Dan Ewen, V. Kim Blish and Gabriel Diamond

Watching an out-of-shape middle-ager bounce around his backyard wearing nothing but his (lack of) dignity is a rare beginning to a rare movie about a married limo driver who sketches raunchy stick figures on Post-it notes and for whom sex with his wife is something slotted between appointments for the purposes of conception. While traffic congestion is forever imminent, and L.A.’s concrete streets are represented with a poetic prettiness, the idiosyncrasies inherent in this union sit uncomfortably in the foreground of all decisions and actions to unfold.

Kent Osborne’s brand of real man was used to apt effect in Joe Swanberg’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and “Uncle Kent,” and Osborne again brings an...

In what must be considered a very smart move on the part of Yahoo!, the company announced its “Official Sponsor” status for the Sundance Film Festival 2012.

Yahoo! will premiere a selection of shorts from the Festival at Yahoo!Movies, and will enable voting to take place for an online audience winner. Partnering with the Sundance brand adds the level of prestige associated with that festival to the Yahoo!Movies site and there is no doubt that short films play well to a wide audience online and via mobile communications devices.

Online brands can distinguish themselves from the masses by offering exactly this type of premium, branded, content. Kudos to Yahoo! for recognizing this opportunity, and no doubt similar announcements will be forthcoming from other top tier festivals in the near future.

–Elliot V. Kotek

Search Terms Leading to This Post: short films, sundance short films, Sundance Yahoo Short Film, Yahoo Cannes Redford,...

In what must be considered a very smart move on the part of Yahoo!, the company announced its “Official Sponsor” status for the Sundance Film Festival 2012.

Yahoo! will premiere a selection of shorts from the Festival at Yahoo!Movies, and will enable voting to take place for an online audience winner. Partnering with the Sundance brand adds the level of prestige associated with that festival to the Yahoo!Movies site and there is no doubt that short films play well to a wide audience online and via mobile communications devices.

Online brands can distinguish themselves from the masses by offering exactly this type of premium, branded, content. Kudos to Yahoo! for recognizing this opportunity, and no doubt similar announcements will be forthcoming from other top tier festivals in the near future.

–Elliot V. Kotek

Search Terms Leading to This Post: short films, sundance short films, Sundance Yahoo Short Film, Yahoo Cannes Redford,...

This is definitely as good a time as any for Woody Allen to announce the cast of his next project, “The Bop Decameron.” Riding high with “Midnight in Paris” having just expanded into more than 1,000 theaters and building by word of mouth to gross in excess of $20 million to date.

Marking the first time that Allen will be shooting in Rome, “The Bop Decameron” begins production on July 11, 2011 with a cast that includes Allen himself, as well as Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni (“Life is Beautiful”), Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network,” “The Squid and the Whale”), Greta Gerwig (“Greenberg,” “Arthur”) and Ellen Page (“Juno,” “Inception”).

–Elliot V. Kotek

Search Terms Leading to This Post: bop decameron, penelope and woody, woody allen film midnight in paris, Woody Allen The Bop Decameron and Penelope...

This is definitely as good a time as any for Woody Allen to announce the cast of his next project, “The Bop Decameron.” Riding high with “Midnight in Paris” having just expanded into more than 1,000 theaters and building by word of mouth to gross in excess of $20 million to date.

Marking the first time that Allen will be shooting in Rome, “The Bop Decameron” begins production on July 11, 2011 with a cast that includes Allen himself, as well as Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni (“Life is Beautiful”), Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network,” “The Squid and the Whale”), Greta Gerwig (“Greenberg,” “Arthur”) and Ellen Page (“Juno,” “Inception”).

–Elliot V. Kotek

Search Terms Leading to This Post: bop decameron, penelope and woody, woody allen film midnight in paris, Woody Allen The Bop Decameron and Penelope...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Robbie Pickering

Starring: Rachael Harris, Jon Gries, Matt O’Leary and John Diehl

A barren and horny housewife’s sex drive is thwarted by Abe (John Diehl), a husband more concerned with the Lord’s Prayer and His way, which includes refraining from sex if there’s no chance of conception. Of course, as is often the case (evidenced by the multitude of media produced for such reasons), he of much faith has his own ways of coping with his needs, including secret (yet regular) porn-induced deposits to a sperm bank for more than 20 years.

When a mid-masturbation stroke lands Abe in the emergency room, mumblings reveal the possibility that the serial sperm donor has fathered a son, information that prompts Linda (Rachael Harris) to leave the confines of her religion-lovin’ Texas for the drug-ridden and destitute Tampa,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Robbie Pickering

Starring: Rachael Harris, Jon Gries, Matt O’Leary and John Diehl

A barren and horny housewife’s sex drive is thwarted by Abe (John Diehl), a husband more concerned with the Lord’s Prayer and His way, which includes refraining from sex if there’s no chance of conception. Of course, as is often the case (evidenced by the multitude of media produced for such reasons), he of much faith has his own ways of coping with his needs, including secret (yet regular) porn-induced deposits to a sperm bank for more than 20 years.

When a mid-masturbation stroke lands Abe in the emergency room, mumblings reveal the possibility that the serial sperm donor has fathered a son, information that prompts Linda (Rachael Harris) to leave the confines of her religion-lovin’ Texas for the drug-ridden and destitute Tampa,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Eric Drath

Featuring: Renée Richards, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Barbara Krohn, Nicholas Raskind, Bud Collins, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade

For those familiar with the tennis legacy of Renée Richards (even if only as an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question), Eric Drath’s Espn Films documentary serves up (no pun intended) an engrossing documentary. Richards’ efforts as a male, then as a professional female tennis player deserve to be more widely known, and the transsexual’s exploits on and off the court in the late 1970s must be considered in any assessment of public pioneers for the Lgbt cause.

Born Richard Raskind in 1934, the Yale athlete and medical-school graduate seemed to have everything going for him as a surgeon and first-class amateur tennis player. That he felt compelled to embrace his...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Eric Drath

Featuring: Renée Richards, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Barbara Krohn, Nicholas Raskind, Bud Collins, Mary Carillo, Billie Jean King and Virginia Wade

For those familiar with the tennis legacy of Renée Richards (even if only as an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question), Eric Drath’s Espn Films documentary serves up (no pun intended) an engrossing documentary. Richards’ efforts as a male, then as a professional female tennis player deserve to be more widely known, and the transsexual’s exploits on and off the court in the late 1970s must be considered in any assessment of public pioneers for the Lgbt cause.

Born Richard Raskind in 1934, the Yale athlete and medical-school graduate seemed to have everything going for him as a surgeon and first-class amateur tennis player. That he felt compelled to embrace his...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Mike Akel

Written by: Mike Akel and Matt Patterson

Starring: Troy Schremmer, Greg Wise, Janelle Schremmer, Chad Miller, Steven Schaefer, Megan Minto and Lauire Coker

With the tagline “A week of vacation. A lifetime to unpack,” “An Ordinary Family” is shaken up when Seth (Greg Wise) decides that the family reunion is the time to introduce his boyfriend to his Christian family, the majority of whom not only don’t know about his significant other but are in some denial about his homosexuality. Portrayed with wonderful realism and shot with fly-on-the-wall measure, the vacation home provides physical confines within which each of the family members must accept or challenge their predispositions and prejudices.

While Chris (Steven Schaefer) and his wife (Seth’s sister) Sharon (Megan Minto) provide comic relief, Seth’s brother Thomas (Troy Schremmer...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Mike Akel

Written by: Mike Akel and Matt Patterson

Starring: Troy Schremmer, Greg Wise, Janelle Schremmer, Chad Miller, Steven Schaefer, Megan Minto and Lauire Coker

With the tagline “A week of vacation. A lifetime to unpack,” “An Ordinary Family” is shaken up when Seth (Greg Wise) decides that the family reunion is the time to introduce his boyfriend to his Christian family, the majority of whom not only don’t know about his significant other but are in some denial about his homosexuality. Portrayed with wonderful realism and shot with fly-on-the-wall measure, the vacation home provides physical confines within which each of the family members must accept or challenge their predispositions and prejudices.

While Chris (Steven Schaefer) and his wife (Seth’s sister) Sharon (Megan Minto) provide comic relief, Seth’s brother Thomas (Troy Schremmer...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray

Featuring: Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi

Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray’s documentary deposits us into gently undulating art school buildings in Havana, Cuba, that have been abandoned, are desolate and overgrown, and are, most certainly, unfinished. Juxtaposing 1959 footage of Castro overthrowing Batista and other images of the passion and spirit of that revolution with interviews with Cuban artists, “Unfinished Spaces” measures the unrealized potential of the revolution on the art scene and, in particular, the art schools of Cuba.

Castro commissioned the schools with the goal of transforming what was once a bourgeois golf course into a collection of the best art buildings in the world. Given two months to finish the drafting, architects came together with students and unleashed unbridled enthusiasm into expressions of modernism and...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray

Featuring: Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi

Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray’s documentary deposits us into gently undulating art school buildings in Havana, Cuba, that have been abandoned, are desolate and overgrown, and are, most certainly, unfinished. Juxtaposing 1959 footage of Castro overthrowing Batista and other images of the passion and spirit of that revolution with interviews with Cuban artists, “Unfinished Spaces” measures the unrealized potential of the revolution on the art scene and, in particular, the art schools of Cuba.

Castro commissioned the schools with the goal of transforming what was once a bourgeois golf course into a collection of the best art buildings in the world. Given two months to finish the drafting, architects came together with students and unleashed unbridled enthusiasm into expressions of modernism and...

Directed by: Kelvin Kyung Kun Park

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

With the grind of metal and arbitrary piano keystrokes, we’re thrust into an experimental amalgam of sound and color to accompany the recollection of a dream that could easily be interpreted as a nightmare within Cronenberg’s “Crash.” From this esoteric opening, we’re off to the streets of Korea, escorted by weird sounds, industrial noise and classical violin, and with the medley of music and moving images, we come to realize the nature of the movie, a strange collection of transitioning parts, of daily motion and ritual, an artistic exploration of the mundane exigencies of daily life within Cheonggyecheon’s metal-working classes.

A poetic narration personalizes the piece, which is billed as a letter to director Kelvin Kyung Kun Park’s dead grandfather. What unfolds is a collection of...

Directed by: Kelvin Kyung Kun Park

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

With the grind of metal and arbitrary piano keystrokes, we’re thrust into an experimental amalgam of sound and color to accompany the recollection of a dream that could easily be interpreted as a nightmare within Cronenberg’s “Crash.” From this esoteric opening, we’re off to the streets of Korea, escorted by weird sounds, industrial noise and classical violin, and with the medley of music and moving images, we come to realize the nature of the movie, a strange collection of transitioning parts, of daily motion and ritual, an artistic exploration of the mundane exigencies of daily life within Cheonggyecheon’s metal-working classes.

A poetic narration personalizes the piece, which is billed as a letter to director Kelvin Kyung Kun Park’s dead grandfather. What unfolds is a collection of...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Linda Goldstein Knowlton

Featuring: Jenna Cook, Haley Butler, Ann Boccuti, Fang “Jenni” Lee, Run Yi Holle and Jeannie Butler

When groups of parents-to-be descend on a Chinese adoption center in Changsha, China, at center frame is an American couple “receiving” their 10-month-old infant Ruby.

Welcome to the filmmaker/mom’s new world.

For three years prior to welcoming Ruby into her family, Linda Goldstein Knowlton filmed four teenagers across the U.S. to find out how to imbue a sense of belonging, and a sense of heritage and past, to the Chinese baby she was about to adopt.

A few years ago, “The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins” delved into celebrity adoption, following a well-known artist as she descended on Africa and attempted to “rescue” a set of twins from their father and bring them to the U.

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Linda Goldstein Knowlton

Featuring: Jenna Cook, Haley Butler, Ann Boccuti, Fang “Jenni” Lee, Run Yi Holle and Jeannie Butler

When groups of parents-to-be descend on a Chinese adoption center in Changsha, China, at center frame is an American couple “receiving” their 10-month-old infant Ruby.

Welcome to the filmmaker/mom’s new world.

For three years prior to welcoming Ruby into her family, Linda Goldstein Knowlton filmed four teenagers across the U.S. to find out how to imbue a sense of belonging, and a sense of heritage and past, to the Chinese baby she was about to adopt.

A few years ago, “The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins” delved into celebrity adoption, following a well-known artist as she descended on Africa and attempted to “rescue” a set of twins from their father and bring them to the U.

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Deron Albright

Written by: Yao B. Nunoo

Starring: Yao B. Nunoo, Fred Amugi, Abena Takyi and Sandy Arkhurst

Aaron Bowen’s cinematography and actor Yao B. Nunoo’s dramatic change in hairstyle immediately render in the audience the feeling of watching a dreamer lost. The film’s writer and star soulfully portrays Boniface, a member of Ghana’s police force who seeks to (but is denied the opportunity to) return to an America about which he’s fantasized since his youthful voyage there a decade earlier. As a result, this is a man compelled by circumstance to use his connections in law enforcement to acquire a fraudulent visa to his land of opportunity.

Within a minute, however, Boniface’s bag is stolen from him, its theft transforming the officer into a committed force for whom the lines...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Deron Albright

Written by: Yao B. Nunoo

Starring: Yao B. Nunoo, Fred Amugi, Abena Takyi and Sandy Arkhurst

Aaron Bowen’s cinematography and actor Yao B. Nunoo’s dramatic change in hairstyle immediately render in the audience the feeling of watching a dreamer lost. The film’s writer and star soulfully portrays Boniface, a member of Ghana’s police force who seeks to (but is denied the opportunity to) return to an America about which he’s fantasized since his youthful voyage there a decade earlier. As a result, this is a man compelled by circumstance to use his connections in law enforcement to acquire a fraudulent visa to his land of opportunity.

Within a minute, however, Boniface’s bag is stolen from him, its theft transforming the officer into a committed force for whom the lines...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Marc H. Simon

Featuring: Mark S. Dreier, Gerald L. Shargel and Ross M. Kramer

While the media were busy dissecting the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. corporate history courtesy of Bernie Madoff, others around the country were also flouting (and allegedly flouting) the system and breaching (and allegedly breaching) their duties to their clients.

“Unraveled” reveals the lesser-known case against Mark Dreier, an attorney and “philanthropist” charged with wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. In what amounts to a fascinating study of greed and motivation told from within an intimate series of exchanges, director Marc Simon allows Dreier to share his account of the events that transpired.

Slick graphic-novel style animations introduce us to Dreier as a man in a position to deal in hundreds of millions of dollars, a man confident in...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(June 2011, screening at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival)

Directed by: Marc H. Simon

Featuring: Mark S. Dreier, Gerald L. Shargel and Ross M. Kramer

While the media were busy dissecting the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. corporate history courtesy of Bernie Madoff, others around the country were also flouting (and allegedly flouting) the system and breaching (and allegedly breaching) their duties to their clients.

“Unraveled” reveals the lesser-known case against Mark Dreier, an attorney and “philanthropist” charged with wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. In what amounts to a fascinating study of greed and motivation told from within an intimate series of exchanges, director Marc Simon allows Dreier to share his account of the events that transpired.

Slick graphic-novel style animations introduce us to Dreier as a man in a position to deal in hundreds of millions of dollars, a man confident in...

Elliot V. Kotek interviews director Gavin Wiesen about the moment he found out his film “The Art of Getting By” (formerly titled “Homework”) was accepted to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Emma Roberts about how the script captures the voice of the young woman she plays; and Blair Underwood about the “angels” who guided his career.

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Elliot V. Kotek interviews director Gavin Wiesen about the moment he found out his film “The Art of Getting By” (formerly titled “Homework”) was accepted to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Emma Roberts about how the script captures the voice of the young woman she plays; and Blair Underwood about the “angels” who guided his career.

Search Terms Leading to This Post: The Art of Getting By Gavin Wiesen interview, art of getting by interview, The Art of Getting By interview Gavin Wiesen, pictures of Emma Roberts 2011, homework emma roberts interview, emma roberts interview, Emma Roberts homework interview, Blair Underwood interview, art of getting by interview homework, the art of getting by script...

Just a quick news blurb to let you know that the La Film Fest App is available for free on iTunes and Android.

Replete with Gps maps to help you find your way, complete listings, trailers and schedules and other content and contact details, the app should prove itself indispensable for your trek around downtown for the festival (which kicks off tonight with Richard Linklater’s “Bernie” followed by “The Green Lantern,” and which runs through June 26).

The iPhone app is available for download in the Apple iTunes Store at:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/los-angeles-film-festival/id376515266?mt=8 and the Android app is available in the Android Market at: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mvl.laff.

The official word from Laff and the developers, MacroView Labs, is that the app allows festival attendees to:

- Sort and search movies by title, director, genre, venue, section or country,...

Just a quick news blurb to let you know that the La Film Fest App is available for free on iTunes and Android.

Replete with Gps maps to help you find your way, complete listings, trailers and schedules and other content and contact details, the app should prove itself indispensable for your trek around downtown for the festival (which kicks off tonight with Richard Linklater’s “Bernie” followed by “The Green Lantern,” and which runs through June 26).

The iPhone app is available for download in the Apple iTunes Store at:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/los-angeles-film-festival/id376515266?mt=8 and the Android app is available in the Android Market at: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mvl.laff.

The official word from Laff and the developers, MacroView Labs, is that the app allows festival attendees to:

- Sort and search movies by title, director, genre, venue, section or country,...

Check out the links below — and check back often — for our preview, reviews, blogs and more from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Preview

Fest Director Rebecca Yeldham LAFFs Out Loud

The independent film producer discusses the Los Angeles Film Festival’s successes, challenges and philosophy, with an eye to the future

Reviews

“Green Lantern”

Ryan Reynolds lacks the gravitas required for this role, and director Martin Campbell’s superior skills fail to save the superhero from an inane screenplay

“Hot Coffee”

Susan Saladoff’s documentary will knock you backward and change your perception of what you thought you knew

“The Salesman” (“Le Vendeur”)

The first feature from Canadian writer-director Sébastien Pilote is a thoughtful meditation on life, salesmanship and the clearance of snow

“The Future”

Miranda July confirms her distinctive voice with a sophomore film that crescendos from longing folk song to surrealist symphony

“Where Soldiers Come From” (documentary)

Quality...

Check out the links below — and check back often — for our preview, reviews, blogs and more from the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Preview

Fest Director Rebecca Yeldham LAFFs Out Loud

The independent film producer discusses the Los Angeles Film Festival’s successes, challenges and philosophy, with an eye to the future

Reviews

“Green Lantern”

Ryan Reynolds lacks the gravitas required for this role, and director Martin Campbell’s superior skills fail to save the superhero from an inane screenplay

“Hot Coffee”

Susan Saladoff’s documentary will knock you backward and change your perception of what you thought you knew

“The Salesman” (“Le Vendeur”)

The first feature from Canadian writer-director Sébastien Pilote is a thoughtful meditation on life, salesmanship and the clearance of snow

“The Future”

Miranda July confirms her distinctive voice with a sophomore film that crescendos from longing folk song to surrealist symphony

“Where Soldiers Come From” (documentary)

Quality...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival)

Directed by: Susan Saladoff

Featuring: Jamie Leigh Jones, Connor Gourley, Colin Gourley, Al Franken and Oliver Diaz

Expertly edited by Cindy Lee with slick visuals by Brian Oakes, “Hot Coffee” is so good that it’s difficult to believe it was helmed by a first-time filmmaker. Executive producer Sheila Nevins and the HBO hierarchy usually have enough on their own production and development plates, but it’s no surprise that they picked up this provocative and potentially game-changing documentary; one would also not be surprised to see this film continue on its way into end-of-season awards discussions.

Like “GasLand,” “The Last Mountain” and “Inside Job,” “Hot Coffee” will knock you backward and change your perception of what you thought you knew. The film tackles the corporate demolition of this country’s civil rights system and the constitutional pretzel-twisting taking...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival)

Directed by: Susan Saladoff

Featuring: Jamie Leigh Jones, Connor Gourley, Colin Gourley, Al Franken and Oliver Diaz

Expertly edited by Cindy Lee with slick visuals by Brian Oakes, “Hot Coffee” is so good that it’s difficult to believe it was helmed by a first-time filmmaker. Executive producer Sheila Nevins and the HBO hierarchy usually have enough on their own production and development plates, but it’s no surprise that they picked up this provocative and potentially game-changing documentary; one would also not be surprised to see this film continue on its way into end-of-season awards discussions.

Like “GasLand,” “The Last Mountain” and “Inside Job,” “Hot Coffee” will knock you backward and change your perception of what you thought you knew. The film tackles the corporate demolition of this country’s civil rights system and the constitutional pretzel-twisting taking...