4:00 PM - Douglas Anderson School of the Arts - Student Film Workshop (120 min.)
6:30 PM - Florida Theatre - Night with the Stars (Opening Night Party), A (60 min.)
7:30 PM - Florida Theatre - Broken English (96 min.)
Growing up as the daughter of legendary actor and director John Cassavates and sister to director Nick Cassavetes, Zoe Cassavates has finally taken on the family business, but she has some huge shoes to fill. In Zoe Cassavates' directorial debut, Broken English tells the story of Nora, a Manhattan thirty-something that is desperate for love. This is the dark side of Sex in the City. With an outstanding performance by Parker Posey, this film steps up to the plate as one you could catch at any megaplex but retains the charm of a small independent film. Broken English addresses the American concept that a woman needs a man to be happy. Nora proves that men often lead to things other than happiness. Even when she finds Jillian, the Frenchman of her dreams, her problems aren't resolved. When she chases him to France she finds herself instead of a man.
9:30 PM - San Marco Theatre - Manufacturing Dissent (96 min.)
In the documentary Manufacturing Dissent we see a darker side of Michael Moore, not like the partisan films that simply took their politics and a grudge and smeared his name on (direct to video) film, but from a filmmaker that admired the man's work and set out to make a film that vindicated his career within his own medium. When traveling to Moore's hometown of Davison, Michigan, this film crew on a mission to salvage Moore's tarnished name. Now that most of America is wary of our place in Iraq, perhaps we can go back to that moment years ago and forgive Moore for the tactics he used to deliver his brand of honesty. As Melnyk meets the people that knew him best when he was starting up, she finds that they don't have such heralding stories. -JBosworth
11:55 PM - San Marco Theatre - Lunch Films (72 min.)
A series of short films. "While each film has its own rules and ideas, the overall metaphor is a basic one: it is very easy to help a filmmaker. Be a part of your community. Buy one lunch today." -Mike Plante
9:45 AM - Hyatt - Independent Filmmaking and the Law (420 min.)
11:00 AM - San Marco Theatre - Animated Shorts (90 min.)
11:00 AM - Jacksonville Public Library - Rare Bird (80 min.)
Imagine finding a pterodactyl alive and nesting on an obscure island. Rare Bird is the true story of a 15-year-old boy who helped find a bird believed extinct for over 300 years.
11:00 AM - Theatre Jacksonville - When Pigs Fly (62 min.)
"I think that it's a story about coping with what life hands you, and I think most people go through life dreading that they'll have the kind of situation that happens to the Yazurlo family. They have one daughter who's a quadriplegic, another that was killed in a drunk driving accident. Those two things alone would probably put most people over the edge. John and Charlene, as parents, seem to be particularly resilient in terms of dealing with what they've been handed in life…There's also a little bit of craziness involved in that as well." - Director Eric Breitenbach
1:00 PM - Monster Camp - Theatre Jacksonville (79 min.)
This documentary takes a serious and revealing look into the world of LARPs. And by serious, I mean that director Cullen Hoback is comprehensive in the coverage of his subject matter and he seems to handle these people delicately, never revealing that the entire subject matter may be laughable to the average viewer. Why is a LARP laughable? Because LARP means Live Action Role Player. Monster Camp is about Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts taking their love for fantasy a step too far.
Consider this film a warning to that friend or acquaintance that is prolonging his or her childhood by residing in their parents' basement well into their twenties (or thirties), passing the time by playing World of Warcraft online and obsessing over Final Fantasy movies and video games. Warning signs that someone you love may be sinking into this world are A) they sword fight in Riverside Park every weekend, B) they travel to faraway places to attend renaissance fairs dressed in knickers, tights, or long dresses with buttresses, or C) they go to Seattle four times a year to participate in NERO, the live action role playing game that this documentary focuses on. -JBosworth
1:00 PM - San Marco Theatre - Sin Ti (Without You) (97 min.)
A mother of two, Lucia always accepted life just as it comes, her only ambition being to conserve what she already has. One day, an absurd domestic accident leaves her totally blind. Destiny forces her to do what she had never before dared face herself.
1:00 PM - Jacksonville Public Library - Viva Cinema shorts program (72 min.)
3:30 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Super Amigos (82 min.)
These modern-day super heroes are a group of Lucha Libre wrestlers who have taken their fight out of the ring and into the streets of the Mexican Capital.
4:00 PM - San Marco Theatre - Once (88 min.)
"We haven't been, in terms of our filmmaking, great ambassadors for the New Dublin that's been coming up in the last ten years…Once is an attempt to tell a story that…get a snapshot of the city as it is at the moment. That was an agenda that we all had - let's explode some of those myths about Ireland. You know it's not all about drinking Guinness and the green fields of Ireland. It's a multi-cultural society and a lot of interesting stories are there for the taking." -Director John Carney
4:00 PM - Jacksonville Public Library - Student Film Competition-High School (100 min.)
5:30 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - The Cassidy Kids (90 min.)
25 years ago five suburban kids stumble on a murder in their sleepy hometown and led police to the killer. Two years later "The Cassidy Kids Mysteries, a Saturday morning TV show based on their story, made its premiere. A terrifying real-life story became a brightly-lit colorful world of adventure.
7:00 PM - Florida Theatre - In the Shadow of the Moon (96 min.)
In the Shadow of the Moon is an intimate epic, which vividly communicates the daring and the danger as well as the pride and the passion of this extraordinary era in American history. Between 1968 and 1972, the world watched in awe each time an American spacecraft voyaged to the Moon. Only 12 American men walked upon its surface and they remain the only human beings to have stood on another world. Now, for the first, and very possibly the last, time, this film combines archival material from the original NASA film footage, much of it never before seen, with interviews with the surviving astronauts, who emerge as eloquent, witty, emotional and very human.
7:30 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Quiet City (78 min.)
Jamie is lost. She's come to New York to visit her friend Samantha, but Samantha is nowhere to be found, and now Jamie is all alone in the city. Charlie just quit his job, and isn't sure where he's going next. Their paths cross late one night on an empty subway platform, and from this chance encounter an unlikely connection is formed. Together they share twenty four hours drifting from late night diners, to city parks, to abandoned apartments, to a party and art gallery deep in the heart of industrial Brooklyn.. Delicately realized with generous humanity by its cast and crew, Quiet City offers hope for intimate connection in a world that grows larger by the day.
9:00 PM - The Strand - 5th Anniversary Party (120 min.)
9:30 PM - Florida Theatre - Throwing Stars (work in progress) (90 min.)
Four friends, each going through major life changes, come full circle in this dark comedy about friendship, hardship and what it takes to hide a body. When one member of the group has fallen on hard times, his friends get more than they bargained for when helping him out means covering up a murder. Through a hilarious chain of events, the group learns that hiding a body isn't as easy as it seems. We are pleased to provide you with this very special screening of this work-in-progress.
10:00 PM - Afterparty at TSI (120 min.)
10:00 PM - San Marco Theatre - Polyester in ODORAMA! (83 min.)
"[Odorama] came about because in the 50s there was a film made in Smell-o-Vision. Liz Taylor owned it, she still does. They pumped smells into the theatre but it didn't work. After 6 days of showing the film nothing could get rid of the smell. And unfortunately they were all pleasant smells. Then there was Aromarama. Larry Flint did a scratch and sniff centerfold where the beaver smelled like lilac. It was stolen by a big Hollywood studio when they made Rugrats. They called it homage, but I said a check would have been homage. They have homage in New York, not in LA. In LA homage is a check." -John Waters
10:00 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Silver Jew (51 min.)
This is the sincere and raw story of one man, an underground rock hero, David berman of The Silver Jews. After more than ten years of putting out albums, many of which Steve Malkmus of Pavement played on, Berman has turned to Judaism and quit drinking. As part of his transformation, he decided to tour. This documentary follows David, his wife Cassie, and the rest of his band as they tour through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. During this rock pilgrimage he touches his own ancestry and discovers a bond he has with fans he's never known. This film is a beautiful and striking tale of man finding God and learning about God through mankind. -JBosworth
11:55 PM - San Marco Theatre - Them (Ils) (77 min.)
In classic horror film, what the audience can't see is more terrifying than what is revealed. A young French couple live in a large run-down mansion in the Romanian forest and they are terrorized by an unknown group of people. "Them."
Lucas (Michael Cohen) is a successful novelist and Clementine (Olivia Bonamy) is a French teacher at a private school. They have too much room for just two people, but they bought the house as an investment. One night, Clementine hears noises and she sends Lucas to investigate. He witnesses Clementine's car being stolen. The house comes under attack by an unknown force. They hear animal-like noises and lock themselves in their bedroom. Things slowly degenerate as the couple desperately tries to escape the house.
The fact that the scenario is based on a true story adds credibility to the couple's frightening encounter. This film is relatively free of horror cliches and is genuinely scary. -RGrant
11:00 AM - MOCA Jacksonville - The Art and Craft of Visual Storytelling (90 min.)
11:00 AM - Jacksonville Public Library - Darius Goes West (92 min.)
This is the fantastic story of one fifteen year old, Darius Weems, suffering from a terminal kind of muscular dystrophy that sets out on a cross-country trip to get his wheelchair "pimped out" by MTV. Having never left his hometown of Athens Georgia, the trip to Los Angeles is filled with an exuberant young man having the experience of a lifetime, even if that lifetime is certain to be short. This documentary introduces an incredible character with a great sense of humor and an outstanding outlook on life. From mechanical troubles with their vehicle to the reluctance of MTV to take part in helping Darius' cause (which is largely to become a new voice for muscular dystrophy to a younger audience) the least of their problems is Darius' medical condition. The soundtrack is comprised of raps that Darius wrote to MTV and the heart in this film is enormous.
11:00 AM - Theatre Jacksonville - Viva Cinema shorts program (72 min.)
11:30 AM - San Marco Theatre - Zellner vs Duplass Round II (66 min.)
At the 2007 SXSW film festival these brothers went toe to toe in one the most brutal cinematic battles to have ever been witnessed. This battle, having stretched all the way from Texas to Florida, has reached Round 2, here at JFF. Will the battle end here? Zellner brothers or The Duplass brothers? YOU DECIDE!
1:00 PM - San Marco Theatre - Fay Grim (118 min.)
Parker Posey stars as Fay Grim in this incredibly complex intrigue drama with farcical elements. Directed by Hal Harley, this film is the sequel to Henry Fool, which was released eight years ago. The rhythmic erudite dialogue uttered by a stellar cast tells the story of Fay's adventures to find her husband Henry-a mysterious ex-CIA operative who is in exile in Turkey. Her interest in Henry, who she thought was dead, is renewed when his so called diaries-or "confessions" are hot literary property that the publisher of her brother's poetry wants to publish. She is approached by a CIA agent, Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum), who believes Henry is still alive and he wants to use her to flush out a terrorist conspiracy.
1:30 PM - MOCA Jacksonville - Cinematography and Formats (90 min.)
1:30 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Entremedio (A Place Within) (83 min.)
Noah Lowell (Oscar Guerrero) is madly in love with Yin Dyan (Jazmin Caratini), his friend of several years. One night, just as he is about to profess his feelings to her, Yin is called away on business and Noah is left alone with his disappointment. The next morning he awakes to find the world he fell asleep in has changed: Yin has seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet and no one seems to remember she ever existed. With no one to turn to, Noah alone must go on a strange, dangerous search for the woman he loves.
2:00 PM - Jacksonville Public Library - Alt. Fest (90 min.)
2:00 PM - Florida Theatre - A Conversation with John Waters (60 min.)
3:30 PM - MOCA Jacksonville - How to Spend Your Money Wisely on a Ultra-Low Budget (90 min.)
3:30 PM - San Marco Theatre - Musician (58 min.)
4:00 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Lost in Woonsocket (81 min.)
The team responsible for the pay-it-forward-like A & E television show Random 1, opens their humanitarian quest to a sometimes grimy and always hard-hitting set of circumstances in Lost in Woonsocket. This feature prompts visceral reaction without falling prey to the numerous cliché potholes that could have made it a sentimental throwaway.
Lost in Woonsocket finds John Chester and Andre Miller, a team of unconventional, cash-strapped philanthropists, attempting to help two homeless alcoholics that have taken to a tent in the woods of Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the movie is the moral dilemma that John and Andre face in getting personally involved financially, and providing further support to their subjects after the initial interaction; two things they have made it their philosophy to avoid.
Originally filmed and televised as a Random 1 episode, the story continued to expand beyond the airing with new layers growing out of the show's response.
Random 1 only survived for one season, and the cancellation is caught within the filming of Lost in Woonsocket. This byline juxtaposes interestingly to the problem the two alcoholics face of dealing with the local notoriety born out of appearing on the show. This turn gives the film a fascinating depth as it explores the double edged sword that attention can generate. -BCrozier
4:00 PM - Jacksonville Public Library - Student Film Competition-College (120 min.)
4:00 PM - The Grotto - Viva Cinema Wine Tasting (Party) (90 min.)
5:00 PM - San Marco Theatre - Great World of Sound (106 min.)
Scam record companies existed to play on the dreams of naive musicians and songwriters for years in the music biz. They sent out phony A&R men to scout the hinterlands for "talent" (anyone willing to pay the A&R men -salesmen- an upfront fee to record them and make them stars) then put them in a rundown studio and a hastily record a demo with no label support. This film is a docu-drama of such an organization. This film focuses on two of these hapless traveling salesmen hawking the services of Great World of Sound. Martin (Pat Healy ) is married and was desperate for a job (his wife makes crafts to sell at fairs) and he is teamed up with Clarence (Kene Holiday), a down-on-his-luck black guy who talks a good game. Neither man has any experience in the music business. They are booked into cheap motel rooms and have to meet their potential signed talent in the room. Clarence took the gold records from the main office to use as props and they ran ads in the local newspaper for auditions. As each hopeful musician auditioned, they were told GWS could make them into stars. It's both funny and sad. -RGrant
7:00 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Narrative Shorts (72 min.)
7:15 PM - Florida Theatre - Chops (88 min.)
Follow a group of talented Douglas Anderson jazz students to the prestigious Essentially Ellington Festival in New York City. From learning to play to learning to improvise, this heartwarming film delighted international audiences at the Tribeca Film Festival. Jean Tait, programmer for the festival, said this of Chops to the Times-Union: "It's such a good film - oh my God, it's good. As soon as it was over, people leapt to their feet. It wasn't just people from Florida - it was the whole audience...My face hurt from smiling while watching it..."
9:30 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Monster Camp (79 min.)
Shane works at Office Depot, but as the owner of the Seattle NERO chapter, he has spent most of his time over the past seven or eight years absorbed in creating the "plot" to the fantasy world games that people come from all over the country to participate in. There are Player Characters (PCs), who have one identity "in-game" that they live up to in both costume and makeup (and sometimes deep into their psyche) and then there are NPCs (Non Player Characters), usually the novices to NERO, and they act as the "monsters" and the villains (undead lizard people) in this gaming world. The exception to the novice rule is the character Fern. Fern is his actual birth name, so you can already imagine that his fruit hasn't fallen far from the tree, and fortunately this documentary takes you into Fern's home to meet that tree, Fern's mother. Fern is a career NPC because he enjoys being able to be a different person each time and being an NPC means he can die as often as he likes without the threat of permanent death (which means being banned from the game) until some powerful wizard manages to conjure a resurrection spell. - JBosworth
9:30 PM - Hayden Burns - A Night of Jet Setting (Grey Goose Gala) (180 min.)
9:45 PM - San Marco Theatre - THE TALKIES with John Waters (120 min.)
"I get to be a human director's commentary. In person! I love the idea of this whole thing, no other town in the country does anything like this. THE TALKIES is in a beautiful theatre where I get to actually talk along with the movie. It's like being a movie psychiatrist. So you get Odorama cards and me on the psychiatrist's couch in a beautiful theatre." - John Waters
11:55 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Blood Car (75 min.)
This hilarious, low-budget film is loaded with all of the camp movie classics - poor production, ridiculous continuity errors, and gratuitous sex with plenty of bouncing boobs. Archie Andrews is a kindergarten teacher and a vegan that lives in a world where gas costs more than $30 per gallon. Only the preposterously rich drive a car in this futuristic world (about two weeks in the future), but Archie is making an engine that runs on wheat grass. He buys this wheat grass from the Veg-Table stand on his bike ride home from school. The cute little hippie girl that works in the veggie shack is in love with the mild-mannered Archie. Archie finally gets his car to work, but the only thing that will power it is human blood. But Denise, the slut from the meat shack just across the path (meat sticks $5), is turned on by cars and likes to look down at the poor people. Watching this vegan go from a BB gun killing spree of family pets for a blowjob to ruthless murderer for kinky sex and golden showers is a hilarious and entertaining journey. Although the blood and murder is gratuitous and the acting is ridiculously obnoxious, there just might be a condescending, albeit laughable, message. - JBosworth
11:55 PM - San Marco Theatre - Exiled (118 min.)
Set in Macau in 1998 just before the Chinese takeover, the story involves a tight-knit group of gangsters who grew up together. They now specialize in contract hits for a kingpin named Boss Fay. The film was stylistically shot by Johnnie To and is deliberately slow-paced. Using Hong Kong-styled filmmaking technique, To sets the stage for a series of fierce, bloody gun battles. Forget Kung-Fu-these guys carry serious weapons. Trouble starts between the hit gang and Boss Fay when he wants them to kill one of their own.
In Macau's underworld, the times are changing as the Chinese take over. Old scores will be settled and new gangs will emerge to run the local rackets. Boss Fay bears the scars of past gun battles with old bullet wounds. So, he will be a tough adversary when the big showdown happens. It has Hong Kongian overkill, but is riveting! -RGrant
10:45 AM - Theatre Jacksonville - Manufacturing Dissent (96 min.)
In a surprisingly deft use of Moore's own medium, Melnyk and Caine manage to paint a real picture of Moore through commentary by everyone from his closest friends to Ralph Nader and Noam Chomsky, and they manipulate us to a conclusion. Although Moore's films have certainly made a particular impact on cinema and culture, he isn't exactly the golden goose of the documentary. This film is absolutely worth watching. Now that all of the Michael Moore hatred has cooled, left and right-wingers can look at the man for what he really is and not for the polarity that he created during election seasons. - JBosworth
11:00 AM - San Marco Theatre - Azul Oscuro Casi Negro (Dark Blue Almost Black) (105 min.)
Dark Blue Almost Black is the feature film debut of Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. An engaging and clever film, Arévalo deftly outlines ordinary lives while managing to highlight comical aspects of situations endured by the characters.
A story with many important characters, the central character is Jorge, a young man who is unable to break the patterns that eat up his existence and keep his dreams distant. Involuntarily following his father's career path as a janitor, Jorge must also take care of his incorrigible father, who has suffered a debilitating stroke.
Jorge also deals with the return of a childhood female companion, a mischievous best friend who becomes confused about his own sexuality, and his incarcerated brother, who asks him to help impregnate his also-incarcerated girlfriend. Meanwhile, Jorge has extensively applied and interviewed for new employment in the business sector, but doesn't seem willing to change his life enough to be hired.
As time progresses, nearly every character experiences or creates some sort of life-changing event, but Jorge is reluctant to believe that he is capable of taking control of his life. It is only after spending numerous conjugal visits with his brother's girlfriend that he realizes he must make a string of decisions that will shape his life one way or another. If he doesn't, then he'll be stuck even deeper in his current state as a janitor, caretaker, and underachiever. -DDusinberre
11:00 AM - Jacksonville Public Library - Nearer My God to Thee (85 min.)
Nearer My God to Thee is an autobiographical documentary film by Marc Israel. Supposedly suffering from an undiagnosable condition, Israel complains of physical, mental, and emotional ailments, none of which can be completely alleviated by any of the specialists he's seen. After breaking up with his girlfriend and spiraling into a fit of depression, Marc Israel decides to seek the help of a spiritual healer.
Fancying himself a filmmaker and obsessed with documenting himself, Israel brings along his video camera in order to share every last detail, no matter how interesting. Complete with a vintage folk and blues soundtrack, this film chronicles each day of his agonizing life. The more he dwells on himself, the more convinced he is (and the less convinced the viewer is) of his mysterious handicaps.
Israel travels from Northampton, Massachusetts to "The Casa" in Brazil, home of John of God. Channeling the spirit entities of doctors, saints, and even King Solomon, John of God is Israel's last hope.
Skeptical of his own leap of faith and suspicious of the other visitors, Israel visits John of God five times before surgery is suggested. His surgery is finally performed, but Israel decides to feel no improvement. With his time in Brazil coming to an end, he struggles to find a positive influence on his life before he leaves. Once he returns to Massachusetts in attempt to complete his film, he comes to believe that the film is his medicine. -DDusinberre
12:00 PM - MOCA Jacksonville - Look Before You Leap: The Hazards of Observational Documentaries (60 min.)
1:00 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - War/Dance (105 min.)
Told through the accounts of several orphans in Uganda, this is the story of war in a third world country. It is the bogey man story in real life, with lawless rebel forces hiding in every bush, only this isn't fantasy. These rebels are abducting children whose parents they've murdered (at least) and forcing them to be warriors in their rebel army. Their only hope is refugee camps and their love for music. This harrowing tale is about survival, the resiliency of a child's spirit, and the honest truth as only a child can deliver it. -JBosworth
1:30 PM - San Marco Theatre - The Hip Hop Project (90 min.)
Hip hop, and even more importantly expression, is the vehicle that drives a group of
troubled New York City teenagers to self discovery and progress in the documentary The Hip Hop Project. The film presents the story of this community outreach from conception to releasing a full-length hip hop album written, produced, and performed by the group. There is an intense focus on the program founder and director Chris "Kazi" Rolle who rose from homelessness to become a successful mentor for a number of teenagers experiencing tough, real life situations.
The Hip Hop Project successfully touches the stories of the teenagers involved without losing focus or becoming convoluted. All are unique and touching, playing a big part of forming the content of the their raps included in the album that they are creating together. When funds become scarce, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons and actor Bruce Willis step in to ensure that the group has their own studio space and equipment to finish the album.
Although rap music is the catalyst and method of healing expression, the story transcends the music and delves into deeper life themes. Kazi encourages the group to not only better themselves as artists, but people - even taking his own advice and reaching out to his estranged mother. -BCrozier
1:30 PM - Jacksonville Public Library - Music Farmers (90 min.)
2:00 PM - MOCA Jacksonville - Filmmaking in Florida (Panel) (60 min.)
2:00 PM - Florida Theatre - Summercamp! (85 min.)
3:30 PM - Theatre Jacksonville - Green Shorts (90 min.)
Catch the premiere of Revenge of the River, a movie by the St Johns Riverkeeper about the current condition of our river. This is the sequel to The Green Monster, which you may have seen on WJCT. It is accompanied by a group of short films dedicated to environmental issues.
4:00 PM - San Marco Theatre - Innervision (90 min.)
"Viewed as a whole, Fisher's films are like a service entrance hidden behind the Hollywood sign, leading into corridors that take us past the film labs, sound stages, and utility closets of a vast movie empire. Viewed separately, they are sly and nuanced conundrums that introduce us to the unseen servants of an elaborate image-making process. Together, the films converse with and refer to one another in an intertextual cacophony worthy of Borges."-Supanick.
4:00 PM - Jacksonville Public Library - When Pigs Fly (62 min.)
What began as a documentary about animal rescue, directed by the husband and wife team of Eric Breitenbach and Phyllis Redman, became a story about the definition of madness in the face of tremendous tragedy. Redman and Breitenbach seized upon Lory Yazurlo, known in Central Florida as "the Pig Lady," as the subject of their film. Lory and her family must deal with Lory's condition as a quadriplegic and an ever-growing herd of pigs. -EThursby
6:30 PM - Florida Theatre - Audience Award Winning film-TBA (120 min.)
8:30 PM - Florida Theatre - Rockin the Front Porch with Ruckus (Wrap Party) (120 min.)
Check out our print version on Thursday. They will be available at every venue and several other locations around town including Burrito Gallery, MOCA, and the library. The print version will have interviews, complete reviews, workshop details, afterparty information, and so much more.
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