ATLFF '15 Feature "Wildlike" to Return to the Plaza on September 25th

Ready to part ways with summer action flicks and slapstick family dramas? Good news—after playing ATLFF '15 this past spring, Frank Hall Green's latest feature film returns to Atlanta on September 25th at The Plaza Theatre. Starring Ella Purnell, Bruce Greenwood, and endless Alaskan scenery, "Wildlike" has enchanted viewers at more than 150 festivals, winning Best Film awards from more than 30. "Wildlike" is the perfect escape into films of fall. Watch the trailer here.

Look At Me Now: Catching Up With Petter Onstad Løkke

Petter Onstad Løkke produced "Deathcrush: Lesson #16 for Beatmaster V / Fun," an ATLFF '14 Official Selection that emerged victorious with the Jury Award. In 2015, his short film "Polaroid" screened in our Other Worlds shorts block. We caught up with him about his ATLFF submissions experience, his transition from music videos to short films, and his current projects. 

"As a first time submitter from Europe, it's always difficult to know which festival we should use our submission money on. We chose ATLFF because of its great reputation. The submission process with both Deathcrush: Lesson #16 for Beatmaster V / Fun and Polaroid went quite smoothly. The first times I submitted via Withoutabox, but this time I'm using FilmFreeway, as I prefer the latter. All dates were held as promised and when accepted, the festival coordinated all the practical stuff really well. The digital solutions make the deliverance of the material easy.

While winning the music video Jury Award was undoubtedly the most rewarding, I haven't been able to visit the festival yet. It's a shame, but hopefully more opporturnities will turn up as I'm submitting two short films this fall.

Making music videos is a great way to test visual and narrative ideas and concepts. We've worked with artists that've given us full creative freedom, which is important for me and the directors I work with. But while the creative process of making music videos has been rewarding, the lack of funding limits how much time I can spend doing that. 

The most obvious, but also the most important, transition from music videos to short films is the narrative process. In music videos, you can disguise your story with visuals, rhythm and performance, as well as the song itself. When making short films, the overall process takes a lot more time in every stage of the project, especially in script development, the editing, and of course the sound design. The latter is obviously a big deal, since the sound designer can be so essential to the narrative. For instance, in Polaroid it really is our sound designer Inger Elise Holm who is the hidden star of the show, as she added crucial elements to the story.

Making music videos has definitely been important. Today's audience certainly has a lack of patience to be entertained, even in three minute long music videos. As filmmakers we must know how to hold the audience's attention constantly. Since this is even more difficult in short films, music videos are a great way to practice. It also is a great way to get to know different people and test relations with different directors.

In addition to Polaroid, I'm launching two more short films: Love Me More by Kristoffer Carlin and Taxfree by Christian K. Norvalls. Since completing the shorts, my focus has turned to developing feature films. Several very different and exciting projects are in the making and hopefully, some of them will be realized in the following years. 

Together with several producers around Europe, we are working on developing relations and networks with an overall goal to do international productions. There are a lot of opportunities to fund films as long as you know how and where to look. This is my focus right now besides the film projects. I believe international co-productions will become even more important in the years to come."

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We are now accepting submissions for the Music Video category, the Oscar-qualifying Narrative Short category, and all other categories for the 2016 Atlanta Film Festival. The Regular Deadline is September 18.

Get Your Tickets for the Theatrical Premiere of ATLFF '15's "Imba Means Sing!"

"Imba Means Sing," directed by Danielle Bernstein, was one of the most highly attended film events at the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival. After a sold-out screening and concert at the Rialto Theatre back in March, we are pleased to share that "Imba Means Sing" will play at Tara Cinemas 4 on Thursday, August 20!

Follow Moses and Angel, members of the Grammy-nominated African Children's Choir from Uganda, on their journey to obtaining an education despite extreme poverty. Against the odds, Moses dreams of becoming a pilot and Angel is determined to become the first female President of Uganda. Along with the choir, Moses and Angel travel to different international venues to bring awareness to the importance of education for all children—regardless of the lack of resources—through their love of music.

Get your tickets now before "Imba Means Sing" sells out again!

IMBA MEANS SING
Thursday, August 20, 2015, 7:30 PM
Tara Cinemas 4

ATLFF '15 Best Narrative Feature Winner "God Bless the Child" Hits Theaters and iTunes

The 2015 Atlanta Film Festival's Jury Award-winner in the Narrative Feature category was Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian's "God Bless the Child," which premiered at SXSW just days before its bow at ATLFF.

After a strong festival run throughout the spring and summer—where it was in competition at most, if not all, festivals—"God Bless the Child" is now receiving a theatrical release in New York City and will be released on iTunes on Tuesday, August 18th.

In "God Bless the Child," an often overwhelmed teenager (Harper Graham) tends to the needs of her four younger brothers, all of whom spend the day challenging each other in games of strength and burgeoning masculinity. All the while, Hannah is searching and waiting for the parent who is missing in action. Deftly walking the tightrope between documentary and narrative filmmaking, "God Bless the Child" gives us a keenly real sense of the joys, and the burden, of raising a family with little support financially or emotionally.

Click here for more information about the Independent Filmmaker Project's (IFP) week-long run of "God Bless the Child" at Made in NY Media Center by IFP. Make sure you pre-order the film on iTunes, or check it out on August 18th!

See ATLFF '15 Spirit Award-Winning Film "Dante's Down the Hatch" Back on the Big Screen!

After selling out not just one, but TWO Plaza main screenings during ATLFF '15, Spirit Award winning film "Dante's Down the Hatch" is returning to the Plaza for a week-long run! Starting Friday, May 1 and running through Thursday, May 7, "Dante's Down the Hatch" will play each evening at 7:20 PM. Director Jef Bredemeier is scheduled to attend each screening and Dante himself is scheduled to attending Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2.

DANTE'S DOWN THE HATCH

directed by Jef Bredemeier
USA, 2015, English, 91 minutes

For 43 years, Dante's Down the Hatch gave its customers more than just a place to eat—it gave them an experience. It was the only restaurant where you could dine in an old pirate ship, surrounded by live crocodiles while listening to classic jazz. Follow Dante Stephensen, owner of Atlanta's landmark fondue restaurant, as he says goodbye to his lasting legacy. See for yourself how this unique restaurant impacted so many lives. —Calvin Su

Tickets may be purchased at the Plaza Theatre box office.

Limited edition prints from the film, signed by Dante and director Jef Bredemeier, are available for sale at each screening.

Announcing the 2015 ATLFF Jury Award Winners!

Saturday morning at the Atlanta Film Festival Awards Brunch, filmmakers, jurors, and festival friends from around the world gathered to honor and celebrate all of the nominees. The Jury Award Winners of our Narrative, Animated, (and for the first year) Documentary Shorts qualify for the Oscar short list. We are proud to announce the 2015 ATLFF Jury Award Winners:

• Best Narrative Feature - God Bless The Child
• Best Documentary Feature - Stray Dog
• Best Pink Peach Feature - Before the Last Curtain Falls (Bevor der letzte Vorhang fällt)
• Best New Mavericks Feature - In The Turn
• Special Jury Prize - Next Year (L'année Prochaine)
• Best Narrative Short - Turtle (Wu Gui)
• Best Documentary Short - The Murder Ballad of James Jones
• Best Animated Short - Starlight
• Best Pink Peach Short - Charlotte
• Best New Mavericks Short - Jennah
• Best Music Video - 80's Rok performed by Willie Hyn

And of course, our Filmmaker to Watch Award (presented by Mountainfilm on Tour ATL and voted on by our Kickstarter Backer's Jury) goes to Ian Samuels for "Myrna the Monster".

Congratulations to all the winners and to every film selected to play at the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival. We look forward to seeing you all next year!

ATLFF Filmmaker Dean Francis Surfs Through the Mix-and-Match Questionnaire

Complete this sentence: "If you liked _________ or _________, you'll love my film."

Tough question! If you liked KABOOM and DRIVE, you might like my film.

Is your film for cat people or dog people? Why?

Dog people because this film could turn on you with its gnarly teeth but it has an adorable grin.

What's the most challenging part of making a film for you? Do you enjoy the challenge or is it something to be avoided?

The challenge is the need for sleep, cause there really isn't time for that sort of thing during production. I do enjoy sleep but it is definitely something to be avoided when you're helming a big production.

Of the filmmakers working today, whose talent do you want to steal?

Xavier Dolan - he's young, hot AND talented. His observations on family relationships are razor sharp and his visual style is oh so seductive.

Name three films you consider under-appreciated and explain their hidden genius.

UPSTREAM COLOR - by Shane Carruth
A seriously hallucinogenic film that so so beautiful and ugly and mysterious it can be watched 6 times and create a different experience depending on your mood.

PRAYER OF THE ROLLERBOYS - starring Corey Haim
For the stunning image of 8 boys in matching beige coats rollerblading in perfect synchronicity, heading into the night to mess up some punk...

HEAT - by Paul Morrissey
What ever happened to movies where the entire cast is on acid in every shot? Really, its magic.

What are your three favorite ways to eat potatoes?

1. With a glass of shiraz
2. With a beer
3. With a small cup of polish vodka

Dean's film, "Drown," screens TONIGHT, March 25th at 9:30pm at The Plaza! Don't forget your tickets to this can't-miss screening:

Event Registration Online for Drown powered by Eventbrite

James Franco Forced to Reschedule ATLFF Appearance

Due to unexpected changes in his production schedule, Franco won't be able to attend our opening night presentation of "I Am Michael." He is still scheduled to attend the World Premiere of "The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards" on Wednesday 3/25 at 9:45 PM at The Rialto, where he will walk the red carpet and stay for a Q&A following the film.

Producer Vince Jolivette is still scheduled to attend tonight's screening of "I Am Michael" for a Q&A after the film. Actress Abigail Spencer (TV's "Rectify," "Mad Men," ATLFF '15 Official Selection "Winter Light") will walk the red carpet prior to introducing the film alongside ATLFF Executive Director Christopher Escobar.

We are willing to refund anyone who purchased a ticket to opening night in the hopes of seeing Mr. Franco. However, if you still come out to The Plaza and celebrate the launch of the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival with us by watching "I Am Michael," you will receive a FREE TICKET to see "The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards" on Wednesday night.

Spotlight by Dean Treadway: 8 Must-See Narrative Features at the 2015 ATLFF

Even though I've only caught a little over 50% of the forty narrative films selected to be part of this year's Atlanta Film Festival, at this halfway point I inevitably have to arrive at a list of favorites. If you consider yourself an adventurous moviegoer forever on a quest for the new and different, here are eight choices you can rely on to provide you with just those hard-won qualities:

A DESPEDIDA (FAREWELL) (Marcelo Galvao, Brazil, 90m) My favorite film thus far at this year's ATLFF is this heartbreaking but never overdone examination of one person's final crack at dignity. In a performance of supreme bravery and athleticism, Nelson Xavier plays the Admiral, a once vital man whose 92 years have finally caught up with him. Rising slowly on a particularly good morning, he dresses and cleans up with fierce and treacherous difficulty, resolving to have one last day all to himself minus the doting of worried kids and caretakers. Marcelo Galvao's assured direction keeps things tense in a fast-moving city bustle that blurs past the Admiral's achingly slow, score-settling trudge towards that one final liaison with his much younger "brown sugar" (a devastatingly lovely and caring Juliana Paes). Consistently engrossing despite its measured pace, and completely fearless as it portrays the inevitable decay of the human body and the occasionally resultant rise of the spirit, A Despedida is something of a miracle: rarely have I seen a movie that bares the humility and wisdom of old age as does this extremely bittersweet and honest painting. It's definitely one of the masterpieces at this year's festival. In Portuguese with subtitles. A Despedida (Farewell) plays at the Woodruff Arts Center's Rich Theater on Saturday, March 21 at 4 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

WILDLIKE (Frank Hall Green, USA (Alaska), 104m) In another of my absolute favorites of this year's ATLFF crop, writer/director Frank Hall Green follows the nervous path walked by 14-year-old Mackenzie (Ella Purnell in a compelling debut performance) as she takes up residence with her suspicious uncle (Brian Geraghty) in his Juneau, Alaska home. Quickly finding he's not to be trusted, she ankles it into the chilly wilderness, searching for a connection to anybody with which she can feel a modicum of safety. This leads her to an older man, Rene Bartlett (played with quiet power by a superb Bruce Greenwood), whom she finds hiking the mountainous trails as he attempts to escape his own dark past. Shadowing his steps, she strikes up a cautious, needy friendship—one with irritations that Bartlett often wishes he wasn't being saddled with. Cinematographer Hillary Spera perfectly captures the snow-capped yet utterly green beauty of Alaska while she also contributes piercing close-ups of characters whose deep hurts are dramatically in need of some healing time. Meanwhile, composers Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans provide the film with an alternately tense and tunefully evocative score. Still, it's the confident cast (which includes Ann Dowd, star of 2012 AFF entry Compliance), backed by Green's searing and always authentic screenplay, that one walks away remembering most thankfully. WildLike plays at the Plaza Theater's main auditorium on Saturday, March 21 at 5 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

KRISHA (Trey Edward Shults, USA (Texas), 82m) Both monstrous and pathetic, with a mesmerizing command of the camera, Krisha Fairchild delivers a blistering performance as "heartbreak incarnate" in writer/director Shults' feature-length adaptation of his acclaimed short film. In it, the 60-ish Krisha is returning home after being estranged from her family for decades. It is Thanksgiving, and as the typical family mainstays are staged--the frantic cooking, the overly-competitive games, the ardent arguing and  soul-baring--Krisha past misdoings come slowly back to haunt both her and her family. Shults films this disaster in a dynamic slow-burn fashion, with a constantly moving camera shuttling between vividly lit tableaus, making this one of the most striking visual experiences of the festival. Highly emotional and even at times stunningly harsh, and with a terrific ensemble cast that's perfectly game, Krisha is a movie that staunchly rattles us with more than a few unsettling conclusions. Krisha plays at the Plaza Theater's upstairs auditorium on Saturday, March 28 at 4:45 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

GOD BLESS THE CHILD (Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, USA, 92m) Deftly walking the tightrope between documentary and narrative filmmaking, this challenging work very simply chronicles one day in the life of the Graham family. In it, we follow an often overwhelmed teenager (Harper Graham) as she tends to the needs of her four younger brothers, all of whom spend the day battling each other in games of strength and burgeoning masculinity. All the while, Harper is searching and waiting impatiently for the parent who is missing in action. Superbly shot in low light and long takes that keenly place us in this poverty-stricken world, God Bless the Child gives us an often uncomfortably real sense of the joys, and the burdens, of raising a family with little support financially or emotionally. It's a plotless movie that some might find difficult, yet I felt it was constantly engaging and even sometimes wondrous in its daring, transporting abilities. God Bless the Child plays at the Plaza Theater's upstairs auditorium on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:15 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

CHRISTMAS, AGAIN (Charles Poekel, USA (Brooklyn NY), 84m) Kentucker Audley delivers a superbly low-key performance in writer/director Poekel's wonderfully well-observed narrative filmmaking debut. In it, Audley plays Noel, the depressed night man at a Brooklyn Christmas tree lot whose drab routine is goosed up after he rescues a young girl (Hannah Gross) he finds passed out on a freezing park bench. Scored with a lively source music soundtrack and filled with the sort of alternately annoying and benign characters anyone who's worked retail could easily recognize, Poekel's film successfully transmits both a sense of the Christmas blahs and of holiday hope without ever obscuring the story's humanity with maudlin sentimentality. Christmas, Again plays at the Plaza Theater's upstairs auditorium on Sunday, March 22 at 6:30 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

L'ANNEE PROCHAINE (NEXT YEAR) (Vania Leturcq, Belgium/France, 103m) Clotilde and Aude are high school best friends who make plans to enroll at the Sorbonne in Paris the following year. Writer/director Leturcq, in her first feature, follows these young women as they each struggle to discover their unique voice in their chosen fields, while also stumbling their way through romantic entanglements and family obligations. Along the way, the women find their search for knowledge is uncovering an ever-widening rift in their relationship—one that may be irreparable. Anchored surely by precocious lead performances from Constance Rousseau and Jenna Thiam, NEXT YEAR, while examining a friendship undone by competition and suspicion, confidently portrays those tentative steps taken when first venturing out into adulthood. In French with subtitles. L'annee Prochaine (Next Year) plays at the Plaza Theater's upstairs auditorium on Saturday, March 28 at 2:15 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

POS ESO (POSSESSED) (Sam, Spain, 81m) Even as it ticks off homages to a litany of popular genre movies, I can say--without fear of reproach--that I've never seen anything like Spanish director Sam's expertly crafted stop-motion animated horror story. Watching it is like seeing Wallace and Gromit being split open and gutted before our terrified yet somehow bemused eyes. The film follows a faith-challenged priest and his inevitable clash with Damien, the devil-possessed child of Spain's most famous bullfighter and his Flamenco-dancing superstar wife. Genre fans will have fun spotting the references, most obviously to William Friedkin's The Exorcist, but also to films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Gremlins, The Evil Dead, Alien, and even well-loved horror obscurities like The Beast Within and The Gate. Though this is definitely not a film for kids, with its nudity and shocking plasticine gore, Possessed smartly navigates the rarely tread line between the animation and horror genres. For fans of both, this one's not to be missed. In Spanish with subtitles. Pos Eso (Possessed) plays at the Plaza Theater's upstairs auditorium on Friday, March 20 at 9:45 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

APARTMENT TROUBLES (Jess Weixler and Jennifer Prediger, USA (Brooklyn, NY and Los Angeles, CA), 77m) Frothy but with the sharp edge of desperation, Apartment Troubles is the impressive feature debut of writer/directors Weixler and Prediger who star as Olivia and Nicole, two struggling Brooklyn artists trying to keep up with the ever-escalating rent being imposed on them by their stern landlord (Jeffery Tambor). When the pressure becomes too much for them, they mount an escape to Los Angeles, where they take up with Nicole's rich and famous aunt (a lively Megan Mullally) and discover that their friendship is at a point where it could either be deepened or destroyed. With notable appearances by Will Forte, Christopher “Kid” Reid and Lance Bass, this breezy yet slyly emotional comedy provides a terrific platform for the talents of these newly-minted filmmakers. Apartment Troubles plays at the Plaza Theater's main auditorium on Sunday, March 29 at 2:15 pm; tickets can be purchased online here.

Atlanta native Dean Treadway is the Co-Host of Movie Geeks United, the internet's #1 weekly podcast devoted entirely to movies, with 750 industry guests and four million listeners worldwide. His blog, filmicability, has over 500 articles obsessing over films present and past and is approaching 1 million hits.

Spotlight by Dean Treadway: "Frances Ha" and Greta Gerwig

Among the finest features of the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival is Growing Up Baumbach, the retrospective of one of this year's honored filmmakers, Noah Baumbach, who's repped at the fest with one of his two new films, While We're Young (starring Naomi Watts and Greenberg collaborator Ben Stiller, playing Wednesday, March 25th, 7 pm at the Plaza Theater). The retrospective has already covered his 1995 debut, a look at post-collegiate aimlessness called Kicking and Screaming, and his Oscar-nominated 2005 film The Squid and the Whale, about a dissolving family of New York intellectuals. Yet I think they've possibly saved the best for last with Baumbach's 2012 teaming with star/co-writer Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha (playing Wednesday, March 18th at 7 pm at the Plaza Theater). I still think it's Baumbach's most visually resplendent movie, and as such, it's primed to be seen on the big screen where we can better enjoy its wily black-and-white gorgeousness.

Baumbach's second 2015 film, Mistress America, will be released later in the year, which is particularly exciting because it features his third collaboration with Gerwig (who broke through to widespread acclaim  in 2010 with her superb supporting performance in Greenberg). From the look of things, their work together is shaping up to be among the most fruitful director/actor collaborations currently hitting screens, and certainly Frances Ha bears this out with its sympathetic, energetic peer into the life of a scrambled artist who's let her rambling youth intercede too far into her adulthood. Gerwig plays a dancer--one without particular talent or drive--who slowly sees the connections around her falling by the wayside. Her relationship with her boyfriend self-destructs in the very first scene, and things keep getting worse for Frances as the film moves on. Her once vital friendship with roommate Sophie (an excellent Mickey Sumner) hits a harsh roadblock, and this sends Frances spiraling into a frantic and hilarious search for her place in the world (literally). Instantly in the pantheon of great New York films (stylistically extremely indebted to Woody Allen's Manhattan, though transplanted to hipstery Brooklyn), Frances Ha is constantly funny, beautiful to behold (with cinematographer Sam Levy's amazing B&W images and a clever source music score featuring David Bowie and French New Wave composer Georges Delarue), and it's the utterly perfect vehicle for Gerwig who, with her articulate eyes and inquisitive mind, continues on her path to being among the most treasured actors on the indie scene.

I've been a fan of Gerwig's ever since being astonished by her work in both Greenberg and Nights and Weekends, her 2008 directorial debut with Joe Swanberg. As the co-host of Movie Geeks United, I had long been angling to get an interview with her for the show, and in 2012, I was successful in landing a 40-minute talk with her about her work on Frances Ha (she was extremely generous, as we had initially only been given 25 minutes together). So I thought I'd include that here as a special bonus. It's a captivating conversation, as I hope you will agree. See you at Frances Ha on Wednesday, March 18th at the Plaza Theater!

In this interview from the Movie Geeks United podcast, actress Greta Gerwig (Arthur, No Strings Attached, Greenberg, Damsels in Distress) discusses her impressive career, including her new film 'Frances Ha'. For more information on Movie Geeks United, and to access our archive of over 700 filmmaker interviews, visit http://www.moviegeeksunited.net.

Atlanta native Dean Treadway is the Co-Host of Movie Geeks United, the internet's #1 weekly podcast devoted entirely to movies, with 750 industry guests and four million listeners worldwide. His blog, filmicability, has over 500 articles obsessing over films present and past and is approaching 1 million hits.

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