There are a number of films that I’m going to be doing my best to cover during the film festival. They are listed below and if you’re interested in syncing it up to your ical, google calendar, or whatnot, I’ve listed my movie choices from the Kabuki theater up and subscribable on Upcoming.org and you can go ahead and sync it up or add your own film selections/options yon there.
All About Love
A dreamy doctor falls for the transplant recipient of his dead wife’s heart. Happens all the time, of course, but rarely with such stylistic panache or lovelorn romanticism as in this delirious Hong Kong hit that doubles the trouble and drowns in tears.
Al Franken: God Spoke
Documentary veterans Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob catch liberal political satirist Al Franken in frenzied action as he races around the country on his 2004 book tour for the bestselling Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.
Adam’s Apples
A pitch-black comedy/religious parable in which a truculent neo-Nazi ex-convict and a dementedly upbeat country priest square off amid Old Testament plagues centered on a parish apple tree.
Bashing
A controversial, fictionalized account of a young woman whose kidnapping and release in the Middle East has made her a town pariah back at home. Inspired by the experiences of several Japanese aid workers held hostage in Iraq in 2004.
Belle De Jour
In this subversive erotic fantasy cowritten by Jean-Claude Carrière and Buñuel, Catherine Deneuve plays a frigid housewife who indulges her masochistic desires by working in a Paris brothel. However, nothing is quite as it seems…
The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
A gay pre-teen in a Manila slum causes his family of petty criminals grief when he falls in love with the handsome cop next door. This first feature transcends its indie low budget with its humor, gritty drama and charm.
The Bridge
The Bridge is a moving and unsettling exploration of the mythic beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge, the most popular suicide destination in the world, and the unfortunate souls drawn by its siren call.
Cock Byte: Masters of Machinima
Machine animation geniuses Rooster Teeth Productions, creators of the wildly popular online episodic parodies Red vs Blue and The Strangerhood, appear in person to present their greatest hits and new work, all made using the 3D graphics engines from videogames.
Domestic Dramas
This program of narrative shorts conveys the humor and tragedy that make up the most common spheres of our existence and the upheaval that results when the things we most desire refuse to come to fruition or are achieved in unexpected ways. Titles include The Light, Remain Upright!!, The Pretty Boy Project, Kitchen, Five Minutes, Mr. Welles, Love at 4 pm, and Dazed.
Drawing Lines
A dazzling collection of animated shorts guaranteed to stimulate the senses, fire up the imagination and push the boundaries of the genre. Home Delivery, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, 2/14, Never Live Above a Psychic, Luukkaankangas: Updated, Revisited, A Room Nearby, At the Quinte Hotel, Cosmetic Emergency, and Tales of Mere Existence.
Executive Koala
A dutiful employee with a giant koala head must contend with complex office politics while worrying that he may be responsible for his girlfriend’s death in this unforgettable genre hybrid from Japan’s leading director of meatball, off-the-wall comedies.
Friends—Lost And Found
Friends come in all shapes and sizes: orphans, Goth girls, even insects—but everyone has them and will do almost anything for them. Join us for this array of shorts selected to appeal to both young and old—and bring a friend. Recommended for ages seven and up. Titles include A Bag of Sweets, Rubber Soles, Roberto the Insect Architect, Cake, Sirah, Kylie Goldstein, All American, Emelia—The Five Year Old Goth Girl and Hide & Seek.
The Glamorous Life Of Sachiko Hanai
In this riotous amalgam of political satire, apocalyptic comedy and steamy erotica, an escort specializing in teacher-student scenarios acquires a mysterious cylinder that could cause nuclear havoc. A fervid example of the Japanese pinku eiga genre, for mature audiences only.
Gubra
This alternately comic and sad meditation on forgiveness follows the fortunes of several families, including Orked and her affluent Malay parents and the working-class Chinese family of Orked’s lost love, Jason, featured in director Ahmad’s previous film Sepet (SFIFF 2005).
The House Of Himiko
At a seaside rest home for gay men, a young woman confronts the father who once abandoned her to become proprietor of a transvestite bar. An offbeat comedy that offers a rare look at Japan’s older gay community.
Iraq in Fragments
Three tales from the new Iraq, from Sunni to Shiite to Kurd. Paying as much attention to color, light and landscape as to politics, this Sundance award-winner is like nothing we have ever seen or heard about Iraq before.
Jonestown: The Life And Death Of Peoples Temple
This chilling documentary explores the stunning rise and fall of Peoples Temple and its charismatic leader Jim Jones, who founded Jonestown in Guyana, South America, where more than 900 of his followers died in a mass “suicide” in 1978.
Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey
An intelligent, humorous and affectionate documentary about heavy metal music, its myriad forms and rabid fans. Featuring some of the genres most noted heroes, Metal attempts to dispel its stigma as the bastard stepchild of the airwaves.
Perpetual Motion
In this wry examination of adultery and history, four women meet on the eve of Chinese New Year for some mah-jongg and reminiscence, while the hostess hopes to determine which of her guests is having an affair with her husband.
Play
Heartbroken Tristán and isolated Cristina, two strangers, wander the streets of Santiago looking for love. This urban fairy tale is a lively, witty, atmospheric film about the human need to connect in the postmodern world.
A Prairie Home Companion
Garrison Keillor’s beloved radio show A Prairie Home Companion becomes a musical-comedy ensemble piece starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, Virginia Madsen, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly and Lindsay Lohan.
Princess Raccoon
“We are all raccoons!” Glory in the spectacular design and exuberant wackiness (plus the stunning Ziyi Zhang as the Princess) of this madcap anything-goes pop opera by Japan’s premiere film trickster.
Sa-Kwa
A deeply rewarding, delicately observant portrait of a modern young woman’s search for happiness and love, featuring an intensely physical performance by South Korea’s finest actress, Moon So-Ri.
Viva Cuba
Eleven-year-old Malú runs away from home with her best friend Jorgito on a quest to find her father in this charming, fairytale-like story that was Cuba’s candidate for the Oscars.
You Are My Sunshine
A farm worker’s ardor for a prostitute pays off when she falls in love with him, but their bliss may be short-lived when she is diagnosed with HIV in this touching, mildly erotic blend of melodrama and romantic comedy.
