MIDNIGHT
- Dark Touch,
directed and written by Marina de Van. (France) – World
Premiere, Narrative. Niamh is the lone survivor of a bloody massacre
after the furniture and objects in her family’s isolated house take on a
monstrous life of their own. The police ignore her wild stories and the
family friends and social worker who take her in try to introduce a new
life. But in this psychological thriller, Niamh is unable to leave her
violent past behind her, endangering everyone who crosses her path.
- Frankenstein's Army,
directed by Richard Raaphorst, written by Chris W. Mitchell and Miguel
Tejada-Flores. (Netherlands) – International Premiere, Narrative. In the
waning days of World War II, a team of Russian soldiers finds itself on
a mysterious mission to the lab of one Dr. Victor Frankenstein. They
unearth a terrifying Nazi plan to resurrect fallen soldiers as an army
of unstoppable freaks and are soon trapped in a veritable haunted house
of cobbled-together monstrosities. Frankenstein’s Army is the wild steampunk Nazi found-footage zombie mad scientist film you’ve always wanted.
- Fresh Meat,
directed by Danny Mulheron, written by Briar Grace-Smith. (New Zealand)
– New York Premiere, Narrative. After a poorly executed escape from the
police, a gang of dysfunctional criminals flees to the suburbs and gets
more than it bargained for when it crash lands in the garage of an
upper-class Maori family whose refined palates have developed a taste
for human flesh. This action-packed horror comedy tells a
blood-spattered tale of basement butchery and shifting allegiances as
these unlikely adversaries enter a deadly showdown. A Tribeca Film release.
- The Machine,
directed and written by Caradog James. (U.K.) –World Premiere,
Narrative. Caradog James adds another layer to the Frankenstein story in
the latest gripping sci-fi adventure to come out of the U.K.. Already
deep into a second Cold War, Britain’s Ministry of Defence seeks a
game-changing weapon. Programmer Vincent McCarthy unwittingly provides
an answer in The Machine, a super-strong human cyborg played by the impressive Caity Lotz (The Pact).
When a programming bug causes the prototype to decimate his lab,
McCarthy takes his obsessive efforts underground, far away from
inquisitive eyes.
- Mr. Jones,
directed and written by Karl Mueller. (USA) – World Premiere,
Narrative. Scott (Jon Foster) is a filmmaker in need of inspiration. He
and his girlfriend Penny move into a desolate house hoping to make a
breakthrough. Then they discover their neighbor, the elusive Mr. Jones.
Famous for his haunting sculptures, Mr. Jones has remained a mystery to
the world. Scott and Penny, convinced that they have found the perfect
film subject, sneak into his workshop and realize that their curiosity
may have chilling consequences. Who is Mr. Jones?
- Raze, directed by Josh Waller, written by Robert Beaucage. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Stuntwoman Zoe Bell (Inglorious Basterds, Kill Bill 1&2)
headlines this sly subversion of the women-in-prison genre. After
Sabrina (Bell) is abducted, she finds herself in an underground lair,
forced to do battle with other innocent women for the amusement of
unseen spectators. Each of these reluctant warriors has something to
lose, but only one will remain when the game is done. Violent and
relentless, Raze takes its video game
aesthetic to the deepest and darkest places, rarely surfacing for air.
Includes Rachel Nichols and Tracie Thoms.
- V/H/S/2,
directed by Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale,
Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisener, written by Barrett, Jamie
Nash, Tjahjanto, Evans, Eisener, and John Davies (USA, Indonesia) – New
York Premiere, Narrative. Investigators break into a house, find a vast
collection of VHS tapes and play them one by one. The videos include
visions of the paranormal, flesh-eating zombies, a shockingly genuine
scene of hell on earth and a slumber party gone horribly awry. This
highly anticipated sequel to last year's horror breakout V/H/S features contributions from contemporary genre filmmaking’s leading talents, including the creators of Hobo with a Shotgun, The Raid, You’re Next and The Blair Witch Project. In English, Indonesian with subtitles. A Magnet Release.
STORYSCAPES
- A Journal of Insomnia, Project creators: Bruno Choiniere, Philippe Lambert, and Guillaume Braun. (Canada). Insomniacs
are both spectators and actors in this large, interactive fresco that
combines hundreds of personal reflections on sleepless nights, gathered
online from insomniacs around the world since fall 2012. This work,
produced by The National Film Board of Canada, provides a cutting
portrait of insomnia as a universal and peculiarly wide-ranging
affliction and challenges visitors to experience the condition for
themselves.
- Robots in Residence, Project Creators: Brent Hoff and Alexander Reben. (USA). Robots in Residence challenges
Alfred Hitchcock’s claim that “in feature films the director is God; in
documentary films God is the director.” Here there is no god, as
pre-programmed robots collaborate with festival audiences to direct and
shoot a documentary in its entirety. Robot artist Alexander Reben and
filmmaker Brent Hoff forge a provocative new form of documentary
storytelling by using robots as a lens through which we take a new look
at humanity.
- Sandy Storyline, Project Creators: Rachel Falcone, Laura Gottesdiener, and Michael Premo. (USA). Using audio, photography, text and video, Sandy Storyline is
an ever-growing documentary narrative as community members and
volunteers offer their accounts of the storm and the efforts to recover
and rebuild local neighborhoods. The project forges a new type of media
in time of crisis, one that is participatory, interactive and designed
for community empowerment.
- Star Wars Uncut, Project Creator: Casey Pugh. (USA). Love Star Wars but
think you would have done it differently? Then this fun, creative and
wonderfully nostalgic interactive media project is for you. Using
everything from hand-drawn animations to intricate reenactments, fans
and series novices created short alternatives to the Star Wars storyline and went online to piece them all together. Discover a whole new approach to Star Wars, one fifteen-second burst at a time.
- This Exquisite Forest, Project Creators: Aaron Koblin and Chris Milk (USA). Conceived by Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin and produced by Google and Tate Modern, This Exquisite Forest was inspired by the surrealist game “exquisite corpse” and its idea of collaborative creation. The project, hosted at exquisiteforest.com,
allows visitors to create short animations right in their web browser.
Other users may build on the animation at any point, creating a
collection of navigable, branching narratives resembling trees that grow
bigger as more artists contribute.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
- Alberi, directed by Michaelangelo Frammartino. (Italy) –World Premiere, Documentary. Wrapping the audience in waves of sound,Alberi takes
us on a circular journey through the Italian countryside. The marvelous
natural music at the tops of the eponymous trees makes way for the
rhythmic cadence of civilization—men baring axes and the natural clatter
of daily life—before their unforgettable return home from the forest.
The singular artistry of director Michelangelo Frammartino (Le quatro volte) is beautifully displayed in this mesmerizing homage to nature. Italian with subtitles.
Alberi will
run as an installation in the VW Dome at MoMA PS1 from April 18th
through the end of the month, with a special event celebrating the world
premiere on the evening of Saturday, April 20th.
- Sidewalk Stories,
directed and written by Charles Lane. (USA) –Narrative. The low-budget,
New York-in-the-’80s movie that proves that silence is not all that
golden, Charles Lane’s magnetic Sidewalk Stories is
long overdue for rediscovery. Lane plays a sidewalk chalk artist whose
efforts to care for an abandoned toddler are confounded by the oddball
homeless characters he meets. Black-and-white and mostly silent, the
film is an ingenious and whimsical effort by a black artist to give a
voice to those who have none.
- Herblock - The Black & The White,
directed by Michael Stevens, written by Sara Lukinson and Stevens.
(USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Herbert Block’s career at The Washington Post spanned
fifty-five years and thirteen presidents, a timeframe in which he
claimed three Pulitzer Prizes, the Medal of Freedom and a significant
role in President Nixon’s resignation. Ben Bradlee, Tom Brokaw, Bob
Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Jules Feiffer, Ted Koppel and Jon Stewart are
among the many commentators bearing witness to Block’s life, work and
indelible contribution to American satire in this inviting documentary. Herbert Block to attend.
- The Trials of Muhammad Ali,
directed by Bill Siegel. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Brash
boxer Cassius Clay burst into the American consciousness in the early
1960s, just ahead of the Civil Rights movement. His transformation into
the spiritually enlightened heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is
legendary, but this religious awakening also led to a bitter legal
battle with the U.S. government after he refused to serve in the Vietnam
War. This film reveals the perfect storm of race, religion and politics
that shaped one of the most recognizable figures in sports history.
- Running From Crazy,
directed by Barbara Kopple. (USA) – New York Premiere, Documentary.
Join actress Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of legendary author Ernest
Hemingway, as she examines the mental illness and suicide that colors
her family’s history and tries to avert that fate for herself and her
daughters. By mixing in remarkable archival footage of the three
Hemingway sisters, two-time Academy Award®-winner Barbara Kopple expands
one famous family’s deeply embedded truths into a broad picture of the
courage it takes to face the past and change your future.
- Möbius,
directed and written by Eric Rochant. (France) – International
Premiere, Narrative. Set in the incomparable beauty of Monaco, Eric
Rochant’s first feature in seven years follows undercover Russian FSB
officer Gregory Lioubov (Jean Dujardin, The Artist) and international trader Alice Redmond (Cécile De France, Hereafter),
who has her own secrets to hide. Their relationship sparks a deadly
chase to snag Lioubov’s real target, business magnate Ivan Rostovsky
(Tim Roth). Also starring Émilie Dequenne, Möbius is a twisting, sexy
spy thriller that fittingly leaves you guessing which way is up. Featuring special guest appearances from director Eric Rochant and main actress Cécile de France.
2 Comments
Chris L. | March 6, 2013 5:14 PM
KITTIES!!!
Arch | March 6, 2013 2:23 PM
I've been following indie festivals news only for the last couple of years, but it seems horror films and "midnight" selections have become the staple of any indie festival recently right ? Was SXSW at the forefront as it seems ?