Maverick is the Word at Cinequest

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 02 March 2011 03:51

Written by L E Shannon

The Cinequest Film Festival is running March 1-13, 2011 in San Jose, California - the heart of Silicon Valley.

The Opening Night film is John Turturro's acclaimed Italian music documentary Passione, a spectacular and beautiful love poem to the city of Naples—a city of music, of culture and most of all, its extraordinary people. Passione combines archival footage with musical numbers of all kinds, including such masters as Sergio Bruni, Massimo Ranieri and Renata Carasonni and contemporary artists like the M’Barka Ben Taleb and James Senese.

Turturro is also this year's recipient of Cinequest's coveted Maverick Spirit Award, which "recognizes visionaries who truly capture the essence of the Maverick by entertaining and inspiring audiences through evocative means."

The Closing Night film is Sean McNamara's highly anticipated inspiring true story Soul Surfer, the story of Bethany Hamilton, who fought to return to surfing after losing an arm in a shark attack at age 13. With AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood (in her feature film debut).

Following the screening, surf icon Jeff Clark (Founder of Mavericks Surf Contest) will present Bethany Hamilton with Cinequest's special Life of a Maverick Award.

The Festival has five tracks, four of which are competitions. The fifth track, Spotlight Screenings, showcases special films and artists that inspire and, no doubt, motivate. Some of the films in each track are:

In the Maverick Narrative Competition are such films as:

America
Dir. Sonia Fritz
A Puerto Rican woman flees her abusive husband, heading to New York City where she attempts to live down a tragedy by forging a new life. With Lymari Nadal, Yancey Arias, Rachel Ticotin, Tony Plana, Teresa Hernandez, James Callis, Edward James Olmos.

Nannerl, Mozart’s Sister
Dir. René Féret (France)
Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart was no less a musical prodigy ahead of her time than was Wolfgang. But when it came to women, the Age of Enlightenment was as dim as any other. Nannerl gave up her music to assist the family in promoting her brother, and sadly, her own compositions did not survive. With Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau.

Small Town Murder Songs
Dir. Ed Gass-Donnelly
In a small Mennonite town in Ontario, a born-again police chief tries to solve the murder of a young woman while grappling with challenges to his newly-minted faith. With Peter Stormare, Aaron Poole, Martha Plimpton, Jill Hennessy.

A feast of wonderful documentaries make up the Maverick Documentary Competition, some of which are:

Irena Sendler: In The Name of Their Mothers
Dir. Mary Skinner
The story of a remarkable woman in German-occupied Warsaw who, along with a daring “conspiracy of women” performed amazing acts of heroism to save the lives of over 2,500 Jewish children from being shipped  to certain death. Though tortured by the Germans and later persecuted by the Polish communists, when asked if she harbored any hatred for the Germans Irena replied, “I don’t hate anybody.”

War Games and the Man Who Stopped Them / Gry Wojenne
Dir. Dariusz Jablonski (US Premiere)
"In the 1970s, the Warsaw Pact armies under USSR control occupied Poland and most of central Europe. Colonel Ryszard Kukliński, as strategist with the Polish army, was not only privy to the most secret plans, he helped draw up several of them. What he learned of Russia’s plans and what they implied for Poland—and the world—brought him to the realization that something must be done, no matter what the personal cost or danger.... Included are archival footage and live interviews with members of the highest echelons from both sides, showing just how close we may have come to a nuclear Armageddon."

The World According To Ion B / Lumea Văzută De Ion B.
Dir. Alexander Nanau (Romania)
A homeless man in Bucharest during Ceaucescu’s regime spent years sleeping by garbage cans, drinking, running errands, and saving old discarded magazines. But he used them to create satirical collages which might have cost him his life had they been known. Some 22 years later, director Alex Nanau came upon the works and started filming, as a relationship developed between filmmaker and artist.

The New Visions Competition showcases the director whose film best reflects the future of filmmaking. Some representative entries:

A Little Help
Dir. Michael J. Weithorn
A woman deals with her lackluster job as a dental hygienist by knocking back beers and trying to raise her distant son with a workaholic husband until her husband dies.  With Jenna Fischer, Chris O’Donnell, Rob Benedict, Zach Page, Sara Kapner, Lesley Ann Warren, Ron Leibman.

Make A Movie Like Spike
Dir. Jamil Walker Smith
Two best friends -- one a father-to-be and the other an aspiring filmmaker who’s documenting their last 36 hours at home -- are soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. With Malcolm Goodwin, Jamil Walker Smith, Christine Dunford, Justin Shenkarow, Michael Trotter, Louis Ferreira, Eddie Ruiz.

Samuel Bleak
Dir. Dustin Schuetter (World Premiere)
When a terrified mute is found living alone in the woods, the town of Whiterain and its residents will never be the same. The police chief begins to unravel Samuel’s identity and his past, connecting him with his alcoholic father while continuing to uncover the mysterious circumstances that made Samuel run away into isolation. With Dustin Schuetter, David Zayas, Deborah Kara Unger, James Russo, Carlucci Weyant, Christine Kelly, Keith David.

From all over the world, films enter Global Landscapes Competition with a wide variety of subjects, situations and surprises. Some films are:

Apart Together / Tuan Yuan
Dir. Quan’an Wang (China)
A man returns to Shanghai to reclaim the woman he loves and left 50 years before when the Nationalist Army retreated to Taiwan. But his return creates profound dilemmas for her, her common-law husband and each of her children. With Lisa Lu, Feng Ling, Monica Mok, Baiyang.

Copacabana
Dir. Marc Fitoussi (France)
A mother is forced to abandon her carefree lifestyle to win back her daughter’s love. With Isabelle Huppert, Lolita Chammah (Huppert's real-life daughter), Aure Atika, Jurgen Delnaet, Chantal Banlier.

The Happy Housewife / De Gelukkige Huisvrouw
Dir. Antoinette Beumer (Netherlands)
A flight attendant and her husband seem to have a charmed life, and decide to have a child. But her labor is unexpectedly traumatic, and her life is no longer the same. With Carice van Houten (Black Book), Isis Cabolet, Waldemar Torenstra.

This year's Spotlight Screenings include:

3 Backyards
Dir. Eric Mendelsohn
Three stories, one small town on one day. Winner of the Directing Award, U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance in 2010. With Edie Falco, Elias Koteas, Embeth Davidtz, Rachel Resheff.

Ceremony
Dir. Max Winkler
A man tries to win back his ex-girlfriend even as she is preparing to marry someone else. With Uma Thurman, Michael Angarano, Lee Pace, Rebecca Mader.

Potiche / Trophy Wife
Dir. Francois Ozon
A factory owner suffers a heart attack as his employees go on strike, and his hitherto stay-at-home wife steps in and saves the business, improving the working conditions in the process. But her husband recovers, eager to return to business as usual. Will the good times last? She's determined they will. With Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Fabrice Luchini, Karin Viard.

Also on hand are seminars and panels, including:

• Day of the Writer - Science fiction writing
• Mastering the Art of Maverick Filmmaking with Jacob Rosenberg
• 3D Celebration Part 1: Overview of 3D, Part 2: How-to Make It 3D with Jon Chu
• The Biz of Art Part 1: Development, Part 2: Sales & Distribution
• Make it Easy, Make it Great - the latest innovation, mobile cinema

About Cinequest

The CINEQUEST brand was built around the "Maverick" spirit, and for over 20 years has remained true to this core ideology as it quietly grew to become the entertainment industry's answer to emerging technologies and accelerated creative ideas that outpace the industry itself.

Led by Co-Founders Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen Powell, the Silicon Valley-based film institute produces the Cinequest Film Festival and runs Cinequest Distribution, Cinequest Mentoring & Education and its own brand new, independent production and distribution arm - Cinequest Mavericks Studio, LLC.

The Cinequest Film Festival is a celebration of the creativity and innovation supported by CINEQUEST throughout the year. Fast becoming the film industry's newest "must-attend" event, each spring the Cinequest Film Festival's inviting and lively atmosphere attracts an impressive array of actors, directors, filmmakers and film lovers who are collectively empowered to discover the next generation of talented superstars.

Cinequest led the surge for the digital film making, exhibition and distribution revolutions, showcasing and implementing technologies such as QuickTime and24P high def cameras prior to industry adoption.

CINEQUEST is the first festival to present coinciding live and online experiences for their audience, allowing film lovers worldwide to view Festival presentations in real time.

CINEQUEST is the first festival to bring short films to handheld mobile devices.

CINEQUEST is the first festival to accept ALL digital film formats with digital projection on ALL screens.

For more information, go to www.cinequest.org.

Cinequest Film Festival
March 1-13, 2011

Cinequest
410 S. First Street
San Jose, CA  95113
Several venues in downtown San Jose

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