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Film Festivals
New York Polish Film Festival 2012
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- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 04 May 2012 13:01
- Written by Magdalena Puniewska
In celebration of past and present cultural endeavors, specifically those in cinema, the 8th annual New York Polish Film Festival (NYPFF) showcases a wide range of Polish features, shorts and documentaries and foster dialogue between the audience and filmmakers themselves. It is the largest festival promoting Polish film on the East Coast.
Founded by Hannah Kosinska Hartowicz in association with FILMART, this year’s festival runs from May 4 - 8th, 2012, with three days in Brooklyn at indieScreen (289 Kent Avenue) and a finale in the Upper West Side in The Jewish Community Center of Manhattan (334 Amsterdam Avenue).
The lineup always features several internationally acclaimed works, examining themes such as the traditionally broached World War II drama to more whimsical topics suggesting that men and cellulite have one thing in common: they are both a pain in the behind to get rid of.
A few of this year’s anticipated works include:
Uwikłanie / Entanglement
Facing a murder case with only unlikely suspects and no motives, Krakow-based prosecutor Agata Szacka (Maja Ostaszewska) begins to uncover secrets from the brutal past of the Polish Communist regime. As she gets closer to the truth, figures from the shadowy Department D emerge to threaten Agata and her family. To complicate matters, she must work alongside detective Smolar (Marek Bukowski); their own indiscretions have given the enemy weapons to undermine her case.
W Ciemnosci /In Darkness
Based on a true story about Leopold Socha, a sewer worker and petty thief in Lvov, a Nazi occupied city in Poland. One day he encounters a group of Jews trying to escape the liquidation of the ghetto. He hides them for money in the labyrinth of the town's sewers beneath the bustling activity of the city above. What starts out as a straightforward and cynical business arrangement turns into something very unexpected. This feature was nominated for Best Foreign Film.
Bon Apetit
This short portrays a small Polish catering business with carefully selected protagonists. She is always displeased, hoping to win a scratch lottery. He is a hardworking optimist, satisfied with their monotonous life in the centre of Warsaw, and yet out of the way. In their small establishment they prepare food for offices (that do not pay) and for few regular clients. An excellent depiction of the contemporary reality as seen from the perspective of a small business, yet with a universal message.
Tickets for screenings are $15. More information about NYPFF can be found on http://www.nypff.com/wocms
New York Polish Film Festival
May 4 - 6, 2012
indieScreen
289 Kent Avenue (at S. 2nd Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
May 8th, 2012
The Jewish Community Center of Manhattan
334 Amsterdam Avenue (at 76th Street
)
New York, NY 10023
Tromadance Film Fest Reveals Panelists
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- Category: Previews
- Published on Thursday, 03 May 2012 18:50
- Written by Renzo Adler
The 13th entry in the (in)famous and un-compromising Tromadance Film Festival assaults New Jersey on May 4th and 5th at Asbury Lanes (209 4th Ave, Asbury Park, NJ)! Tromadance is a fiercely independent festival that is free for filmmakers to submit to and free for people attending the festival, as they proudly tout their “No VIP Policy.” A grassroots festival in the truest sense, this year Tromadance was partly funded by a Kickstarter based donation drive.
This year’s Tromadance also has a panel packed with some real horror greats. Writer and director James Gunn (Tromeo and Juliet, Dawn of the Dead), director Ti West (The Innkeepers, The House of the Devil), director and producer Roy Frumkes (Street Trash, Document of the Dead), former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone, and Queens World Film Festival co-director Katha Cato. The panel will be moderated by President of Troma Entertainment and creator of The Toxic Avenger, Lloyd Kaufman.
The festival will feature 36 short films as well as two special features:
Manborg
Brandon Trost and Jason Trost
A soldier, brought back to life as a cyborg, fights alongside a band of adventurers against demon hordes in a dystopian future.
FP
Steve Kostanski
Two gangs locked in a turf war in rural wasteland Frasier Park, in the deadly arena of competitive dance-fight video game Beat-Beat Revolution. The FP is a fury of fierce footwork, triumphant montages and neon street wear.
Founded in Park City, Utah in 1999, Tromadance was the brain child of Troma president Lloyd Kaufman, who was inspired by South Park co-creator, Trey Parker, as a response against the elitism of festivals like Sundance. Tromadance moved to Asbury Park in 2010 and continues to bring some of the finest and most bizarre films from all over the world, such as last year’s VHS-core film, The Taint. For the best of the weird, go to Tromadance! Just don’t tell your folks.
For more information, go to www.tromadance.com
The 13th Annual Tromadance Film Festival
May 4-5
Asbury Lanes
209 4th Ave
Asbury Park, NJ
Ridley Scott Retrospective at Lincoln Center
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- Category: Previews
- Published on Wednesday, 02 May 2012 22:28
- Written by Renzo Adler
With the extremely anticipated Prometheus arriving in June, it is a time of reflection and speculation for the career of director Ridley Scott. His first new science fiction film since 1982’s Blade Runner, Prometheus will return Scott to the film that put him on the map in the world of cinema, Alien.
Teetering on the precipice of this new film, from May 25 – June 3, 2012, The Film Society of Lincoln Center will show Past and Prologue: The Films of Ridley Scott, a complete retrospective of his work.
Second Tony Awards Film Series Reveals Lineup
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- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Monday, 30 April 2012 22:46
- Written by Renzo Adler
Even though cinema has embraced music since its inception, and musicals have made for some of the most renowned films ever made, the genre of musical films has been overlooked by the Tony Awards until recently.
That is remedied by The 2nd Annual Tony Awards Film Series (May 12 -13, 2012) at The Paley Center for Media (25 West 52nd St.). This event looks to be more camp than Liberace riding a giant flamingo.
The series is free to the public (seating first come, first served), and showcases three films that encapsulate the past, present, and future of musical cinema:
