Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Jeff Silva | Ramona Badescu
Chris says: “Watch repair requires a steady hand and infinitesimal patience; this documentary exudes the latter in spades and also requires it from the viewer. Alexandru, a 90-year-old Romanian clock maker, recalls his time as a political prisoner in forced
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Charlotte Vandermeersch | Felix Van Groeningen
Starring: Alessandro Borghi | Cristiano Sassella | Elisabetta Mazzullo | Luca Marinelli | Lupo Barbiero
Michael says: “While initially appearing as something of a leap for filmmaker Felix von Groeninger, known for his Buried Treasure winning film THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN from 2014, some similar free-spirited, living off-the-grid vibes translate over to his new film,
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Rating: 3.8 cats
Director: Babak Jalali
Starring: Anaita Wali Zada | Avis See-tho | Gregg Turkington | Hilda Schmelling | Jeremy Allen White
Michael says: “With a mix of deadpan humor, rich black & white tones, an appealing lead actor, and an early Hal Hartley vibe, FREMONT is just my kind of film. In fact, at this moment, it’s my top film of
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Penny Lane
Tom M. says: “Had a great time at CONFESSIONS OF A GOOD SAMARITAN. Penny Lane is such a trip and the kidney donation narrative had a personal tie for me.” Diane says: “Documentary director Penny Lane (LISTENING TO KENNY G,
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Andrea Pallaoro
Starring: Adriana Barrazza | Emily Browning | Joshua Close | Patricia Clarkson | Trace Lysette
Michael says: “MONICA is a finely constructed story about a fractured family reunited with the decline in health of the surviving matriarch. The title character particularly hasn’t had any contact with the family for years, and her return is brought
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Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Michael says: “When I think of successful documentaries, they fall into two categories. Docs where the subject matter is of great interest to me, or so wild that they can’t help but be entertaining, and docs that are creative and
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Rating: 2.3 cats
Director: Paul Schrader
Starring: Eduardo Losan | Esai Morales | Joel Edgerton | Quintessa Swindell | Sigourney Weaver
Chris says: “Paul Schrader has long established a reputation for going there, which is a major component of his sensibility and thus his peculiar appeal. Consequently, his movies work best when centered on a performance that understands how nutso the
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Director: Christine Yoo
Brett says: “The subject material speaks for itself on the surface: a group of incarcerated men at San Quentin train to complete a marathon inside prison walls. The parallels to life are immense and extend far beyond prison walls, a
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Carolina Markowicz
Starring: Aline Marta Maia | César Bordón | Jean de Almeida Costa | Maeve Jinkings | Rômulo Braga
Brett says: “A kitchen sink drama that cuddles up with SCARFACE? Count me in. CHARCOAL is an anomalous genre bender out of Brazil that is part Tennessee ‘Joanópolis’ Williams and part Mario ‘CV’ Puzo. “Irene and Jairo are wife and
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Director: Maya Forbes | Wallace Wolodarsky
Starring: David Rasche | Kevin Kline | Morena Baccarin | Rob Delaney | Sigourney Weaver
Vicki says: “The main reason to see this film ( and it’s a valid one) is to watch Sigourney Weaver revel in the role of Hildy, a real estate agent in a high-end New England town. Hildy hopes to have
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Glorimar Marrero Sanchez
Starring: Georgina Borri | Magali Carrasquillo | Maximiliano Rivas | Modesto Lacen | sel Rodriguez
Diane says: “This is my 10th film ‘at’ Sundance. “Noelia is a native of Vieques, an island of Puerto Rico that the US Navy used as a bombing test site for decades–and left the trash behind. In early midlife, Noelia,
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Rating: 1 cat
Director: Angus MacLachlan
Starring: Celia Weston | David Strathairn | Jane Levy | Viktor Hernandez | Will Pullen
Diane says: “Oops, a Hallmark special got into Sundance by mistake! “Bill and his son David, veterans of Vietnam and Afghanistan respectively, run the family business in North Carolina. David’s sweet wife from ‘the holler’ packs lunches for the comfortably
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Charlotte Regan
Starring: Alin Uzun | Ambreen Razia | Cary Crankson | Carys Bowkett | Harris Dickinson | Lola Campbell
Diane says: “This is my 8th film ‘at’ Sundance. Here we leave formalism and get back to films that suddenly go animated! SCRAPPER is a cousin to AFTERSUN, as a very young father and his winsome daughter bond. Twelve-year-old Georgie
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: A.V. Rockwell
Starring: Aaron Kingsley Adetola | Aven Courtney | Josiah Cross | Teyana Taylor | William Catlet
Diane says: “This is my 7th film ‘at’ Sundance. “First-timer A.V. Rockwell wrote and directed this movie to honor Black mothers. “Inez, newly released from Rikers, heads back to Harlem to get her old life back and reclaim her little
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Starring: ayla Mohammadi | Bella Warda | Bijan Daneshmand | Kamand Shafieisabet | Niousha Noor
Diane says: “This is my 6th film ‘at’ Sundance. “A movie director writes a screenplay of her mother’s life, as she and her mother revisit their past conflicts. You’d need an awful lot of Tilda Swintons for this one, as
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: David Zonana
Starring: Carlos Gerardo García | Esteban Caicedo | Fernando Cuautle | Isabel Yudice | Santiago Sandoval
Diane says: “This is my 5th film ‘at’ Sundance. “David Zonana’s sophomore feature as writer/director shows a lot of talent. He said in his intro that he’s been able to find his style in this second film. “Luís, an Indigenous
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Alice Englert
Starring: Alice Englert | Allistair Sewell | Ana Scotney | Ben Whishaw | Jennifer Connelly
Diane says: “My 4th film ‘at’ Sundance. I’m thinking that maybe it wasn’t a good idea for Alice Englert (daughter of our esteemed Jane Campion) to go all in as writer, director, co-lead, and composer of this mother-daughter-themed film. “Jennifer
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Justin Chon
Starring: Alex Chi | David Matheny | Joseph Dang | Rich Brian | Yayu A.W. Unru
Diane says: “My third film ‘at’ Sundance: “Young Indonesian rapper James arrives in Hawaii to record his first album. He’s recently dumped his father as manager, replacing him with a much more savvy woman from LA. But Dad won’t stay
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Luke Lorentzen
Diane says: “STILL SMALL VOICE is my second film at virtual Sundance. “I watched this doc about hospital chaplaincy because I went thru some of that training myself. Because chaplaincy training involves so much inner work (for both students and
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Susanna Fogel
Starring: Emilia Jones | Geraldine Viswanathan | Hope Davis | Isabella Rossellini | Nicholas Braun
Diane says: “Based on a story that appeared in the New Yorker a few years ago and ignited controversy, this 2-hour adaptation takes us out of the narrator’s head and pushes Margaret Atwood’s observation as far as it can go:
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