Tuesday, July 08, 2008
STONY BROOK FILM FESTIVAL
SECRETS
AT THE STONY BROOK FILM FESTIVAL
July 17 through July 26
The 13th annual Stony Brook Film Festival (SBFF) will run from July 17 through July 26, with films from around the world... And Long Island!
Films at SBFF are projected on a large screen, to a large audience, with a single film shown in each time slot (no competing venues; no hard decisions about which film to see of the films playing at the same time) – three quite unique attributes at a film festival.
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ELIZABETH ASHLEY IN THE CAKE EATERS
Among the many, very interesting films to be shown at SBFF is The Cake Eaters, the sensitive and interesting directorial debut for actress Mary Stuart Masterson. Shot in upstate New York (with cinematography by her brother), it is a drama, both realistic and romantic, with a cast that includes Bruce Dern and Elizabeth Ashley.
Lot's of great movie stars! World premieres! Many languages spoken in the films to be presented at SBFF. Here are a few of the highlights (grouped loosely by language) ......
Chinese –
BLOOD BROTHERS
N.Y. Premiere—Taiwan/China/Hong Kong—In Chinese with subtitles.
Directed by Alexi Tan.
Written by Alexi Tan, Jiang Dan and Tony Chan.
With Daniel Wu, Chang Chen, Shu Qi, Liu Ye, Sun Honglei, Tony Yang and Lulu Yi.
1930s Shanghai: a glittering city of vice and decadence.
HOME SONG STORIES
HOME SONG STORIES
N.Y. Premiere—Australia/Singapore—In English, Mandarin and Cantonese with subtitles.
Written and directed by Tony Ayres.
With Joan Chen (the extraordinary actress from Lust, Caution), Qi Yuwu, Joel Lok, Irene Chen, Steve Vidler and Kerry Walker.
A glamorous Hong Kong nightclub singer meets an Australian sailor and migrates with him to the state of Victoria along with her two children.
Russian
WIND MAN- a film by Khuat Akhmetov;
Spanish
TWINS FOR PRESIDENT
TWINS FOR PRESIDENT
East Coast Premiere—Spain—In Spanish with subtitles.
Directed by Miguel Ángel Calvo Buttini.
Written by Álvaro Lión-Depetre and Miguel Ángel Calvo Buttini.
With Andoni Gracia, Txema Blasco, María Galiana, Merce Llorens and Teresa Gimpera.
An emotional comedy. Somewhere near a beautiful river, salmon, frogs and other species coexist with the inhabitants of a small and quaint village.
Irish Gaelic
KINGS (Ireland’s official entry to the Foreign Language Oscar 2008).
Hungarian –
CHILDREN OF GLORY - N.Y. Premiere
Directed by Krisztina Goda.
Written by Joe Eszterhas and Éva Gárdos
With Kata Dobó and Iván Fenyö.
In Budapest 1956. During the brewing anti-Soviet Revolution, a fiery student, Viki, catches the eye of Karcsi, A young waterpolo star.
French –
BARBARA BROADCAST (short); BUNNY GAMES (short); SUMMIT CIRCLE;
BLUFF
N.Y. Premiere—Canada—In French with subtitles.
Directed by Simon Olivier Fecteau and Marc-André Lavoie.
Written by Marc-André Lavoie, Simon Olivier Fecteau and David Gauthier.
With Emmanuel Bilodeau, Isabelle Blais, Raymond Bouchard, Nicholas Canuel and Eve Duranceau.
Tenants with things to hide…
Hindi
AMAL
Written and directed by Richie Mehta.
With Rupinder Nagra, Koel Purie, Naseeruddin Shah, Roshan Seth and Seema Biswas.
...“Sometimes the poorest of men are the richest.”
Dutch –
FOR A FEW MARBLES MORE (short)
Bosnian –
IN THE NAME OF THE SON (short)
IN THE NAME OF THE SON
German, Polish –
AND ALONG CAME TOURISTS takes place in the present-day town of Oswiecim, Poland, site of the Auschwitz extermination camp. A young German chooses civil work over military service and finds himself helping out in Auschwitz, where tour buses unload a million visitors a year.
Hebrew –
THE SECRETS
An adult film that explores the place of women and sexuality in Orthodox Judaism with Fanny Ardant, Ania Bukstin and Michal Shtamler.
US, Canada –
EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC opens the Stony Brook Film Festival. It charts the fateful reunion of survivors of the Drancy transit camp on the outskirts of Paris, where Jews were detained before being sent to Auschwitz. Melanie, played by Susan Sarandon, lives in the scenic countryside of Quebec with her history professor husband, Christopher Plummer. Max Von Sydow also appears. Emotional Arithmetic is directed by Paolo Barzman, and is based on an award-winning novel by Matt Cohen.
TRU LOVED -- Tru, a teenager played by Najarra Townsend, is growing up with gay mothers and fathers. The film, with Alexandra Paul, Jasmine Guy, Nichelle Nicols, and Matthew Thompson, includes music from Melissa Etheridge, Rufus Wainwright, Janis Ian, Roslyn Kind, and youthful newcomers Lanky and Sheva, and is directed by Stewart Wade.
In THE STONE ANGEL, a film from Canada in English Ellen Burstyn portrays a feisty and unconventional woman. The Stone Angel is written and directed by Kari Skogland based on the novel by Margaret Laurence.
ROUTE 30 -- World Premiere—U.S.A
Written and directed by John Putch.
With Dana Delany, David DeLuise, Curtis Armstrong, Kevin Rahm, Christine Elise, Robert Romanus, Lee Wilkof, Nathalie Boltt, and David Cowgill.
“Three stories. One highway…”
CAT CITY
CAT CITY
World Premiere—U.S.A.—
Directed by Brent Huff.
Written by Brent Huff, William Shockley and Douglas L. Walton.
With Rebecca Pidgeon, Julian Sands, Brian Dennehy, Alano Massi, Shawn Huff and William Shockley.
A lawyer, a mistress, a corrupt politician, lying, cheating,… A thriller
PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND
N.Y. Premiere—U.S.A.
Written and directed by Daniel Barnz.
With Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman and Campbell Scott.
Phoebe in Wonderland was made on the North Shore of Long Island.
The festival will close with CAMILLE, an East Coast premiere directed by Gregory MacKenzie. The film features Sienna Miller (Stardust), James Franco (Pineapple Express - August ‘08 release), David Carradine, Ed Lauter and Scott Glenn. Camille is a twisted adventure about a young couple on their way to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. (Note: the director married his wife, and screenwriter Nick Pustay proposed to his girlfriend while filming at the Falls.)
For complete descriptions of all the films, click on the links to the films in the calendar at:
http://stonybrookfilmfestival.com/fest08/calendar.html.
Here is the schedule in brief:
STONY BROOK FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE (running times in parentheses)
THURSDAY, JULY 17
8:00 pm - Emotional Arithmetic (89)
NY Premiere – Canada
FRIDAY, JULY 18
5:00 pm - Amal (101)
NY Premiere – Canada/India
7:00 pm - Children of Glory (123)
NY Premiere - Hungary
Short: The Wall (8) USA
9:30 pm - On Broadway (100)
NY Premiere - USA
Short: And Then She Was Gone (7) USA
SATURDAY, JULY 19
3:30 pm - Wind Man (98)
East Coast Premiere - Russia
7:00 pm - The Cake Eaters (95)
USA
Short: Little Pumpkin (7) USA
9:30 pm - Route 30 (88)
World Premiere - USA
Short: Barbara Broadcast (15) Belgium
SUNDAY, JULY 20
3:30 pm - The Secrets (120)
Israel
7:00 pm - Cat City (93)
World Premiere – USA
Short: Triple Concerto in D Minor (8)
Australia
9:30 pm - Tru Loved (99)
USA
Short: For a Few Marbles More (11) The Netherlands
MONDAY, JULY 21
7:00 pm - Bluff (88)
NY Premiere - Canada
Short: Bunny Games (28) Belgium
9:30 pm - Unfinished Sky (91)
NY Premiere – Australia
Short: In the Name of the Son (25) Bosnia and Herzegovina/India
TUESDAY, JULY 22
7:00 pm - And Along Come Tourists (85)
East Coast Premiere - Germany
Short: Maine Story (24) USA
9:30 pm - Blood Brothers (95)
NY Premiere – Taiwan/Hong Kong/China
Short: Bookie (18) USA
WEDNESDAY, JULY 23
7:00 pm - Twins for President (93)
East Coast Premiere - Spain
Short: Plainview (24) USA
9:30 pm - Summit Circle (90)
East Coast Premiere - Canada
Short: The Puzzle (16) USA
THURSDAY, JULY 24
7:00 pm - Kings (88)
NY Premiere – Ireland/UK
Short: The Drummer (18) USA
9:30 pm - Home Song Stories (103)
NY Premiere – Australia/Singapore
Short: Artistic Closure (14) USA
FRIDAY, JULY 25
7:00 pm - Phoebe in Wonderland (96)
NY Premiere - USA
9:30 pm - The Stone Angel (115)
East Coast Premiere - Canada
SATURDAY, JULY 26
8:30 pm - Camille (91)
East Coast Premiere - USA
Labels: SBFF, Stony Brook Film Festival
