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THE OFFICIAL GUIDE NANTUCKET TO FILM FESTIVAL THE
11th Annual Nantucket Film Festival acknowledges filmmakers who zig at the sign that says "STOP." Writer/director Ramin Bahrani, for example, recruited real Manhattan cart vendors for the film "Man Push Cart" and then allowed them to improvise much of the dialogue. Brad Coley and Paul Sado immersed their cast in the town of Bellows Falls, Vt. to film "The Undeserved," which they shot chronologically in order to incorporate the town's real events into the narrative. And screenwriter Gabrielle Zevin and director Hans Canosa crafted an entire two-character film in split-screen format, to depict simultaneously the actions and reactions, past and present of a man and woman who meet like gas and fire at a wedding party. But some filmmakers might argue that the perilous uncertainty of life makes living it the ultimate experiment - and so the coordinators of the NFF have chosen to highlight documentary filmmakers this year. Documentarians Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus open the festival with "Al Franken: God Spoke," a chronicling of Al Franken's journey from pundit to controversial political commentator during the 2004 election. Patricia Foulkrod's "Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends" anchors the festival with a two-year look at the disturbing mental and physical battles our soldiers face when they return home from Iraq. Brian Williams' 27-minute film reflecting on his time covering Hurricane Katrina in devastated New Orleans will segue into a half-hour interview with Williams conducted by Al Franken. And Ward Serrill's "The Heart of the Game" closes out the festival with the story of a girls' high school basketball team that is in striking range of the state title when stranger-than-fiction events nearly disqualify their star player, an athletic phenom from the wrong side of the tracks.
Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Jimmy Smits, Nathan Corddry, Campbell Scott, Mary Kay Place and Rachel Dratch will also be here this week to stud the stars over Nantucket. So will NBC Universal Screenwriters Tribute honorees Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor ("Sideways") - the men who are ostensibly responsible for Nantucket's near-monogamous relationship with Pinot Noir and who might agree that a little Brunello might do us all some good. Cheers to experimentation. For more information on the festival, including admission prices, and to purchase tickets, go to www.nantucketfilmfestival.org. "AL FRANKEN: GOD SPOKE" (Documentary) Comedian-turned-political pundit Al Franken found himself in the middle of a rhetorical hurricane during the 2004 presidential election, when he dropped political correctness to speak honestly about his assessment of the Bush administration - earning him admirers and death threats. Directed by Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus. Wednesday, 8 p.m., Nantucket High School Auditorium Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Nantucket High School Auditorium "BLACK GOLD" (Documentary) The son of a coffee farmer is elected head of an Ethiopian coffee farmers cooperative and must travel the world seeking buyers for the cooperative's coffee, battling the dominance that multinational corporations and the New York stock exchange have on coffee trade that keeps coffee farmers impoverished. Directed by Nick and Marc Francis. Thursday, 4 p.m., Bennett Hall; Saturday, 7:15 p.m., Unitarian Church
"DISAPPEARANCES" In order to save his endangered cattle herd, Quebec Bill (Kris Kristofferson) bets the farm on whiskey running in the beautiful but perilous Canadian wilderness. Written and directed by Jay Craven. Friday, 4:30 p.m. Sconset Casino; Sunday, noon Starlight Theatre
"EDMOND" Scripted by David Mamet (read: starring William H. Macy), an unloved and unhappy middle-aged man leaves the house for a spontaneous and explosive erotic and thanatotic odyssey - indulging every thought and impulse he had that night. Stuart Gordon directs. Saturday, 9:30 p.m., Unitarian Church "F*CK" (Documentary) Addressing free speech and censorship, this film explores the etymology of the superman of swear words, interviewing a bunch of "f*cking" conservatives, liberals, celebrities and plain clothes citizens - everyone from Janeane Garofalo and Hunter S. Thompson to Alan Keyes and Pat Boone. Written and directed by Steve Anderson. Thursday, 8:30 p.m., Unitarian Church Saturday, 9:30 p.m., Bennett Hall "GROUND TRUTH" (Documentary) Director Patricia Foulkrod reveals the true meaning of our soldiers' sacrifices by witnessing their private torment after they've returned home from the mind-altering (and often debilitating) stresses and horrors of Iraq. Friday, 4:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre Sunday, 5 p.m., Bennett Hall "HALF NELSON" Ryan Gosling plays an inner city middle school teacher with a nightside as a vicious coke addict who tries to keep his students afloat while he sinks. Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Directed by Ryan Fleck. Thursday, 4:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre; Saturday, 3 p.m., Starlight Theatre
"HOMEFRONT" (Documentary) Army Ranger Jeremy Feldbusch was only 23 at the beginning of the Iraq war, when shrapnel permanently lodged itself in his brain, blinding him and leaving him prone to mood swings and seizures. Director Richard Hankin focuses on this young man's return home and his difficult re-acclimation to his home and body. Friday, 10:15 a.m., Bennett Hall Sunday, 11:45 a.m., Bennett Hall "THE HOUSE OF SAND" In 1910, Aurea arrives via caravan in Northern Brazil - where her husband decides to build a home out of the white grains of sand that surround them. With only her mother to keep her preoccupied, Aurea faces her fate in the middle of nowhere, where her daughter will be born and will continue life on the edge of the known world. Written by Elena Soarez. Directed by Anrducha Waddington. Thursday, 4 p.m., Sconset Casino; Saturday, 8:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre ICONOCLASTS: IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE (Special Event) Guests include Diana Ossana ("Brokeback Mountain"), Tom McCarthy (writer/director, "The Station Agent") and Campbell Scott (actor/director, "Big Night," "Off the Map"). Thursday, 8 p.m. at The Hearth "THE ILLUSIONIST" Edward Norton stars as Eisenheim, a lower class magician in fin-de-siecle Vienna who uses his magical ability to win over a duchess (Jessica Biel) betrothed to a crooked and dangerously ambitious crown prince, who hires a detective (Paul Giamatti) to root out the affair. The mano-a-mano between magician and prince escalates to a public uprising. Written and directed by Neil Burger. Friday, 6:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Sconset Casino Sunday, 4:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre "IN DEBTWE TRUST: AMERICA BEFORE THE BUBBLE BURSTS" (Documentary) Inspired by Robert Manning's "Credit Card Nation," documentarian Danny Schecter highlights the fomenting of our perilous credit culture. Friday, 2 p.m., Starlight Theatre Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Bennett Hall IN HIS OWN WORDS: BRIAN WILLIAMS ON HURRICANE KATRINA (Special Event) Sunday, 4 p.m., Unitarian Church IN THEIR SHOES ALEXANDER PAYNE AND JIM TAYOR (Special Event) Sunday, 10:30 a.m., Nantucket High School Auditorium LATE NIGHT STORY TELLING (Special Event) Friday, 7 p.m., White Elephant Lawn Tent "LOUDQUIETLOUD" (Documentary) Punk's version of Fleetwood Mac, The Pixies pull back the curtain on one of their tours to reveal the reality behind the rumors of relationships and fights among band members, as well as the tragedies and triumphs they experience with their families. Directed by Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin. Friday, 9 p.m., Children's Beach Saturday, 7 p.m., Bennett Hall "MAN PUSH CART" APakistani rock star trades his lush life for citizenship in America, where, carless, he hauls a pushcart around in the hopes of buying a home where he can live with this son. A beautiful, atypical filming of the New York City landscape with characters who are not professional actors. Written and directed by Ramin Bahrani. Friday, 9:15 p.m., Sconset Casino Saturday, 6 p.m., Starlight Theatre MORNING COFFEE WITH ... (Special Event) Thursday - Sunday, 9 a.m., Rose & Crown NBC UNIVERSAL SCREENWRITERS TRIBUTE (Special Event) Honoring Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne Saturday, 7 p.m., White Elephant Lawn Tent NFFAND THE SCREENWRITERS COLONY A LUNCHTIME PANEL PRESENTATION, "A FILM IS WRITTEN THREE TIMES" (Special Event) Panelists include Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Writers and Director, "Half Nelson"), Neil Burger (Writer/Director, "The Illusionist"), Jay Craven (Writer/Director, "Disappearances") and Goran Dukic (Writer/Director, "Wristcutters: A Love Story") Friday, 1 p.m., Nantucket High School Auditorium "Opal Dream" Ayoung girl in an Australian mining town falls ill when her "imaginary" friends disappear, and her once-cynical 11-year-old brother urges his parents and their town to come together around the missing friends and his sister. Written by Peter Cattaneo, Ben Rice, Phil Trail; directed by Peter Cattaneo. Thursday, 10 a.m., Starlight Theatre Saturday, 3 p.m., Sconset Casino "QUINCEAERA" AHummer limousine, a new dress, lots of friends - the simple hopes of a 15-year-old looking forward to her quinceanera are throttled by the revelation that she is pregnant. When her religious father kicks her out of the house, she finds a new, accepting family with her cousin (a gay Hispanic gang member) and her tolerant old uncle. Winner of the Sundance Audience Award and the Dramatic Grand Jury Award, the film received a standing ovation at Sundance. Directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. Thursday, 2:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre Saturday, 8 p.m., Sconset Casino STAGED READING: "COUP DE TAT" A16-year-old girl becomes the pen pal to a Latin American dictator, who seeks asylum in her garage when he is overthrown. Written by Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse. Participating actors include Jimmy Smits, Steven Webber, Mary Kay Place, Nathan Corddry, Anna Belknap, Michael Mastro, Nadia Dajani and Michael Cera. Saturday, 2 p.m., Nantucket High School Auditorium "A SIMPLE CURVE" (U.S. Premiere) Raised in the scenic Kootenays by bush hippie parents, Caleb realizes that his self-defeating father will sabotage his own attempts at financial success and, probably, happiness, so long as the two keep working together. Directed by Aubrey Nealon. Thursday, 8:30 p.m., Sconset Casino Friday, noon, Starlight Theatre "TODAY'S MAN" Director Lizzie Gottlieb chronicles a period of her brother Nicky's experience with Ausberger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism that requires Nicky to memorize appropriate responses to social situations - as opposed to reacting naturally - but also lends him a unique insight. Saturday, 1 p.m., Bennett Hall Sunday, 10 a.m., Bennett Hall THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT (Documentary) For 10 years, documentarians Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg have worked on this film about Darryl Hunt, an African-American man who served 20 years in prison after being convicted in 1984 of a brutal rape and murder - a decision that hinged on the testimony of a former KKK member - before being cleared by DNA evidence in 1994, and then spending 10 more years in jail. Friday, 2:30 p.m., Bennett Hall Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Unitarian Church "TWO SQUARE MILES" (Documentary) Founded by Nantucket whalers in the late 18th century, Hudson, N.Y. is a small-town in upstate New York that took on a multi-national coal-fired cement plant's attempt to elbow its way into Hudson and supersize its bucolic way of life. Thursday, 3 p.m., Unitarian Church Friday, 7:15 p.m., Bennett Hall "THE UNDESERVED" Murder in a small Vermont high school is processed by a group of actors who performed as much on improvisation as on script. Director Brad Coley shot the film sequentially, so the narrative unfolded in conjunction with and response to the real events occurring in Bellows Falls, Vt., where the filming occurred. Directed by Brad Coley. Written by Brad Coley and Paul Sado. Friday, 9:15 p.m., Bennett Hall Sunday, 1:45 p.m., Bennett Hall "WHAT REMAINS" Documentary) Filmmaker Steve Cantor shadows controversial and renowned photographer Sally Mann on her latest project, a beautiful memorial to images of death and decay across the Southern landscape. Friday, 5:15 p.m., Bennett Hall Saturday, noon, Unitarian Church "WIDE AWAKE" (Documentary) Acclaimed documentarian Alan Berliner turns the camera around to film a segment of his lifelong struggle with insomnia and its effects on his intimate contacts. Friday, 12:30 p.m., Bennett Hall Saturday, 11 a.m., Bennett Hall "WORDPLAY" Documentary on the enigmatic New York Times crossword puzzle, its creator - Will Shortz - and its devotees, including Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart and the Indigo Girls. Directed by Patrick Creadon. Friday, 9 p.m., Starlight Theatre Saturday, 6 p.m., Sconset Casino "WRESTLING WITH ANGELS" (Documentary) Few plays of the last two decades have kicked up as much cultural dust as "Angels in America" - a work about the secrets, politics, passion, ennui and overall tragedy of life as a gay man in the mid80s, when AIDS loomed like a great natural disaster and many people prepared by putting their hands over their eyes. "Wrestling with Angels" follows its playwright, Pulitzerand Tony-winning Tony Kushner. Directed by Freida Lee Mock. Thursday, 5 p.m., Unitarian Church Saturday, 12:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre "WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY" In this Charlie Kaufman-esque feature, Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous") plays heart-broken Zia, who slits his wrists and bleeds into an afterlife reserved only for suicides - not nearly as tortured as Dante's suicide forest, but also not as eventful as a laundromat - where everyone has the same problems they had before killing themselves. Zia's "ex" girlfriend, the inspiration for his suicide, kills herself in his wake, and Zia travels the off roads of his afterlife with eccentric new friends trying to find her. Adapted and directed by Goran Dukic. Thursday, 9:30 p.m., Starlight Theatre Friday, 7 p.m., Sconset Casino I |
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