Safe to say that 2015 should be the roll out year for this directorial debut. Some got an early peak at this summer’s Rooftop film series and then it received some cool parting gifts from the Us in Progress in Wroclaw, Poland. Matt Sobel, a Filmmaker Magazine Top 25 New Faces of ’14 personality made his debut feature in his own backyard of Nebraska. Starring Logan Miller, Robin Weigert (Stacie Passon’s Concussion), Josh Hamilton and Richard Schif, Take Me to the River sounds like the uncharted waters type of discomfort drama that’ll make some folks queasy. Sign me up.
Gist: This is about a California teen (Logan Miller) who plans to come out at his family reunion in Nebraska. But when a bloodstain on his younger cousin’s dress makes him an unwitting suspect in her possible abuse, the weekend takes a very different turn…
Production Co./Producers: Matt Sobel.
Gist: This is about a California teen (Logan Miller) who plans to come out at his family reunion in Nebraska. But when a bloodstain on his younger cousin’s dress makes him an unwitting suspect in her possible abuse, the weekend takes a very different turn…
Production Co./Producers: Matt Sobel.
- 11/14/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Earl Lynn Nelson: The audience wonder why our heads are down in the water - we kept our heads down in the water because we were freezing our rear ends off. Odd couple comedy Land Ho! marks the first collaboration between Quiet City director Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song). It's an offbeat charmer that stars Stephens regular Earl Lynn Nelson and Aussie actor Paul Eenhoorn as two old friends who go on an adventure to Iceland. Nelson's good ol' boy Mitch has a foul-mouthed Kentucky wit that bounces off the drier humour offered up by Eenhoorn's character Colin. The film is less about big revelations than the finer points of friendship and it celebrates the liberation that can come with growing old. Nelson, who is a plastic surgeon by trade, has a long-standing relationship with Stephens - her mum is his first cousin - and in the...
- 10/12/2014
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Filmmakers Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens, who have teamed up for Land Ho!, have individually premiered all of their previous features at SXSW Film Festival. They're each known for films where characters are deep in exploration -- about themselves but also perhaps, a mystery (Cold Weather, Passenger Pigeons) or even a landscape (Brooklyn in Quiet City, Kentucky in Pilgrim Song). In Land Ho! (which premiered at Sundance this year), the same type of exploration takes place -- this time in Iceland -- with two primary characters who are gentlemen in their retirement years. It's a change for Katz, whose characters are usually in their late teens/early twenties.
No matter what the age of the characters, however, Stephens and Katz sustain the audience's interest in the type of story that sounds terribly slow and dull when explained in print, but is very rewarding as it unfolds onscreen. Two retired brothers-in-law,...
No matter what the age of the characters, however, Stephens and Katz sustain the audience's interest in the type of story that sounds terribly slow and dull when explained in print, but is very rewarding as it unfolds onscreen. Two retired brothers-in-law,...
- 9/14/2014
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
The wonderfully freewheeling, peripatetic road movie Land Ho!, spanning the vast, rich Icelandic landscape, marks the first collaboration between two talented independent filmmakers: Martha Stephens (Passenger Pigeons, Pilgrim Song) and Aaron Katz (Dance Party USA, Quiet City, Cold Weather). Together, they have created a beautiful and quietly charming film, one not afraid of being small, in the sense of letting the naturalistic performances and atmosphere impress themselves on the audience, and not shoehorning in false melodrama or forced comedy. And although the buddy comedy road trip movie is a genre that is thoroughly well-worn at this point, Land Ho! is blissfully free of cliché and hackneyed retreads. Set to be released this summer, the film will serve as perfect counter-programming to whatever superhero movie is...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 7/10/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Land Ho!, co-written and co-directed by Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens, is an odd-couple two-hander like Katz’s previous Cold Weather and Quiet City, and a progressively rural odyssey like Stephens’ Pilgrim Song, accented by the hues of regional color familiar from both directors’ palettes. But given the film’s Icelandic setting, perhaps another frame of reference is also called for. In interviews, the filmmakers frequently discuss the remoteness of the Icelandic landscape, its incongruity with the day-to-day lives of their characters, and, above all, its mysterious and “otherworldly” beauty. In Iceland, where I currently live, this view is not necessarily reflective […]...
- 7/10/2014
- by Mark Asch
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Land Ho!, co-written and co-directed by Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens, is an odd-couple two-hander like Katz’s previous Cold Weather and Quiet City, and a progressively rural odyssey like Stephens’ Pilgrim Song, accented by the hues of regional color familiar from both directors’ palettes. But given the film’s Icelandic setting, perhaps another frame of reference is also called for. In interviews, the filmmakers frequently discuss the remoteness of the Icelandic landscape, its incongruity with the day-to-day lives of their characters, and, above all, its mysterious and “otherworldly” beauty. In Iceland, where I currently live, this view is not necessarily reflective […]...
- 7/10/2014
- by Mark Asch
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Word spread at Sundance in January that "Land Ho!" was a sleeper hit, and sure enough, it was soon scooped up by Sony Pictures Classics, which will unleash the comedy on audiences July 11. (It's at 83 on the Tomatometer.) Check out the video below to see why it's a load of fun. The two writer-directors, Martha Stephens ("Pilgrim Song") and Aaron Katz ("Cold Weather"), cast Australian actor Paul Eenhoorn and plastic surgeon non-pro Earl Lynn Nelson to enact the story of two ex-brothers-in-law and friends who reunite on an exotic trip to Iceland. The movie is both raucous adventure and sweetly intimate bromance. And the dynamics at work are obvious from the video interview below, which starts with quiet-spoken Eenhoorn and is utterly taken over by bigger-than-life Nelson. Trailer is also below. ...
- 6/17/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
If we may avert your eyes from the new trailer for Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar for a moment, you’ll find the first look at one of my favorite Sundance films, Land Ho!. Co-directed by Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song) and Aaron Katz (Cold Weather), the David Gordon Green-produced road trip finds Paul Eenhoorn (who gave a great performance in last year’s This is […]...
- 5/16/2014
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Indie filmmakers Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz have been turning heads separately over the past little while, with their most recent efforts "Pilgrim Song" and "Cold Weather" in particular earning them attention. This past January, the pair unveiled their first co-director collaboration with "Land Ho!" at the Sundance Film Festival, and the response was good. Though we had our quibbles with it, we called the movie "easy to admire and appreciate in its quiet observations and tender form," and now you too can see what those in Park City saw, with the first trailer landing today. Paul Eenhoorn and Early Lynn Nelson lead the movie that follows a brassy former surgeon who convinces his ex-brother-in-law to vacation with him in Iceland. And they aren't just Americans out of place abroad, but out of step with each other, with the pair falling into an odd couple dynamic that allows them to...
- 5/16/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The wonderfully freewheeling, peripatetic road movie Land Ho!, spanning the vast, rich Icelandic landscape, marks the first collaboration between two talented independent filmmakers: Martha Stephens (Passenger Pigeons, Pilgrim Song) and Aaron Katz (Dance Party USA, Quiet City, Cold Weather). Together, they have created a beautiful and quietly charming film, one not afraid of being small, in the sense of letting the naturalistic performances and atmosphere impress themselves on the audience, and not shoehorning in false melodrama or forced comedy. And although the buddy comedy road trip movie is a genre that is thoroughly well-worn at this point, Land Ho! is blissfully free of cliché and hackneyed retreads. Set to be released this summer, the film will serve as perfect counter-programming to whatever superhero movie is coming...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 4/25/2014
- Screen Anarchy
They range in age, amount of screen time, supporting or principle characters, and have previous (television work, stage and or bit parts in Hollywood/Indiewood productions or next to no film experience at all. In essence these folks have a special gift and have essentially broken out. I had the fortune of having a team of four journalists (Caitlin Coder, Jordan M. Smith, Nicholas Bell and myself) covering the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and when you got a small army covering a major fest it ensures that fine performances from a new crop of acting talents don’t go undetected. Michael B. Jordan, Robin Weigert and Miles Teller (who follows up The Speculator Now with a dramatically and physically charged perf in the marvelous Whiplash) were just some of the new faces included on our top list last year.Worthy mnetions that did not break into our Top 10 include Fishing Without Nets‘ Abdikani Muktar,...
- 1/30/2014
- by IONCINEMA.com Contributing Writers
- IONCINEMA.com
Here's the latest Austin and Texas film news.
Austin-based indie electronica band The Octopus Project won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Musical Score at this year's Sundance Film Festival for their work on fellow Austinites David and Nathan Zellner's Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Debbie's review). This true-to-life drama follows a lonely Japanese woman who travels to America in search of the treasure mentioned in the movie Fargo.The Zellner Brothers discussed their inspiration for Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, which debuted at Sundance, with The Wall Street Journal. Austinite Todd Rohal's Rat Pack Rat (Debbie's dispatch), about a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator who's hired to visit a Rat Pack fan, won Sundance's Short Film Special Jury Award for Unique Vision. Austin filmmaker Clay Liford (Wuss) produced. In more Sundance Film Festival news, Austin-based filmmaker David Gordon Green continues to express his appreciation for Iceland (Prince Avalanche...
Austin-based indie electronica band The Octopus Project won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Musical Score at this year's Sundance Film Festival for their work on fellow Austinites David and Nathan Zellner's Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (Debbie's review). This true-to-life drama follows a lonely Japanese woman who travels to America in search of the treasure mentioned in the movie Fargo.The Zellner Brothers discussed their inspiration for Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, which debuted at Sundance, with The Wall Street Journal. Austinite Todd Rohal's Rat Pack Rat (Debbie's dispatch), about a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonator who's hired to visit a Rat Pack fan, won Sundance's Short Film Special Jury Award for Unique Vision. Austin filmmaker Clay Liford (Wuss) produced. In more Sundance Film Festival news, Austin-based filmmaker David Gordon Green continues to express his appreciation for Iceland (Prince Avalanche...
- 1/27/2014
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
Road trip movies (and road trips in general) live and die by the likability of the travel companions. Writing and directing team Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song) and Aaron Katz (Cold Weather) knew that, of course. Their film Land Ho! reunites a pair of 70-something ex-brother-in-laws for a trip around Iceland.
“We wanted to make a comedy that was sort of an ode to comedies that we loved growing up like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Uncle Buck and stuff that’s really fun, but we also wanted to incorporate the way that we made movies,” said Stephens.
Cast chemistry is...
“We wanted to make a comedy that was sort of an ode to comedies that we loved growing up like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and Uncle Buck and stuff that’s really fun, but we also wanted to incorporate the way that we made movies,” said Stephens.
Cast chemistry is...
- 1/23/2014
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Sundance coverage continues with Glenn musing on the career of Aaron Katz and his latest, Land Ho!
"Mumblecore", the term given to the influx of super low-budget independent films with a rotating core of creatives, cops a lot of grief these days. I assume it's mostly from people sick of Lena Dunham’s ubiquity (she wrote/directed/starred in the incredible Tiny Furniture) or people just getting sick from the home-spun, handheld aesthetic that beset many of the movement’s features. Personally, I love that we now have the likes of Greta Gerwig, Lynn Shelton (who’s at Sundance again this year with Laggies) and Joe Swanberg amongst others. The brightest star to my eyes, however, is Aaron Katz, the 32-year-old American director who directed the woozy, boozy, teenage coming-of-age drama Dance Party USA and the deliciously cheeky Sherlock riff Cold Weather. He returns with Land Ho!, co-directing alongside Martha Stephens...
"Mumblecore", the term given to the influx of super low-budget independent films with a rotating core of creatives, cops a lot of grief these days. I assume it's mostly from people sick of Lena Dunham’s ubiquity (she wrote/directed/starred in the incredible Tiny Furniture) or people just getting sick from the home-spun, handheld aesthetic that beset many of the movement’s features. Personally, I love that we now have the likes of Greta Gerwig, Lynn Shelton (who’s at Sundance again this year with Laggies) and Joe Swanberg amongst others. The brightest star to my eyes, however, is Aaron Katz, the 32-year-old American director who directed the woozy, boozy, teenage coming-of-age drama Dance Party USA and the deliciously cheeky Sherlock riff Cold Weather. He returns with Land Ho!, co-directing alongside Martha Stephens...
- 1/23/2014
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Indie road trip comedies are perhaps the worst cliché of low budget American filmmaking, but "Land Ho!," the story of two aging men on a meandering vacation in Iceland, provides a notable exception. This unassuming, elegantly shot collaboration by directors Aaron Katz ("Cold Weather," "Quiet City") and Martha Stephens ("Pilgrim Song," "Passenger Pigeons") actively avoids any melodramatic confrontations or cheesy subplots. A gentle meditation on growing old and bored, "Land Ho!" never rises to the level of narrative engagement found in the filmmakers' previous efforts, but it doesn't take much to make it sufficiently insightful, carried along by a pair of actors so inherently likable from the outset that "Land Ho!" hardly requires a lot of story to set their adventure in motion. Essentially a two-hander from start to finish, "Land Ho!" opens with the soft spoken Colin (Paul Eenhoorn, star of last year's sleeper hit "This Is Martin Bonner...
- 1/19/2014
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Co-directed features aren’t too common in the independent film world, and even less so from already established auteurs. But Land Ho! finds two of the American independent scene’s most promising young directors – Aaron Katz (Cold Weather) and Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song) – joining forces. A buddy, road trip comedy about a pair of aging ex-brother-in-laws (Paul Eenhoorn of This is Martin Bonner, and Earl Lynn Nelson) on holiday in Iceland, the film is already being hyped as one of the most promising discoveries of this year’s festival. Land Ho! premieres today in Sundance’s Next section. Filmmaker: A full-on directorial […]...
- 1/19/2014
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Co-directed features aren’t too common in the independent film world, and even less so from already established auteurs. But Land Ho! finds two of the American independent scene’s most promising young directors – Aaron Katz (Cold Weather) and Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song) – joining forces. A buddy, road trip comedy about a pair of aging ex-brother-in-laws (Paul Eenhoorn of This is Martin Bonner, and Earl Lynn Nelson) on holiday in Iceland, the film is already being hyped as one of the most promising discoveries of this year’s festival. Land Ho! premieres today in Sundance’s Next section. Filmmaker: A full-on directorial […]...
- 1/19/2014
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Two ex-brothers-in-law (This Is Martin Bonner’s Paul Eenhoorn and Eastbound & Down’s Earl Lynn Nelson) set off on an Iceland vacation to reclaim their youth; dipping their toes in the Reykjavik nightclub scene, visiting trendy spas, dining at daring restaurants and communing at rugged campsites. What starts as a raucous adventure becomes a journey of self-discovery. Land Ho! is the latest producing project from lyrical indie-film favorite David Gordon Green, directed by Martha Stephens (Pilgrim Song, Passenger Pigeons) and Aaron Katz (Cold Weather, Quiet City). The endearing tale is part 1980s raucous road comedy, part sensitive and charming portrait of aging à la an edgier Strangers in Good Company for men. Interestingly enough, Nelson, who...
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- 1/13/2014
- by Alison Nastasi
- Movies.com
Last fall, word emerged that David Gordon Green was putting his executive producer stamp on "Land Ho!," the new feature film from directors Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz. The pair have been making waves on the indie film scene over the past few years, with their most recent efforts "Pilgrim Song" and "Cold Weather" (respectively), drawing them particular praise and attention. Well, "Land Ho!" finds the directors joining forces and soon they'll be hitting the Sundance Film Festival to unspool their collaboration.Starring Paul Eenhoorn (the breakout star of 2013's terrific indie "This Is Martin Bonner") and Early Lynn Nelson, the film tells the story of a brassy former surgeon who convinces his ex-brother-in-law to vacation with him in Iceland. And what follows is a road trip comedy that finds the older pair hitting Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas, adventurous restaurants and rugged campsites. But more than just a collection of hijinks,...
- 1/9/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
When I first started preparing my year-end lists for 2013, I knew for certain that I was going to continue my trend of creating one post with my favorite theatrically released narrative films of 2013 and a separate post with my favorite documentary films of 2o13. This is because I have a difficult enough time ranking films that share no common elements other than they were all shot on a medium that can capture both moving images and sound. The ranking of anything (especially art) seems completely arbitrary to me and the fact that most year-end lists focus on the "top" or "best" really makes no sense. While I guess there are certain basic mechanisms of filmmaking that can be done well (thus making a "good" movie) or can be done poorly (thus making a "bad" movie), for the most part it is all just personal opinion. I prefer to approach talking...
- 12/26/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Martha Stephens ("Pilgrim Song") and Aaron Katz ("Cold Weather"), both graduates from the North Carolina School of Arts, have each cultivated promising film careers for themselves over the past few years (ie. the aforementioned films). Now, they will be co-directing a film they wrote together, a buddy comedy called “Land Ho!” with David Gordon Green (another Ncsa alum) hopping on board as an executive producer. The film will star Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson as ex-brothers-in-law who go on a road trip in Iceland in order to reclaim their youth. Production is already underway in Iceland, a country that Green seems to have taken a shine to, considering his latest "Prince Avalanche" is a remake of the Icelandic "Either Way." [Deadline] Speaking of Iceland, Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur (“2 Guns”, “Contraband”) has officially signed on to write and direct “On the Job” for Universal-based production company, Bluegrass Films. The film’s...
- 10/18/2013
- by Ken Guidry
- The Playlist
In Martha Stephens’ lovely, evocative and deceptively simple Pilgrim Song, Timothy Morton (Team Picture) plays James, a newly unemployed elementary school music teacher from Louisville, Kentucky. A gangly fellow with a large red beard, some mean fiddle skills and an unreliable sense of direction, James finds his future hanging in the balance in more ways than one after he’s laid off from his teaching gig. Seeking some sort solace following his dismissal and an unspoken trauma that has pushed him apart from his girlfriend Joan (Karrie Crouse, also the film’s co-writer), he sets out on a trek across Kentucky’s Sheltowee Trace …...
- 5/10/2013
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Disaffected and searching for clarity and answers, James (Timothy Morton) takes to the Kentucky Appalachians' Sheltowee Trace Trail in Pilgrim Song, setting in motion a mountain-hiking odyssey of lackadaisical introspection. Martha Stephens's indie shares some of the patient rural rhythms of Kelly Reichardt's similar if far superior 2006 Old Joy, as well as a shaggy-bearded main character wandering around the woods. Yet underlying James's trek aren't Old Joy's political undercurrents but rather more general notions of regret, fear, and guilt, all related to his unemployment—having been fired from a music-teacher job that already barely interested the former band musician—as well as his strained relationship with girlfriend Joan (Karrie Crou...
- 5/10/2013
- Village Voice
The Tribeca Institute’s artist program Tribeca All Access, now 10 years old, today announced 11 new projects that it is supporting. Two of these are by 2012 “25 New Faces” alums: Long Year Begin, a doc project co-helmed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall (Call Me Kuchu), and Terence Nance’s political thriller The Lobbyists, a very intriguing follow-up to An Oversimplification of Her Beauty. Other promising projects already on my radar that Taa is funding include Roots & Webs, a mushroom-themed doc produced by Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s Josh Penn; Obvious Child, Gillian Robespierre’s edgy rom com; and Pilgrim Song director Martha Stevens’ third feature, Papaw Easy. Commenting on Tribeca All...
- 3/14/2013
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Maryland Film Festival (Mff) is an annual four-day event that takes place in downtown Baltimore during the first weekend of May, presenting top-notch film and video work from all over the world. Each year the festival screens approximately 50 feature films and 75 short films of all varieties -- narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, and hybrid -- to tens of thousands of audience members. This year your loyal Smells Like Screen Spirit scribes bring you a preview of some of the fantastic films that are in store for you at Mff 2012. Attenberg is certainly not as fantastically absurd as Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth, which Tsangari produced, but the two Greek films do share a certain cinematic kinship in farcically discussing the effects of overly restrictive parenting, specifically related to the social and sexual repression of the offspring. One might say that Attenberg is like the mellow chaser used to calm the crazy rush after...
- 5/2/2012
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Martha Stephens’ Pilgrim Song takes place, as many a SXSW 2012 film did, in the woods. James (Timothy Motton) is a music teacher recently let go due to budget cuts. The school’s principal offers him a summer teaching position which he rejects instead taking to the hills of Sheltowee Trace trail in Appalachian Kentucky. He’s married, although his wife Joan (Karrie Crouse) who is somewhat slow, helps him pack and keeps in radio (well, iPhone) contact, but does not join him on this journey. Much is left unspoken early in the relationship – Joan still has a job in a whisky distillery – perhaps they both require a break from each other as much as James requires this break from the “real world” instead of teaching summer school.
James was once a somewhat famous musician, he joins a jam one night and is seduced by a beautiful and mysterious women. Pilgrim Song,...
James was once a somewhat famous musician, he joins a jam one night and is seduced by a beautiful and mysterious women. Pilgrim Song,...
- 3/23/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
We're going to be taking our sweet time wrapping up this year's SXSW Film Festival, looking over one section at a time and allowing for digressions and occasional notes on films that screened in Berlin and Sundance as well, focusing on what's interesting, skimming over what's not. Before we begin, a few pointers to overviews of the festival in general: IndieWIRE and the Playlist have indexed their extensive coverage and Eric Kohn's had an end-of-the-fest chat with Ben Kenigsberg and Matt Singer; James Francis Flynn posted a diary at Cinespect; and, in his podcasts for the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Kut.org, Eugene Hernandez has interviewed a slew of filmmakers and touched on broader issues with a wide range of critics: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
On to the Narrative Feature Competition, eight films in all, of which I saw none; it was only after the festival was over that I realized...
On to the Narrative Feature Competition, eight films in all, of which I saw none; it was only after the festival was over that I realized...
- 3/20/2012
- MUBI
I pack quickly the night before leaving for SXSW. Not only do I forget to bring business cards, I don’t even pack my digital camera. I pop into a Cvs once I’ve landed in Austin and pick up a two-pack of disposable cameras. I’m surprised they still sell them.
My five day jaunt across SXSW is a flurry of rain, movies, tacos, friends, panels, and long lines. I watch Purple Rain on VHS. I watch V/H/S in a movie theater. I’m asked by multiple people if I’ve heard what this year’s Tiny Furniture is. I hear a big-four agent tell a filmmaker that he thinks they’re “really talented,” but that he hopes their next movie will be “faster.” I feel agoraphobic on an hourly basis.
I see no homeless people boosting wi-fi signals. I find it refreshing to take pictures and...
My five day jaunt across SXSW is a flurry of rain, movies, tacos, friends, panels, and long lines. I watch Purple Rain on VHS. I watch V/H/S in a movie theater. I’m asked by multiple people if I’ve heard what this year’s Tiny Furniture is. I hear a big-four agent tell a filmmaker that he thinks they’re “really talented,” but that he hopes their next movie will be “faster.” I feel agoraphobic on an hourly basis.
I see no homeless people boosting wi-fi signals. I find it refreshing to take pictures and...
- 3/16/2012
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The SXSW Film Festival starts this week and we're giving you the opportunity to hear from 28 of the filmmakers showing their work this year. Click through below for profiles on all the directors and their films: Ciaran Foy, "Citadel" "The biggest challenges were; 1) Writing it. The development, writing and re-writing took the guts of five years. With each new possible financier came new sets of changes - writing and re-writing took a lot out of me emotionally, as I had to dig deep into some recent, painful memories and bathe my mind in some pretty grim scenarios." -Ciaran Foy Martha Stephens, "Pilgrim Song" "I'm very intrigued by the human condition and the wrestling people do to find happiness, salvation, and spiritual gratification. Typically, I write films based on familiar places, faces, and situations: common impasses that folks from my neck of the woods are dealt. Most importantly, I love to write with a.
- 3/9/2012
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
SXSW is barely 24 hours away from starting (catch up with part one and part two of our preview pieces here), and at this point, it's important to be reminded that one of the things that makes the festival unique is a particular focus on the crossover between music and film, something that's been a special interest of ours since the very earliest days of The Playlist. SXSW doesn't just have a whole sidebar dedicated to music documentaries (with this year's batch including films centered on LCD Soundsystem, Paul Simon and Big Star), and a music festival that runs alongside, but the films screened seem to attract a disproportionate number of scores by indie and rock musicians.
And with more and more names who broke out from the pop and rock world -- from veteran composers like Danny Elfman and Clint Mansell to newbies like Trent Reznor and The Chemical Brothers -- moving into composition,...
And with more and more names who broke out from the pop and rock world -- from veteran composers like Danny Elfman and Clint Mansell to newbies like Trent Reznor and The Chemical Brothers -- moving into composition,...
- 3/8/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
A winding, ephemeral jaunt through the Appalachian backwoods, Pilgrim Song is so well-executed and carefully made that it almost appears effortless. The film follows James, a recently unemployed music teacher who decides to spend his first days of unemployment questing down Kentucky’s Sheltowee Trace Trail. Through a series of vignettes, director Martha Stephens gets at the psychological roots for James’ trek, roots which have as much to do with a desire to escape as with loftier transcendental ideals. In the film’s latter half, as James forms an unexpected bond with a single father he meets along the trail, Pilgrim Song offers a rare opportunity for true self-reflection.
Stephens hails from the David Gordon Green school of filmmaking (both figuratively and literally – she’s a recent North Carolina School of the Arts grad). Following 2010′s Passenger Pigeons, a modest hit on the festival circuit, Pilgrim Song continues to establish...
Stephens hails from the David Gordon Green school of filmmaking (both figuratively and literally – she’s a recent North Carolina School of the Arts grad). Following 2010′s Passenger Pigeons, a modest hit on the festival circuit, Pilgrim Song continues to establish...
- 3/3/2012
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Martha Stephens hails from Eastern Kentucky. "Pilgrim Song" is her second feature; "Passenger Pigeons" premiered at SXSW 2010 and won the We Believe In You Award. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking, but says she earns her wages teaching at a rural middle school in West Virginia. As a child, she was "inundated with tall tales and folk songs," and knew she wanted to be a storyteller before realizing she wanted to be a filmmaker. The people of Appalachia, she says, are known for their storytelling. She remembers her grandmother, Memaw, singing songs like "Frankie and Johnny" with a "graveled twang that would make your heart melt." The songs were full of murder, hell, fire and brimstone; "I fell in love with the raw quality the people from my home possessed, and I knew I wanted to create films celebrating...
- 3/1/2012
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
Okay… by this point, we can all acknowledge that The Raid‘s Redemption subtitle is silly and unneeded — in spite of whatever future plans Sony may have — so we can either a) get used to it, or b) just call it The Raid, nothing more and nothing less. I’m opting for the latter.
With that unnecessary intrusion out of the way, I can also tell you that a new, redemptive (I’ll stop now) U.S. poster has come in from Collider; if you’ve seen the initial piece by this point, however, it should look mighty familiar. (Save for a new tint, some nice quotes, and ten extra letters at the bottom.)
Take a look below, read our Sundance review here, and see the film when it opens on March 23rd:
Taking us further down the line of festival alumni is FilmSchoolRejects, who’ve landed the exclusive poster...
With that unnecessary intrusion out of the way, I can also tell you that a new, redemptive (I’ll stop now) U.S. poster has come in from Collider; if you’ve seen the initial piece by this point, however, it should look mighty familiar. (Save for a new tint, some nice quotes, and ten extra letters at the bottom.)
Take a look below, read our Sundance review here, and see the film when it opens on March 23rd:
Taking us further down the line of festival alumni is FilmSchoolRejects, who’ve landed the exclusive poster...
- 2/24/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Sound On Sight will once again be covering the SXSW Film Festival this year, making it our second time attending. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas fest taking place March 9-17, including 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. As previously announced, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods will have the honours of opening the festival, and now they have released the full list of films – and it’s looking pretty amazing. Enjoy!
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths,...
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths,...
- 2/3/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry, shot by Bob Gruen in 1977
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
screens as part of 24 Beats per Second
SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:
Narrative Feature Competition
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
screens as part of 24 Beats per Second
SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:
Narrative Feature Competition
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.
- 2/1/2012
- MUBI
With Sundance 2012 Film Festival over, the next big one on the horizon is South by Southwest, which we’ll be heavily covering. The biggest chunk of the line-up has been announced today, which has some great premieres including 21 Jump Street, Tiff and Sundance hit The Raid, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, the documentary Girl Model (which we liked at Tiff), as well as the next from Broken Lizard, The Babymakers. There are many other promising titles included and you can see them all below. Check back for our coverage for the fest, kicking off March 9th.
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
- 2/1/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Attendees of South by Southwest 2012 are in for a treat. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas festival taking place March 9-17. Among them are 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. The organization already announced [1] Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods would open the festival (the movie is phenomenal [2]) and today the majority of the remaining line up has been revealed. One of the highlights is the unbelievably smart and hilarious 21 Jump Street, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. Both of those are World Premieres. Other highlights include The Hunter, Killer Joe, The Babymakers, frankie goes boom, God Bless America, The Imposter, The Raid, Bernie and Casa de mi Padre just to name a few. After the jump, read descriptions of all the films that have been announced so far. Before I copy and paste the rest of the list, a few minor notes.
- 2/1/2012
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
SXSW has announced their complete 2012 feature film slate. Over 90 films will screen across the festival’s ten categories, including the already announced opening night premiere of Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods and a special preview screening of Lena Dunham’s new HBO series Girls.
New additions include the sixteen films premiering in narrative and documentary competition. The eight films competing on the narrative side include Booster, directed by Matt Ruskin, Eden, directed by Megan Griffiths, Gayby, directed by Jonathan Lisecki, Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon, Los Chidos, directed by Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Pilgrim Song, directed by Martha Stephens, Starlet, directed by Sean Baker, and The Taiwan Oyster, directed by Mark Jarrett.
On the documentary side, the eight competing films include Bay of All Saints, directed by Annie Eastman, Beware of Mr. Baker, directed by Jay Bulger, The Central Park Effect, directed by Jeffrey Kimball, Jeff, directed by Chris James Thompson,...
New additions include the sixteen films premiering in narrative and documentary competition. The eight films competing on the narrative side include Booster, directed by Matt Ruskin, Eden, directed by Megan Griffiths, Gayby, directed by Jonathan Lisecki, Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon, Los Chidos, directed by Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Pilgrim Song, directed by Martha Stephens, Starlet, directed by Sean Baker, and The Taiwan Oyster, directed by Mark Jarrett.
On the documentary side, the eight competing films include Bay of All Saints, directed by Annie Eastman, Beware of Mr. Baker, directed by Jay Bulger, The Central Park Effect, directed by Jeffrey Kimball, Jeff, directed by Chris James Thompson,...
- 2/1/2012
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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