Wednesday, May 20, 2015

The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is next week

This is a heads up on what looks to be a great little festival to start your summer- The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival. While not as expansive as something like Sundance or Tribeca, it does have some great films including a new Alex Gibney and Cartel Land which is going to get a huge amount of attention when it opens in a few weeks.

I will not be attending, the day job prevents that, but I wish I was. Based on what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard about the other films this is a going to be a hopping festival. If you’re in or around Mammoth Lakes in California I suggest you go. In order to help push you toward going I’ve included the press release below.


MAMMOTH LAKES FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL
LINE-UP MAY 27th - 31st, 2015

NEW FESTIVAL UNVEILS LINEUP OF SIXTEEN INNOVATIVE FILMS AND SPECIAL EVENTS, SET AMIDST THE BEAUTIFUL NATURAL LANDSCAPE OF MAMMOTH LAKES

EVENTS INCLUDE OPENING NIGHT OF ALEX GIBNEY'S DOC STEVE JOBS: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE

Los Angeles, CA - April 30, 2015: The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, held in the scenic and majestic setting of Mammoth Lakes, California, has announced its line-up of screenings for the festival's inaugural year. The five-day festival will take place May 27-31, 2015, and will open with acclaimed Academy Award winning filmmaker Alex Gibney's new documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine.

The festival will present sixteen films in Narrative and Documentary Competition, as well as special events and screenings, and an industry panel discussion on women in the filmmaking world, with producer Allison Amon (The Queen of Versailles), actress Kristanna Loken actress (Terminator 3) and other guests.

Taking place five hours north of Los Angeles by car and thirty minutes south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park, the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival will deliver an intimate and unique experience for festivalgoers, filmmakers, and industry guests, with the opportunity to experience screenings and events in a beautiful mountain setting. The festival will present a diverse collection of feature films - from world premieres to film festival favorites, short film screenings and Q&As over five days. The festival will also include nightly gala events that celebrate the excitement and discovery of visionary filmmaking.

Festival passes are available now, and individual tickets are on sale now.

Ticket sales and additional festival information can be found at:
www.MammothLakesFilmFestival.com

Discounted lodging through the festival's lodging partner Sierra Nevada Resort & Spa can be purchased at http://thesierranevadaresort.com/


All screenings and special events will take place in a variety of venues in Mammoth Lakes, including Edison Theatre and the Forest Service Visitor's Center Theater.

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Founder Shira Dubrovner and veteran film festival programmer Paul Sbrizzi, Director of Programming, for the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, have selected an impressive debut program including nature-focused films and events, world premieres.

"Like Sundance and Telluride, our goal is to be a world-class destination film festival known for showcasing the best of cinema and providing audiences with an unparalleled opportunity to experience cinema amidst the inspiring natural beauty of Mammoth Lakes," said Dubrovner.

Narrative and Competition films will be eligible for multiple awards: RED DIGITAL CINEMA, the festival's title sponsor, will present the winning Documentary Feature with a $20,000 USD camera package. Sponsor Panavision will provide the winning Narrative Feature with a $10,000 USD camera grant for their next project, and each feature category jury award winner will receive $1,000 USD cash prize.

Jury Awards will be presented to narrative and documentary feature films as well as short films. An Audience Favorite Award will also be presented to feature films in both narrative and documentary categories. The Jury will be comprised of select film industry members, including Academy-Award nominated producer Andrew Lazar (American Sniper), and producer Allison Amon (The Queen of Versailles).

CURRENT FILM SLATE BELOW

OPENING NIGHT FILM

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (USA) - Director: Alex Gibney

Steve Jobs' image was ubiquitous, but who was the man on the stage? From Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney, 'Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine' is a critical examination of Jobs who was at once revered as an iconoclastic genius and a barbed-tongued tyrant. A candid look at his legacy, the film is evocative and nuanced.

NARRATIVE FEATURES PROGRAM

Asco (Brazil) - Director: Ale Paschoalini


Utilizing limited dialogue and unique camera work, this accessible film explores themes of love and revenge in a fantastical and surreal manner. Arty, it has an intense, surreal and comic emotional thrust that engages the viewer as together we experience the poisonous destruction of a broken heart.

Birds of Neptune (USA) - Director: Steven Richter

A sexy drama around two vulnerable sisters, living in their deceased parents' home in Portland (shot on location). A smooth-talking young man begins an affair with one of the sisters, only to then move in on the other sister. A teenage neighbor feels he has to step in to protect the two beautiful sisters from the interloper and themselves.

Diamond Tongues (Canada) - Director: Brian Robertson, Pavan Moondi

Edith Welland is an actress. Things haven't been going very well. When her ex-boyfriend becomes an actor on a whim and almost immediately books a leading role, Edith decides if she's going to get ahead, she'll need to get ruthless.

Fantasticherie di un Passeggiatore Solitario - Reveries of a Solitary Stroller (Italy) - Director: Paolo Gaudio

A combination live-action and animation tale of a 20ish pair of friends, who discover a mysterious manuscript in a library. Together the couple head out on a fantastical and magical adventure to discover its origin, and find they are more than friends in the process. The amazing visuals, in the vein of Terry Gilliam, dazzle the eye.

Female Pervert (USA) - Director: Jiyoung Lee


In this quirky, slightly perverted tragi-comic tale, one attractive young woman's perverse sexual fantasies interfere with her ability to have a real relationship. (Mature)

The Incredible Adventure of Jojo (and his annoying sister Avila) (USA) - Director: Brian Schmidt;

When young Jojo is thrown into the woods and forced save his little sister, he also learns to get along with her in this adventure tale filled with ravenous wolves, raging rivers, and a crafty old hobo. It's about life and love being a grand adventure, and how you can squeeze one more person into it, even if it's your annoying little baby sister.

Proud Citizen (USA)- Director: Thomas Southerland

After winning second place in a play writing contest, a Bulgarian woman travels to small town Kentucky for the premiere of her play. Expecting southern hospitality, she instead finds an America full of dichotomy in this funny, heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking meditation on the comfort (and discomfort) of strangers. (B/W)


They Look Like People (USA) - Director: Perry Blackshear
Suspecting that those around him are actually malevolent shape-shifters, a troubled young man questions whether to protect his only friend from an impending war, or from himself.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PROGRAM

20 Years of Madness (USA) - Director: Jeremy Royce

When the eccentric cast of a mid-90s Public Access show in Detroit reunite after 20 years to make a new episode, they are forced to take a hard look at their lives and reconcile their teenage dreams with the realities of adulthood.

Autism in Love (USA) -Director: Matt Fuller

The story of four adults with autism spectrum disorders as they search for and manage love and relationships. Their stories, heartbreaking and brave, take audiences on a journey that urges them to question and reevaluate their own ideals of what it means to love and be loved.

Cartel Land (USA) - Director: Matthew Heineman

With unprecedented access, This riveting, on-the-ground look at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy - the murderous Mexican drug cartels. CARTEL LAND is a chilling, visceral meditation on the breakdown of order and the blurry line between good and evil.


The Chinese Mayor (China) - Director: Hao Zhou

Granted remarkable access to the daily business of a high-ranking mainland Chinese official, Hao Zhou's "The Chinese Mayor" offers a fascinating verite portrait of the collision between progress, politics, corruption and citizens' rights in a rapidly changing People's Republic. This is the China that the authorities there don't want you to see.

The Cult of J. T. Leroy (USA) -Director: Marjorie Sturm

JT's life and death sprang open a Pandora's box of powerful questions about literature and culture, identity and celebrity, and the reality of the society we live in. A teen prostitute, addicted to heroin and infected with HIV, J.T. was encouraged by a therapist to write his life story--a bizarre tale that perplexes to this day.

Omo Child: The River and the Bush (USA) - Director: John Rowe

For generations people in the Omo Valley (southwest Ethiopia) believed some children are cursed and that these 'mingi' children must be killed. Lale Labuko, a young educated man decided one day he would stop this horrific practice. This beautiful film shot over a five year period follows Lale's journey to change an ancient practice.

Dying to Know (USA) - Director: Gay Dillingham

This intimate portrait celebrates two complex, controversial characters that shaped a generation. Two 1960's Harvard psychology professors began probing the edges of consciousness through experiments with psychedelics-Timothy Leary, the LSD guru and Richard Alpert. The film invites us into the future and the biggest mystery of all: death.

About Mammoth Lakes Film Festival

The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, held in the scenic and majestic setting of Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra of California, brings together world-class cinema, new filmmaking talent, industry veterans, and audiences from around the world to celebrate films amidst the inspiring natural beauty of Mammoth Lakes. Our intent is to unlock the creative mind of the public by providing unique movie-going experiences and also support emerging filmmakers with the opportunity to be inspired by our natural environment.

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is proud to partner with sponsors who support the arts and emerging artists.
2015 Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Sponsors include, RED DIGITAL CINEMA (title sponsor), Panavision, Town of Mammoth Lakes, Mono County, Paul and Kathleen Rudder, Sierra Nevada Resort & Spa (preferred lodging partner), Mineral Wines, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Blue Moon, and Black Tie Ski Rentals.


The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is a DBA under Mammoth Lakes Foundation-the nonprofit Dave McCoy founded in 1987 (also founded Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in 1953). Dave McCoy, known affectionaly as 'the original mountain man', turns 100 year old this August.

Additional Information about Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is available at www.MammothLakesFilmFestival.com


Connect with Mammoth Lakes Film Festival:

http://Twitter.com/ML_Film_Fest
http://facebook.com/MammothLakesFilmFestival

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