Womanimation! Returns to Providence

On Saturday, June 25, Merging Arts will present the 8th annual Womanimation Film Festival in Providence, and if you’re not quite sure what it is, their slogan says it all, “It’s women…It’s animation…It’s Womanimation!” The Womanimation Film Festival will take place at AS220 and will feature 11 short films from around the world. The films will showcase a wide range of animation styles from stop motion to painting on glass, and the films will represent an even wider global cross section as the festival features shorts from Belgium, Israel, the Czech Republic and more.

With selections just being locked in and schedules announced, I was able to ask co-founder and co- programmer Toni Pennacchia a few questions about this year’s festival.

Josh Gravel: Can you give me a brief introduction and overview of the festival?

Toni Pennacchia: The purpose of the festival is to highlight women’s contributions to the animated short film art form. Back in 2008, we started highlighting women’s films (both live-action and animation) as part of SWAN Day (Support Women Artists Now). Eventually, we sort of did our own thing and decided to highlight animated films for a couple of reasons. One, as we did with SWAN Day, to highlight women’s contributions, which often get lost in the mix. But more broadly, to emphasize the importance of storytelling in animation. Often animation is thought of as either just for kids or generally wacky or experimental. Our mission is to demonstrate that there is some serious (yet entertaining) storytelling possible within the animated short film format.

JG: What types of films will you be screening this year?

TP: This year’s festival has a bit of a split personality. There are several very women-centric or feminist- oriented films, often a bit risqué. On the other hand, there are some very lyrical, family-friendly films. It really is a pretty diverse mix.​ As always, we have a mix of animation styles, from traditional 2-d to stop- motion to 2-d computer to paint on glass.

JG: Is there anything that sets this year apart from previous years?

TP: One unexpected thing is that we have a couple of previous participants with newer films that we are screening. This is not because of favoritism, since we also rejected several submissions from previous participants. Again, I think the “split personality” is a little different this year. One thing people sometimes think about the festival (incorrectly) is that it is an agenda festival. While we don’t shy away from those types of films (and this year have more than average), it really is again about the storytelling and the art form, not any particular message.

​JG: What would you like your audience to get out of your programming?

TP: We want to sort of hit that sweet spot between challenging and entertaining the audiences. It’s definitely nothing like the mainstream cineplex fare, though on the other hand, it’s not just “weird for the sake of weird.” I think people will find that it’s very substantive programming, but enjoyable at the same time, and not something you’d find anywhere else. We’re one of the few festivals in the world devoted to women’s voices in animation. ​JG: Was there anything that you specifically went after for this year’s festival?

TP: Not particularly, other than overall high quality that we look for every year. One of the fun things about programming is the sort of organic development of the program as you cull down the better submissions to find a program that makes sense. We want to balance a good overall flow and relationship between films, but on the other hand touch on a variety of themes and not spend too much time on any one motif. For example, we had several finalists dealing with nature themes, but ended up limiting that in our final selection.

The 8th annual Womanimation Festival takes place Saturday, June 25 at AS220, 115 Empire Street in Providence. All 11 shorts will screen together as one feature length presentation with showtimes at 4pm, 6pm and 8pm. For more info check out the Merging Arts website at mergingartsproductions.com.

The Return of Brute Force Brings a Community Together

“I admire anyone who can get something done on a shoestring,” says Rhode Island local filmmaker Brett Davey. “But I think sometimes people who do film or video get caught up on waiting until they have the best piece of equipment.” He’s talking about his latest and fifth feature film: The Return of Brute Force.

“If you’re doing any project like this you have to be really enthusiastic about it because the world isn’t sitting there waiting for your next movie; you have to have the drive to go out there and make it.” The film may seem on the surface to have a straightforward plot: A group of students from Scarpa Elementary School takes on bullies while their school gets the squeeze from a big corporation. However, this film is anything but conventional. From its conception to casting and every step in the nine-month filmmaking process, each aspect was a collaboration between the generations.

Timothy and Van Davey, Brett’s two sons aged 9 and 13, were involved with the film from the outset. Davey’s youngest son came to him with an idea for a movie that would eventually become The Return of Brute Force, a local, independent film starring his sons and their friends. “The quality is very good for such a small crew; some of the kids were 4 feet tall, but I think people will be surprised with the level of acting and quality of the film,” says Davey regarding his cast and crew.

Davey himself caught the filmmaking bug about 20 years ago, after being inspired by truly independent films of that time. Kevin Smith’s Clerks and Richard Linklater’s Slacker are two that he mentioned as being a catalyst because they were super low budget and the casts consisted of friends of the filmmakers. Davey compares these films to today’s “independent films” that are in stark contrast. “You’ll see an independent film starring Mark Wahlberg.”

Casting for Brute Force was relatively easy, except for one role. Davey had a hard time finding someone to play the bully; he ended up searching on a Facebook group for young actors and found Charlie Tacker. According to Davey he was incredibly professional and fit right in with the other kids; Charlie also has a pretty impressive IMDb page.

Another person involved with Brute Force who should be mentioned was Delia Maguire, a neighbor and current high school student. She was vital, filling the roles of the assistant director and script supervisor during filming.

“Sometimes in life there is less of an emphasis on the arts and on creativity in general; you see it less in schools now, too,” said Davey. The Return of Brute Force was a creative outlet for everyone involved. The kids weren’t only getting acting experience with this project, they were able to practice various production responsibilities, like holding boom mics and assisting with the lighting. They were encouraged to bring their own unique ideas to the set, including suggestions concerning dialogue, line delivery and costumes.

Not only does Brute Force have a locally sourced cast and crew, but an original score with contributions from four Rhode Island musicians who volunteered to work on the film. Davey has worked with Damian Puerini, Joe Principe, Glenn Robinson and Dylan Sevey in the past shooting music videos. They came forward with music written specifically for the film as well as some music they already had in their canons but never found a project that fit.

Brett Davey likes to make people laugh; four out of his five feature films have been comedies. He said that The Return of Brute Force obviously has overt anti-bullying and anti-corporation messages, but that it’s not a “message-movie” per se. The very existence of the film itself sends strong messages, a sense of the importance of community and collective creativity.

The Return of Brute Force will be premiering at 4pm on Saturday, June 11 at The Columbus Theatre located at 270 Broadway, PVD. Film Review: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping chronicles the career of Conner4Real, an international pop sensation. After finding success with his hip-hop group The Style Boyz and then branching out with a hit solo album, Conner has hit his first career lull as his second record doesn’t meet critical and sales expectations. With a troubled tour, failed corporate sponsorship and an entourage of “yes men,” Conner faces adversity for seemingly the first time.

With Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping The Lonely Island guys have created what will surely be considered one of the great satires of the music industry, possibly second to the legendary Spinal Tap. The characters and situations can alternate between likeable believability and the utterly ridiculous in a single scene while still keeping the audience engaged with the characters. The writing is also top notch as Popstar is jam packed with so many hilarious jokes and references that I bet I’d have to see the movie a second time to catch them all. Not to mention that since this is a movie about the music industry Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping also features a number of catchy and hilarious songs from its many fictional music acts.

I can’t really discuss much about the film’s plot or cameos because I don’t want to potentially ruin your enjoyment of the movie but I certainly recommend that people check this out. If you are looking for a good funny movie and have either a love or dislike of popstars then you will have fun with Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping opens wide in theaters on Friday, June 3.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016); Directors: Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone; Starring: Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone

Summer Blockbusters and Beyond

Blockbusters … by Joshua Gravel

The weather is getting warmer and the movies are getting louder and more exaggerated — summer blockbuster season is here yet again. This year promises cinematic excitement with a new crop of big summer releases — new additions to franchises, children’s animated epics, raunchy comedies and even a handful of horror titles to entertain us.

The blockbusters have already started coming with current hits like Civil War, Neighbors 2, Jungle Book and Batman V Superman. So you may have some catching up to do before the actual summer releases hit.

June starts off with an eclectic mix of projected hits starting with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows, the sequel to the 2014 reboot of the ’90s film franchise, and Andy Samberg’s music industry satire Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, which chronicles singer Conner4Real who is experiencing his career’s first downturn. The Conjuring 2 takes its story out of RI — Lorraine and Ed Warren investigate a haunting in London — while the highly anticipated Warcraft is an adaptation of the popular World Of Warcraft video game. Finding Dory, the animated sequel to the hit children’s film Finding Nemo (2003) is sure to please fans of the first film. June ends with Independence Day: Resurgence, the long-rumored sequel to Independence Day (1996). It finds Earth facing a threat from another alien force, but this time we have alien technology of our own.

July’s movies are big right from the start with Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, a story about a 10-year-old girl who befriends a Big Friendly Giant. July also sees a return to the screen for one of fiction’s most well-known characters in The Legend Of Tarzan in which Tarzan leaves his new life in London to protect his original home from a mining company. The third film in The Purge series, The Purge: Election Year may not necessarily meet blockbuster standards, but as it was mostly shot at various locations around RI so I’m expecting it to be on a lot of locals’ “must-see” list. This installment is about attempts made on the life of a presidential candidate who wants to end the lawless free-for-all that is purge night. The Secret Life Of Pets is an animated family feature exploring the animosity between owned and stray animals. Ghostbusters aims to reboot the franchise with a group of women while Star Trek Beyond sends the crew of the USS Enterprise on another adventure into deep space. Other franchise offerings are Jason Bourne, the fifth film in the Bourne franchise, which sees Matt Damon returning to the role of the titular assassin / agent, and Ice Age: Collision Course appears to send its animated characters on various travels and adventures, even to space. In August, summer wraps up with one of the most talked about comic book movies of the year — DC’s Suicide Squad, in which a government agency recruits super villains to work on their behalf in exchange for prison time. Kevin Spacey plays a businessman trapped in the family cat’s body in the family film Nine Lives, while Disney remakes Pete’s Dragon utilizing modern special effects in telling the story of an orphan named Pete and his friend Elliott. The animation and the humor get a little adult in the film Sausage Party about a sausage who discovers what really happens when food leaves the supermarket. But don’t worry, the children’s animation returns with Kubo And The Two Strings, the story of a boy who must find a magical suit of samurai armor to protect his village from monsters. Now we wrap up our summer blockbusters with an epic remake of Ben-Hur, starring Jack Huston in the title role as a man falsely accused of a crime and forced into slavery. He lives only to take vengeance upon his best friend and betrayer.

… and Beyond

Summer in Rhode Island offers a cornucopia of independent film viewing opportunities.

If you need to get your animation or superhero fix but want something other than typical blockbuster fare, Phantom Boy is scheduled to screen at Cable Car Cinema in early August. Written and directed by the Oscar-nominated writers and directors of A Cat in Paris, Phantom Boy takes their vision to a New York City backdrop, telling a supernatural neo-noir about a terminally ill 11-year-old boy who is an unconventional superhero. He can float phantom-like wherever he pleases, yet will it conflict with people he encounters and with his condition?

Speaking of animation, Womanimation!, the premiere showcase in the U.S. of international women’s animated short films, returns to AS220 on Saturday, June 25. Another locally produced event at AS220’s Black Box Theater is Arkham Film Society’s film series, dedicated to “spreading their love of cult horror and exploitation films,” on the second Tuesday of the month, with some pretty obscure selections curated.

Many acclaimed international directors are back with some great additions to our summer independent lineup. Hany Abu-Assad, a Palestinian film director known for Omar and Paradise Now, returns with Idol, a Palestine/UK/Qatar/Netherlands co-production designed as a film without cultural barriers. It is inspired by the true story of Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza, becoming the voice of the nation when he won the 2013 Arab Idol contest.

Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows, I Wish, and Like Father, Like Son) returns with Our Little Sister, a family drama of three sisters living in their grandmother’s home, and the arrival of a 13-year-old half-sister. French director Michel Gondry, known for crossover films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind returns to his roots with Microbe & Gasoline, about adolescent boys on a summertime road trip across France using a vehicle they built themselves.

On the documentary front, Gasland’s Josh Foxx’s latest, is a mouthful to say, called How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change. Josh will be at the Cable Car Cinema for a Q&A after one of the screenings on June 18. Josh continues to use his deeply personal style, discovering ways to battle climate change around the world and visiting with communities experiencing its aftermath.

Want both documentary and animation? Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams presents Life, Animated. It’s the story of Owen Suskind, son of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind. An autistic child who couldn’t speak for years, Owen finally finds a voice as his family role-plays animated characters to communicate with him in animated film dialogue.

Closet Monster is about a creative and driven teenager desperate to escape haunting memories of his traumatic childhood. Disorder, written by Alice Winocour (of Oscar-nominated Mustang fame), is a thriller with a great use of sound about an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD attempting to protect a wealthy Lebanese businessman’s wife and child. Then there’s A Man Called Ove, a Swedish crowdpleaser about a seemingly grumpy older man who gets a new lease on life after neighbors move in.

If you are up for the challenge of making your own film, try the 48 Hour Film Project July 15 – 17 in Providence. Finally, if you want to learn about behind-the-scenes filmmaking, a unique exhibit is running this summer in Sandwich, Massachusetts, at Heritage Museum & Gardens. It is called CUT! Costume and the Cinema, celebrating the role of costumes in film over the years, with 43 different costumes on exhibit.

Persistence Brings Success to Young Filmmaker

The Southeast New England Film, Music and Art Festival wrapped on April 23, 2016. It featured Artwork at the Warwick Museum of Art, Music at the Arctic Playhouse in West Warwick, and film screenings in East Greenwich, West Warwick and Providence, RI. For a full list of Jury and Audience Award winners please go to the website, www.senefest.com. While in attendance at the fest, I was particularly impressed with one young filmmaker, Chris Esper. Only a few years out of school, he had three films accepted into the SENE fest, has won numerous awards around the film fest circuit, and has produced an impressive body of work. He just founded his own production company, Stories in Motion, and has a book coming out, The Filmmaker’s Journey, in June. Nothing seems to hold him back, so I took some time out to interview Esper about his career. He graciously gave his time to answer these questions.

Mary DeBerry: What motivated you to pursue filmmaking as a career? Chris Esper: I have had a love for film since I was a child. My parents always let me rent a movie from the video store or took me to the theater, and I just always enjoyed it. When I was around age 10, I saw Ghostbusters for the first time and loved it for its comedy and science fiction elements. It was because of that influence that I attempted to write a sci-fi/comedy in that same vein about a boy and his robot, which I called Boy Bot. I went as far as to find the producer of Ghostbusters and sent him my 30-page script, thinking it could be made. About 6 months to a year later, I got my script back with “Return to Sender” stamped on it.

Surprisingly, none of this derailed me in any way. If anything, it just fueled my energy. Not only did I love movies, but I loved the arts altogether. During my teenage years, I tried my hand at acting, stand- up comedy, animation, photography, puppetry and much more. When I was 17, I got my first camera and started making YouTube short films. I did basically everything. It was a fun time of self-discovery.

When I was 18 I decided that film would be my career path. The way I see it, I could combine all the art forms I loved into one medium. Eventually, I attended New England Institute of Technology for video/film production and graduated in 2012, and have been professionally working in film and video ever since.

MD: You’re from New Jersey. What brought you to RI for school?

CE: I moved to Rhode Island in 2004 when I was 14 years old. Due to a change in my family at that time, my whole family packed up and moved to Lincoln. Currently, I live in Attleboro, Massachusetts. I chose New England Tech because it was a very hands-on education, which I loved. At first, I wanted to go to a film/art school more than anything else, but I realized that it wasn’t fully possible due to high tuition and other concerns. I think I made the right choice.

MD: What’s the up side, or benefits to the Rhode Island filmmaking community? What are the challenges?

CE: I think the up side to Rhode Island filmmaking is the close-knit community where everyone is willing to pitch in and help on any project, and also how personal and independent the stories are. They come from the heart. The down side can be trying to secure enough funding to capture the vision that we have in our heads. Because we’re small as a community, it’s hard to compete with the big leagues. It can also be challenging to deal with folks who are unrealistic in their approach. Instead of trying to hide your limitations, I believe you should embrace them, which can lead to creative ideas.

MD: You always seem to maintain a positive attitude. How do you overcome challenges, or do you only see opportunities?

CE: The way I see it, things happen all the time, and all you can do is face those challenges head on. Sure, I can be negative and even get aggravated by challenges I face, but everything happens for a reason. I see it as an opportunity to become a better filmmaker each time around.

MD: Which project are you most proud of so far and why?

CE: This is really hard because each project has a special place in my heart. If I had to choose one, I think I would say Still Life, purely from a story perspective. I say that film because it was personal and close to my heart. I always feel the need to make films that are close to me and dig into my soul. Still Life was that project for me, not just because I wrote it, but because it came from feelings I was going through at the time. The idea is very simplistic and perhaps has been done hundreds of times before, but it was my own story, which I think makes it stand out. It came from my days in college when I would present work to my classes and received feedback. At the time, I wasn’t very thick skinned about receiving criticism, so I took these feelings and expressed it in a screenplay and eventually on film. In the end, the film ended up playing at nine film festivals and received great critical acclaim around the world. Showing the film at a local theater was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had as a filmmaker.

MD: I’ve seen stop action, comedy, music videos and dramas you have done. Do you have a preferred genre? Do you plan to remain diverse or develop a particular focus?

CE: Yes, I do plan to remain diverse. I think that’s one of things I love about what I do is being able to do almost anything and not be tied down to one genre or style. Certainly, there are certain genres or styles I wish to explore more than others, such as drama and psychological thrillers/horrors. The main thing for me is that the film explores something deeper and perhaps shed some light on life, no matter the genre I choose to work in.

MD: Who are your film influences?

CE: There are a lot of directors I love. Martin Scorsese is my favorite director by far. I love his visual style, his human stories and how far he takes his character exploration. More importantly, his passion for cinema is contagious. It was after seeing Raging Bull for the first time that I knew that I wanted to be a director.

I also love Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick for their stories and visual styles. David Cronenberg for his symbolic imagery and recurring themes, Terrance Malick for his beautiful cinematography, Francois Truffaut for his personal storytelling, Darren Aronofsky for his deep characterizations, Charlie Chaplin for his visual comedy and Jim Henson and Walt Disney for their imagination.

MD: How do you secure funding for your projects?

CE: I’ve self-funded my films and also used crowdfunding such as IndieGoGo to raise funds. I’ve been lucky in being successful in both areas. Raising funds is the hardest part of filmmaking, I feel. The more money available, the more I could create the images I see in my head. Sometimes, I simply just need to work with what I have, which doesn’t always satisfy my mind’s eye, but satisfies my ability to think outside the box as needed.

MD: I believe you said you’d like to be known as a director. Is that with a DP on set?

CE: I much prefer to have a DP. I used to shoot my own films when I was college, but I quickly discovered that while I knew how to light and shoot pretty well, I found it difficult to direct and also DP my own film. I find myself being so focused on my framing and lighting that I forget about my actors and story, and vice versa. It always helps to have that extra pair of eyes behind the camera to be objective and tell me what works and what doesn’t. The same goes for editing. I feel as though I can’t be objective when I do it all. At the end of the day, I feel it’s more important as a director to have a shot list and storyboard in mind, and shots and lighting I want, but my main focus is on my actors and the direction of the story.

MD: You have a vlog for filmmakers. How do you plan it and choose what to talk about? CE: I started the vlog because I felt that there was a lot of information that filmmakers don’t know about. And they don’t know how handle the hardships of this career. There’s a ton of information about what kind of equipment to get and how to make movies, but there’s no information about the psychology of filmmaking, and how to handle rejection. Also, there is not much information available on where to submit to your work. I choose my topics based on subjects that I’ve always wanted to know to about, or wished someone had told me about when I was first starting out. I try to film about three to five episodes in one day to have episodes backed up and ready for each week.

MD: I hear you have a book coming out. When does it come to market and where?

CE: The book is based on my vlog, also called The Filmmaker’s Journey. The book is about the same topics I talk about in the vlog, but in a longer form. Also, there’s a lot of things I don’t always get to say in 5 minutes or less. It will be on Amazon both in digital on Kindle and on paperback on June 24.

MD: You had three pieces in the Southeast New England Film, Music and Art Fest recently; two music videos and a comedy. Which best represents your work? Please tell me about your awards.

CE: I think of the three projects that were selected this year, Please Punish Me best represents my work because it’s also a personal film about doing what you love without settling for less.

As for awards I’ve won, I’ve been lucky to have won awards both locally and also around the country. My short film, Still Life, won the award for Best Film Editing (Jill Poisson) at the Motif Magazine Theater and Film Awards, Steak Knives won an award for Best Opening Scene at the Stories by the River Film Festival and Best Comedy Short at the Culver City Film Festival, Always a Reason won an award for Excellence in Storytelling at the Stories by the River Film Festival, two of my music videos, I Hear the Future and Come Back won awards at TEXAS Ultimate Shorts Film Festival, my music video Hold Tight won the honorable mention award for Best Music Video at SENE Film, Arts and Music Festival in 2015. Finally, I was honored to have won the award for Outstanding Guest Director for Angelwood Pictures series, In the Bedroom for the episode Out the Window.

MD: You’ve gotten good press early on. I’m sure others may wonder how that’s done.

CE: It’s rather easy to get press for your work these days. With the advent of technology and the internet there’s a lot of resources. There are many websites and blogs that review independent films and short films. It’s great to get a review because then readers outside of your area will find out about your work, and it’s also a great way to see how others look at your work in an honest way.

MD: Any words of wisdom to other aspiring filmmakers?

CE: The best advice I could give is to just keep making movies and never give up. It’s easy to crack under pressure and just stop altogether because of how difficult it can be. But everything eventually falls into place with persistence and determination.

Chris Esper’s work can be seen at storiesmotion.com

Film Review: Green Room

Arlington, Virginia, punk band the Ain’t Rights hit a bit of bad luck while on tour and accepted a spot on a last-minute show in Oregon. Unfortunately the venue is run by a group of white supremacists and when the band members accidentally witness something they shouldn’t have they become a liability. From this point on the band members and a local have to find a way out of this situation with the odds mounting against them.

First off I must say that Green Room was my most anticipated film of this year and with my anticipation and its festival hype it indeed delivered on what it promised and did not disappoint in any way. Jeremy Saulnier has crafted an amazing and tense thriller with great characters on both sides of the fight. The story is told in such a way that you can instantly understand characters and their motivations without the characterizations coming off as stereotypes or stock. In addition the movie’s phenomenal cast are fantastic at every turn, from major roles to secondary characters, there wasn’t a weak link. The entirety of the band (Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, and Callum Turner) seem like people I have known while Patrick Stewart and Macon Blair play two very different but intimidating antagonists.

Green Room is also a wonderful film on a technical front with great cinematography by Sean Porter who also shot 2014’s Kumiko The Treasure Hunter and features a great score by Brooke and Will Blair who both also scored Saulnier’s Blue Ruin. The film also features some astounding special effects and action sequences that were executed by a great team of effects artists and stunt people and add the necessary impact to the movie’s tense standoffs.

I am going to go out on a limb here and state that Jeremy Saulnier is one of the most interesting independent directors working in the US currently and that Green Room will definitely figure into my favorite films of 2016. I’d even go as far to say that Saulnier may be the American independent film equivalent of Park Chan Wook in his prime, with Blue Ruin being comparable to Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance as a small contained revenge story that is just as emotionally devastating as it is viscerally impactful and Green Room being the comparable step up to Old Boy, which, while not having the same emotional impact, is a far more complicated and technically involved action thriller and a clear indicator of great work to come.

At this point it must be clear that I am recommending this movie, for those who like thrillers, horror, punk films and tense dramas I think you would be doing yourself a disservice by not experiencing Green Room theatrically. It isn’t every week that a great film by a stand-out filmmaker pushes its way into wide release, but this is your chance to see that “something different” in the multiplex. Green Room is currently screening at both the Providence Place and Warwick Mall Showcase Cinemas.

Green Room (2015); Director: Jeremy Saulnier; Starring: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart

Film Review: My Golden Days

Paul is an anthropologist working in Tajikistan and preparing to move back to France, which is his home country but he hasn’t been there in decades. During the move he reflects upon his upbringing and the major events of his childhood and young adult life. Paul recounts his issues with his mother and his first real love, and the incident that ended his relationship with his closest friend.

In the interest of full disclosure before I get into the opinion part of the review I would like to state that My Golden Days is in fact a sequel to the 1996 film My Sex Life… Or How I Got Into An Argument, which I have not seen. I believe that one can enjoy My Golden Days without seeing the first film.

Writer director Arnaud Desplechin does a wonderful job of crafting a compelling story, but also of arranging those story elements so that the viewer is easily aware of the time jumps and of what is happening in both timelines. Although My Golden Days’ big accomplishment is with the film’s actors, this film has an extraordinary cast that impresses at every turn. The most impressive are the two young leads Quentin Dolmaire, who plays adolescent Paul, and Lou Roy-Lecollinet who plays Paul’s first love Esther. Watching this film you would never think that neither of these two actors have been in a film before yet both of them clearly have impressive careers ahead of them.

If you are a fan of French cinema or just enjoy a good coming-of-age tale then I recommend that you head out to see My Golden Days even if you haven’t seen its predecessor. My Golden Days will be opening at The Avon Cinema on Friday, April 29.

My Golden Days (2015); AKA Trois Souvenirs De ma Jeunesse; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, Quentin Dolmaire

SENE Celebrates its 8th Season with Shows in Providence, Warwick and East Greenwich

Film festivals have a palpable air of exclusivity to them, don’t they? The Venice Film festivals, Cannes and the Sundance Festival are wrapped in the prestige of being the awards of human artistic pursuit celebrated by the people we’ve labeled tastemakers. But what do those laurels on film posters actually mean and how do they get there? And how do we mere mortals get involved? One way we can help emerging filmmakers (while enjoying ourselves immensely) is by supporting local film festivals. Rhode Island boasts a great number of festivals for our size, and film buffs wait eagerly to attend the Southeast New England Film, Music & Arts Festival (SENE) this month.

Embarking on its eighth year, SENE is dedicated to giving life to independent cinema, music and art. The festival starts on the evening of April 19, treating audiences to four days of film (more than 100 films) between six venues in Providence, East Greenwich and Warwick. Because of its inclusive mission, the majority of submissions received by SENE either focus on art as a topic or are pieces that are experimental and artsy in nature, which co-founders and Phil Capobres and Don Farias like to showcase along with entertaining films that appeal to more mainstream tastes. The line-up is sure to please with a variety of categories curated into 19 unique viewing opportunities, and at least four different social events. At least one filmmaker per viewing will be present for a Q&A, and chances are high of spotting future collaborations being born. “We’ve actually had filmmakers meet at our festival and go on to do projects together,” says Capobres with not-so-subtle glee. With 33 short films submitted from local filmmakers we hope that this is the case. Last year Motif reviewed Frank Hall Green’s Wildlike for SENE, a movie that later went onto theatrical distribution. Alec Asten, (The Curse of Micah Rood) recently let Capobres know that receiving the “best local film” award from SENE in 2008 inspired him to keep submitting his work to festivals. The SENE award was the first of many consequent movie laurels awarded to the film.

The two founders are life-long film lovers who wanted to create a festival that focuses on independent film, that occurs in the off season and that includes other artistic mediums and organizations. “Everyone who runs the festivals are film lovers, and music lovers and art lovers; all of us go out to those events so we thought we would put them all in one festival.”

This year the Warwick Art Museum is involved with SENE through an exhibit of mixed-media art titled “Creative Fusion,” which opens on April 21. Speaking to Capobres one gets the sense that SENE is run by some very friendly people who care about the arts in Rhode Island; the way it is put together, the involvement of musicians (“we have more musicians inquiring about playing than we have space to showcase them”), promoting movie makers and visual artists. This year marks the third year involving the Warwick Museum, the eighth year of working with the Columbus Theatre (where the majority of the films are shown) and the first year branching into East Greenwich.

The two men watch, rate and discuss every film that comes in (550 submissions this year, about 30% feature films 70% short films) on a volunteer basis. With neither of the founders filmmakers themselves, the results are films that are great from the audience’s perspective.

The opening party at the Arctic Play House on April 19 is a themed extravaganza with live music by Grant Maloy Smith, followed by a short documentary about the making of his album and culminating in the viewing of eight music videos. One of these is the official video for Kingsley Flood, a band that played at the main stage at Newport Folk Festival in 2013. The film is produced by John Dorn and made to accompany their song “To the Wolves.” The opening night is unique, with most other activities being a bit more diverse. “We will try to do counter programming, so we’ll have a documentary program opposite a short film program so people can go to either one,” Phil explains. This applies specifically to the two locations in East Greenwich, the Odeum and the Varnum Memorial Armory. They will simultaneously show short film and documentary shorts at 6:30pm, and comedy and sci-fi shorts at 8:30pm on April 22, respectively. One of the films in the sci-fi offerings, Zero, was produced with the help of Ridley Scott, a fact that might evoke dormant geeky longing.

Film die-hards can set aside the last day of the festival for a full day of viewings at the Columbus Theatre. Two screens will show an incredibly rich and diverse range of movies between Noon and 8:30pm, culminating in the award ceremony and closing party at 10pm.

SENE Festival; April 19-23, full schedule at senefest.com Oscars by RI

The 2016 Oscar ceremony thrown by the RI International Film Festival was filled with surprises, drama and excitement – and little of that came from the Oscars themselves. There were beautiful gowns and dashing tuxes, and awards were handed out to several well deserving local filmmakers, most notably Mauro Coangelo, a local composer now scoring films on an international stage; and producer Chad Verdi, known for a series of horror films (Self Storage, Army of the Damned) and more recent dramas, including the highly anticipated Vinnie Paz story, Bleed for This. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese (yes, the one you’ve heard of, Director of Goodfellas and a dozen more of the greatest movies ever) took a moment to congratulate Mr. Verdi on the award by teleconference.

The event is sorted a bit oddly – those whose tickets included a mean ate on the stage among the giant screens, while those with non-meal tickets sat far above in the balcony – and essentially spent a solid part of the evening watching the eaters eat. Beside this detail (almost everyone in attendance was among the dining population, and I fervently hope the non-diners snuck down to the stage for at least a little while to socialize, show off their stunning gowns, and sneak off with a drink or two), the evening was filled with graceful greetings, spry hosting by RI Film Office Chair Stephen Feinberg, and our own local version of those Oscar acceptance speeches.

But the bizarre highlight of the evening was when the award for local cult filmmaker Richard Marr- Griffin was announced. Known for schlocky, funny and often outrageous horror films (Nun of That, Atomic Brain Invasion, Disco Exorcist), Mr. Marr-Griffin’s speech was highly anticipated, and it would be no surprise if he transcended some of the usual boundaries of propriety at a formal event. However, at the moment he was invited to the podium, a fire alarm went off, with a resounding, commanding robot voice that ordered all present to leave the building immediately. Everyone ignored it, waiting for the punchline to what seemed like an elaborate gag. But after a few minutes, the robot was still yelling and there was no punchline. People went outside, still speculating about the nature of the alarm. But it turned out to be a genuine fire (George Marshall of RIIFF was told by the Vets staff that it was a small conflagration in a kitchen three floors above). The confusion was exacerbated by the fact that Mr. Marr-Griffin had needed to leave the event earlier in the evening.

Although it might sound like an interruption, the incident was mostly a fun way to get everyone out of their seats, socializing and postulating. It even happened between courses. So in the end, all was well.

Suggestions for future years? Let the non-diners come down and join the fun somehow – and find a way to integrate the actual Oscars into the evening – maybe a pool where participants can try to predict winners and score prizes, or something like that. And finally, keep giving Richard Marr-Griffin awards until something normal happens as a result. Or 2050, whichever comes first. Film Review: The Wave

The Norwegian disaster film The Wave depicts what could happen if a landslide induced tsunami were to hit the small town of Geiranger, an event that scientists claim is imminent and that has indeed happened to other small villages in the past. We are introduced to Kristian, his wife Idun and their two children. Kristian is a geologist working with a group monitoring the local seismic activity as well as the integrity of the mountain pass of Åkneset, which is becoming unstable. Unfortunately Kristian is the only one who picks up on potential warning signs and the townspeople are only warned when the actual landslide happens, giving them all approximately 10 minutes to get out of town to higher ground before the tsunami hits.

The Wave is an extremely impressive film with a solid story that is rooted in fact as these landslide disasters have happened in Norway and are predicted to happen again. A fabulous cast conveys The Wave’s story, all of which turn in strong performances while director Roar Uthaug crafts a great sense of suspense and unease, which is all backed with amazing special effects once the disaster gets underway. It seems obvious why Roar Uthaug has been tapped for the Tomb Raider reboot and Norway submitted The Wave as their official entry for foreign language film to the Academy Awards considering that The Wave can compete with most Hollywood disaster films and was produced for a fraction of their budget. The Wave will certainly entertain any fan of the disaster film subgenre and is truly an entertaining and tense experience.

The Wave opens Friday March 25 at the Cable Car Cinema; Director: Roar Uthaug; Starring: Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp, Jonas Hoff Oftebro