Friday, November 1
PREMIERE
ANGRY INUK
Commemorate American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month – a time to celebrate their rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories – with ANGRY INUK, an acclaimed documentary about the survival of the indigenous peoples of the Canadian Arctic from native Inuk filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril.
Seal meat is a staple food for Inuit, and many of the pelts are sold to offset the extraordinary cost of hunting. Inuit are spread across extensive lands and waters, and their tiny population is faced with a disproportionate responsibility for protecting the environment. They are pushing for a sustainable way to take part in the global economy, but in opposition stands an army of well-funded activists and well-meaning celebrities who consider any seal hunting barbaric. Arnaquq-Baril and her cameras travel through the Canadian Arctic in this Audience Award winner at Hot Docs, giving voice to the people the animal activists rarely bother to meet: the hunters, the craftspeople, the families for whom the seal hunt is a critical part of their livelihood and survival. She follows a group of students to Europe, where they plead the Inuit case before a European Union panel.
“Angry Inuk offers much to chew on.”
— Brent McKnight, Seattle Times
Friday, November 8
PREMIERE
REVOLUTION: NEW ART FOR A NEW WORLD
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Margy Kinmonth, REVOLUTION: NEW ART FOR A NEW WORLD is a bold and exciting feature documentary that encapsulates a momentous period in the history of Russia and the Russian Avant-Garde.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 was one of the most explosive political events of the twentieth century. Climaxing with the October Revolution, which took place on November 7th and 8th, this period of political and social upheaval marked the end of centuries of Imperial rule and paved the way for a new artistic revolution of its own.
Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators and performers and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, the film brings the artists of the Russian Avant-Garde to life. It tells the stories of artists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich – pioneers who flourished in response to the challenge of building a new art for a new world, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years and silenced by Stalin’s Socialist Realism. Yet these remarkable artworks survived and the Russian Avant-Garde continues to exert an influence over contemporary art movements. REVOLUTION: NEW ART FOR A NEW WORLD confirms this; exploring the fascination that these colorful paintings, inventive sculptures and propaganda posters retain over the modern consciousness 100 years on.
“««««. A visual feast of a documentary that describes how artists
from Chagall to Kandinsky to Malevich rose in tandem with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Revolution: New Art for a New World also unearths long-hidden or banned work by painters whose legacy disappeared
under Stalin.”
— Kate Muir, The Times of London
“[T]he commentary on the art itself is fascinating and the sad endings
of most artists’ stories leave you wondering what might have been.”
— Alan Evans, The Guardian
Friday, November 15
PREMIERE
CASSANDRO, THE EXOTICO!
Less a swan song than a meteor shower rendered in Technicolor, CASSANDRO THE EXOTICO! is a stirring feature portrait of a lucha libre legend in his waning years in the ring. The latest documentary portrait from director Marie Losier, whose 2011 The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jay followed the gender reassignment journey of musician and artist Genesis P-Orridge, puts the spotlight on another, very different gender-bending LGBTQ+ performer.
Famed as much for his flamboyant drag and sky-high pompadour as for his show-stopping kicks and flips, 47-year-old Saul Armendariz — known in the wrestling ring as Cassandro — is a champion “exotico” wrestler, a luchador who performs in drag with generous doses of camp vamping between back-breaking suplexes. His trailblazing ascent as one the industry’s first openly gay wrestlers has resonated internationally for a quarter century — the story of an underdog and a queer icon simultaneously fragile and mighty. Losier captures the moving, at times humorous, and always colorful dualities of this legendary figure with her talent for forging intimacy with a subject while celebrating his individuality broadly. CASSANDRO THE EXOTICO!, shot entirely on 16mm film, follows the “Liberace of the Lucha Libre” in his final years of competition, struggling with opponents and the cruel passage of time, while melding tender encounters and larger-than-life fight scenes into a stylish whole that reflects the vivid textures and hues of a dazzling life in sport.
“Fabulous and ferocious”
— Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
“Cassandro which recalls the grabbed verve of a ’60s-era verité snapshot, charts the reluctant dimming of this extravagant icon with affectionate energy and lasting poignance.”
— Robert Abele, The Los Angeles Times
Friday, November 22
PREMIERE
NINA
A thirtysomething couple trying to conceive enter into a complicated relationship with their surrogate in the riveting, intimate drama, NINA. The feature film debut of Polish director Olga Chajdas, NINA captured the Big Screen Award at the 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Golden Frog at Camerimage and a Golden Claw and Onet Award at the Polish Film Festival.
Struggling in her marriage and yearning for change, Nina (Julia Kijowska United States of Love) longs to have a child but is unable to conceive. Multiple failed attempts have left her disillusioned and at a breaking point, but an accidental encounter with Magda (Eliza Rycembel, The Innocents) renews her hope. Young and independent, Magda catches the eye of Nina’s husband, Wojtek (Andrzej Konopka, The Lure), as a possible solution to their pregnancy problem. While Wojtek fails in catching Magda’s eye, his attempts to engage her as a surrogate create an unanticipated result — Nina also becomes ensnared by thoughts of Magda. And as her thoughts shift from surrogacy to a more intimate curiosity, Magda awakens a repressed desire in Nina, causing her life to suddenly and unexpectedly spiral out of control. When their situation comes to a head, each must decide who they will be in the future and what they will leave behind — and at what cost.
“An energetic celebration of lesbian sexuality.”
— Variety
“Consistently engaging…the performances are excellent.”
— NOW
— NOW
Friday, November 29
PREMIERES
THE SOWER | AS IF I AM NOT THERE | DEDE | MY GERMAN FRIEND | REMEMBRANCE
On this #FemaleFilmmakerFriday, Film Movement Plus proudly premieres four poignant historical dramas directed by women. From the 19th century French countryside to the Bosnian War of the 1990s, and from an isolated Georgian mountain community to a Polish concentration camp, these critically-acclaimed, stunningly shot films from around the world are female-driven, both in front of and behind the camera.
THE SOWER
In the vein of Beguiled and The Guardians, Marine Francen’s award-winning debut feature, THE SOWER is a sensual, visually stunning romance set in the 19th century French countryside, part of a new wave of female-focused historical drama.
The year is 1851, and France’s autocratic President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte has ordered the arrest of all the men of a remote mountain farming village following a Republican uprising. The women spend years in total isolation, forced to tend the crops themselves. Some women have lost their husbands; others, like the shy but inwardly strong Violette, suddenly have no chance of experiencing physical love or motherhood. The women take an oath: if a man comes, they will share him as a lover. When a mysterious and handsome stranger arrives, he ignites passions and jealousies that threaten to destroy the tight-knit community.
Neil Young at The Hollywood Reporter called THE SOWER “The Beguiled meets Black Narcissus,” while Kerry Lengel at The Arizona Republic writes that the film is “relentlessly gorgeous, re-creating an idyllic fantasy of peasant life.” Winner of the prestigious New Director competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the lush drama was also an Official Selection at festivals including San Francisco and Athens International film Festivals, Rendezvous with French Cinema and others.
“[A] seductive first feature…. ravishingly shot”
— Lee Marshall, Screen International
“Intoxicating… an artful film that is sure to attract”
— Jen Johans, Film Intuition
AS IF I AM NOT THERE
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
A harsh dose of cinematic realism about a harsh time – the Bosnian War of the 1990s – director Juanita Wilson’s drama is taken from true stories revealed during the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague.
Samira is a modern schoolteacher in Sarajevo who takes a job in a small country village just as the war is beginning to ramp up. When Serbian soldiers overrun the village, shoot the men and keep the women as laborers (the older ones) and sex objects (the younger ones), Samira is subjected to the basest form of treatment imaginable, in this acclaimed film festival award-winner.
“Based on the book by Croatian scribe Slavenka Drakulic, and impressively lensed in gorgeous widescreen, this is a bona fide arthouse title that should turn Wilson into a name to watch.”
— Variety
DEDE
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
Based on true events that took place at the outset of the Georgian Civil War, DEDE, from director Mariam Khatchvani, takes place in the high mountainous community of Svaneti, where there live a people far removed from the modern world. A purely patriarchal society that revolves around forced marriages, pride and tradition dictate the code of daily life.
Dina is a young woman promised by her draconian grandfather to David, one of the soldiers returning from the war. Once a marriage arrangement is brokered by two families, failure to follow through on the commitment is unthinkable. Dina finds herself unable to love David, instead falling for his handsome friend Gegi who saved David’s life during the war. Humiliated after his fiancée reveals her true feelings, David attempts to kill Gegi but fails, and takes his own life rather than lose face. Dina is rattled, but relieved at the same time and marries Gegi. The pair flee the village and attempt to make a new life in a nearby community, but the ill sentiment harbored by David’s family is not any quicker to subside than the harsh environmental conditions endured by the people of Svaneti.
“Feminism meets fatalism in this starkly beautiful Georgian melodrama.”
— Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter
“An authentic, anthropologically fascinating if dramatically unsteady debut set in an isolated community in rural, mountainous Georgia.”
— Jessica Kiang, Variety
MY GERMAN FRIEND
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
After World War II, Argentina, in the mid-1950s, became a haven for Nazis and Jews alike. Friedrich, the son of German-Nazi refugees and Sulamit, the daughter of German-Jewish refugees, are childhood friends whose paths wind apart and back together again in director Jeanine Meerapfel’s poignant drama set against the backdrop of political turmoil.
As both grow up Friedrich and Sulamit grow up, they go to Germany and get involved in the political struggles of 1968. After returning to Argentina, Friedrich becomes involved in extremist political activities that drive a rift between the friends and lands him in prison. However, it’s Sulamit’s love that gives him the will to endure and he desperately hopes to one day see her again after years of separation and disagreements.
REMEMBRANCE
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
(a CORINTH FILMS release)
Inspired by actual events, REMEMBRANCE depicts a remarkable love story that blossomed amidst the terror of a German concentration camp in Poland in 1944.
In a daring escape Tomasz, a young Polish political prisoner, rescues his Jewish fiancée Hannah, whom he meets while imprisoned. With the Nazis in pursuit and determined to deter future escapees, Hannah and Tomasz survive the initial chase and overcome all odds to make their way into hiding. Chaos ensues after Tomasz decides to rejoin the Polish resistance and find his brother. He had promised to return for his fiancée, but Hannah is forced to flee once again before Tomasz is able to come back for her. After they’re torn apart and each becomes convinced that the other is lost, will the couple reunite against all odds?
“To those who swore they’d seen enough Holocaust-themed films to last a lifetime: Rescind your vow, just this once. The German drama, Remembrance, is that good. It’s better than good, in fact. It’s unforgettable.”
— Michael Fox, Jewish Weekly
About FILM MOVEMENT PLUS
FILM MOVEMENT PLUS (www.filmmovementplus.com) opens up a world of provocative, compelling and award-winning films from Film Movement’s singular library. Priced at $5.99 per month with a free 14-day trial, the SVOD subscription service, currently available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, mobile (iOS and Android), and Chromecast, offers consumers immediate access to over 300 festival favorite feature films and 100 short films, including: THEEB, the 2016 Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Film; AFTER THE STORM, a powerful family drama from 2018 Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda; HUMAN CAPITAL, a political thriller from Paolo Virzi (The Leisure Seeker) that was Italy’s Best Foreign Film submission for the 87th Academy Awards® and MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER, an unforgettable documentary about true love that transcends generations and cultures and is South Korea’s most successful film of all time. Classics from the Film Movement catalog include Bille August’s PELLE THE CONQUEROR, an Academy Award® winner for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996 and much more.
