THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED (Premieres) directed by Jim Kohlberg The Music Never Stopped (Director: Jim Kohlberg; Screenwriters: Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on the story “The Last Hippie” by Oliver Sacks) — A father struggles to bond with his estranged son who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. He learns to embrace his son’s choices and to try to connect with him through the power of music. Cast: J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro. SALT LAKE CITY GALA FILM My Idiot Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Jesse Peretz; Screenwriters: Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall) — After serving time for selling pot, Ned successively moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity. Cast: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer. PERFECT SENSE / United Kingdom (Director: David Mackenzie; Screenwriter: Kim Fupz Aakeson) — A poetic and magnetic love story about two people who start to fall in love just as the world begins to fall apart. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson and Connie Nielsen. Red State / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) — A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Cast: Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo. Salvation Boulevard / U.S.A. (Director: George Ratliff; Screenwriters: Doug Max Stone and George Ratliff, based on the novel by Larry Beinhart) — An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei. THE SON OF NO ONE / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Dito Montiel) — Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets. Cast: Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche. CLOSING NIGHT FILM WIN WIN / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Tom McCarthy, based on the story by Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni) — When a disheartened attorney moonlighting as a high school wrestling coach stumbles across a star athlete, things seem to be looking up. That is, until the boy's mother shows up fresh from rehab and flat broke, threatening to derail everything. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor. Flypaper / U.S.A. (Director: Rob Minkoff; Screenwriters: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore) - When two gangs try to rob the same bank at the same time, a clever hostage in the middle must save the day. Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey Tambor, Tim Blake Nelson, Pruitt Taylor Vince. THE FUTURE / Germany, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Miranda July) - When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves. Cast: Hamish Linklater, Miranda July, David Warshofsky, Isabella Acres, Joe Putterlik.
Miranda July as Sophie and Hamish Linklater as Jason, in THE FUTURE, written and directed by Miranda July. Photo Courtesy of Roadside Attractions DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES With the expanding impact and popularity of documentaries in our world today, Documentary Premieres is a new section for 2011 that furthers the Institute’s commitment to this important form of storytelling by showcasing films on big subjects and new works by master filmmakers. Each is a world premiere. Becoming Chaz / U.S.A. (Directors: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato) — Born biologically female, Chastity Bono invites the viewer into a deeply personal journey as he transitions from female to male, embracing his true self, which is Chaz. Bobby Fischer Against the World / U.S.A. (Director: Liz Garbus) — The drama of late chess-master Bobby Fischer's career was undeniable,as he careened from troubled childhood, to World Champion and Cold War icon, to a fugitive on the run. Granito / U.S.A. (Director: Pamela Yates) — A documentary film intertwines with Guatemala’s turbulent history and emerges as an active player in a nation’s struggle to heal itself and serve up justice. THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Spurlock) — A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement. The Interrupters / U.S.A. (Director: Steve James) — From the award-winning director of Hoop Dreams comes a story of ex-gang members who are now protecting their communities from the violence they themselves once employed. Reagan / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Eugene Jarecki) — Reagan examines the enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world – icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan. Rebirth / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Whitaker) — Weaving together five stories of individuals whose lives were profoundly altered by the 9/11 attack with unprecedented time-lapse footage of Ground Zero composed over ten years, what emerges is a chronicle of grief’s evolution and a nation healing. These Amazing Shadows / U.S.A. (Directors: Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton) — The history and importance of the National Film Registry unfolds in a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself. Magic Trip / U.S.A. (Directors: Alison Ellwood and Alex Gibney) - In 1964 Ken Kesey, author of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' and his band of Merry Pranksters set out on a cross-country road trip to the New York World's Fair. Fueled by large doses of LSD, they filmed the entire journey. Forty-plus years later, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and co-director Alison Ellwood use that footage, audio recordings and photographs to create an immersion experience of the legendary trip.
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