CONTENTS Page 3 Editorial 4-7 The Seagull In the early 20th century, an ageing actress and her lover visit the estate of her elderly brother.
8-11 C’est La Vie
A hectic wedding party held in an 17th Century French palace comes together with the help of the behind-the scenes staff.
12-15 The Rider After suffering a near fatal head injury, as young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
16—20 Terry Gilliam Raindance Film Festival honours director Terry Gilliam with its auteur award at the Dorchester Hotel, London. MbM eavesdrops on his acceptance speech.
21-31 FilmFest Follower:Toronto The programme of one of the greatest film festivals in the world.
32 Poster (The Seagull)
PHOTO CREDITS: THUNDERBIRD RELEASING: 1,4,6,7,30,32 CINEFILE: 8,10,11 ALTITUDE FILM ENTERTAIMENT:12,14,15 OCEAN FILMS:16,18,19 STUDIO CANAL:30
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We would like to thank the following for their help in providing help and links for images for this magazine: Anjali Mandali of Thunderbird Releasing. Flora Garon: of Cinefile. Jon Rushton of Altitude Film Entertainment. Elliot Grove of Raindance Film Festival.
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EDITORIAL Hello film lovers, thank you for joining us again. We are at the 65th issue and it is a joy to share it with you. This month we had the pleasure of attending a special event at the Dorchester Hotel where Elliot Grove, founder of The Raindance Film Festival which promotes independent film, presented the Raindance Auteur Award to Terry Gilliam, one of the great filmmakers and we eavesdrop on his acceptance speech. It was hoped that Terry’s latest film, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” would premiere at Raindance, but instead it is most likely to be screened at this year’s London Film Festival in October.
Within these passionate pages for films are reviews of “The Seagull”, our cover feature, “C’est La Vie” and “The Rider.” Filmfest Follower looks at the exciting programme awaiting cineastes at the Toronto Film Festival. NB: It has been confirmed that London Film Festival will screen “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”.
Enjoy the read.
Brian Mills
Magazine Editor
Paul Ridler
Magazine Designer
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THE SEAGULL Directed by Michael Mayer Starring: Elizabeth Moss, Saiorse Ronan, Corey Stoll, Annette Bening It’s not often that I have the occasion to meet young interesting women. - Boris Trigorin What’s it like to be famous? -
Nina.
An ageing actress named Irinina Arkadina pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin and her son Konstantin on a country estate. On one occasion, she brings Trigorin, a successful novelist, and Nina, a free and innocent girl on a neighbouring estate, falls in love with Boris Trigorin. As Trigorin lightly consumes and rejects Nina, as the actress all her life has consumed and rejected her son, who loves Nina. The victims are destroyed while the sophisticates continue on their way. Adapting plays to the big screen is a challenging business for it is tempting to concentrate on the dialogue of the play and when it is from the pen of Anton Chekov then it is even more of a challenge. How does it fair? Director Michael Mayer and his fine cast of actors are excellent, headed by Annette Bening who relishes every line she delivers as Irina Arkadina, but first and foremost what resonates after in the cinematic cells of this viewer is the use of the cinematography of Matthew Lloyd and the crisp cuts of editor Annette Davey. While director Michael Mayer must have been tempted to say to his cast before shooting Are you ready for your close-up? Because there are lots of them, all beautifully lit; a visual feast for the eyes. It is rarity for a film to make it this way, but a beautiful alternative to being ‘stagey’, a trap that so many screen adaptations of plays fall into.
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Ah, but here we have “The Seagull” which still manages to savour the dialogue with an added crisp humour: like these: Why do you always wear black? – Mikhail. I’m in morning for my life. – Masha. And… I’m the reason for your misery for these last twenty years. Irina. - I’ve only been miserable for the past ten. -
Sorin. I’m just a woman like any other. Irina.
- This is your chance to be a woman unlike any other. -
Boris.
- I’m going to tear this love out of my heart. -
Masha.
- How are you going to do that? -
Boris.
- I’ll get married. -
Masha.
Such lines like these actor’s relish. Add this to the beautiful faces that convey what is in their hearts and you have an emotional and entertaining film. There are many crosscurrents in the narrative which may be confusing in that who loves who and who is left heartbroken. Konstantin is anxious about staging his new play. It will star the young and beautiful neighbour Nina, whom he has fallen in love with. But his audience contains his mother, famous classical actress Irina Arkadina and her young lover, famous writer Boris Trigorin, but her disparaging remarks and his love for Nina result in tragedy. Checkov wrote a play that was about artistic creation, unrequited love and the sophistication of the city versus the contemplative nature of the country. Irina worships the tried and true, while her son looks to break down barriers towards new formats and how much feted lover feels compelled to keep producing work which never satisfies him. Konstantin loves Nina who falls in love with Boris who loves whichever of the two women are in front of him. The daughter of estate manager Shamrayev, Masha, obsesses over Konstantin, while spurning schoolteacher Mikhail whose love is unwavering. Shrayev’s wife Polina pines for Doctor Dorn who still carries a torch for Irina. Sorin rues his single status as his health declines. Irina quickly becomes bored in the country yet ensures her son and brother cannot follow her back to Moscow. Smarayev frustrates all with his management of their horses. Save for the beautiful looking images and the top notch acting, one could easily empathise with the seagull who was confused by it all and flew in the path of a bullet. Hey-ho.
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Nina (Saiorse Ronan) in The Seagull
Nina (Saiorse Ronan) and Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll) in The Seagull 6
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Irina (Annette Bening) and Doctor Dorn (Jon Tenney) in The Seagull
Nina ( Saiorse Ronan) and Sorin ( Brian Dennehy) in The Seagull
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C’EST LA VIE Directed by Oliver Nakache, Eric Toledano. Starring: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Pierre Rouve, Gilles Lelouche Remember, once for all. This chateau is 17th century. So, we’re limited in terms of electricity. The builders didn’t plan for spotlights and sound systems. - Max Going in to see this film with great expectations as it is directed by the enormously creative pair of filmmakers who gave us the unforgettable “Untouchable” which was nominated for a total of nine Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars including Best picture, and Best Actor for Omar Sy. It also won the Grand Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. It was quite easy to replay the wonderful “Untouchable” on the screen of my mind prior to seeing “C’est La Vie”, but alas, Nakache & Toledano’s latest film is not in the same league as “Untouchable” but then how do you follow a masterpiece? Here is what we have as a narrative: In a sumptuous 17th century castle set within a beautiful park and the music is to be supplied by a supposedly excellent DJ., the operative word being ‘supposedly’ which is the core of the film. Pierre is marrying Helena and he wants his wedding party to be the very best and to obtain this, he has acquired the services of Max Angely, a seasoned caterer and his team, but of course the team is anything but the best. Pierre is a rich arrogant bridegroom demanding that everything must go to plan, but of course you know already that it won’t and this is where the comedy will play out. The DJ has been replaced by a second-rate entertainer, Adele, Max’s close collaborator and lover, is on the verge of breaking up with him. Julien is a depressive ex-teacher turned waiter, and an additional waiter proves to be useless, while Guy, the wedding photographer is a free-loader who has loss his focus on life. Thankfully, Jean-Pierre Bacri as Max gives an award-winning performance, enough to save it from the cinema cemetery. His character remains positive while everything else seems to be falling apart around him. He has been organising weddings for decades, but he sees this as his last as he wants to move on to something else. However, he is determined that he will meet the requirements of Pierre and his 8
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constant motto is “Always adapt” and believes is the solution to all situations no matter how bad they are…and these are bad, for all that can possibly go wrong – goes wrong. This too is what seems to happen to the narrative of this film. It is an ensemble piece with fine acting but the comedy throughout appear as sketches which makes the whole comedic attempts patchy and tepid. When we see Max at the beginning, he appears to have everything under control and conducts his chefs, serving staff, musicians etc with impeccable timing until that is things start to go wrong. However, we will get a great insight from co-director Eric Toledano, if we eavesdrop on his thoughts at the recent Toronto Film Festival where “C’est La Vie” had its world premiere. We created this film to bring laughter to the audience.
It is a story about a teamer. A teamer works together at a wedding party. So, we want to show the relationship between all these characters and around Max the main character who supports all this team and sometimes it’s difficult for him, but he is doing his best. It’s one night, one crazy night, one crazy wedding. I hope this movie is very funny. The parallel between the team of the movie and the sets is the same, we have to move on, we have lots of problems to solve. It’s the same between the world of the cinema and the world of a team that works together.
When we wrote the screenplay, we printed some photos of actors and we put them on the wall and we were very lucky that we have each actor that we wanted at the beginning; very different actors from theatres, from Comedie Francaise, Gilles Lelouche, a very great French actor. Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Pierre Rouve and people from stand-up comedy and we mix it. It’s a big mix. I can relate to the character of James. I worked at a wedding. I was singer in a band for a wedding. So, it is a little bit personal. The tone of the film is that it is a feelgood movie. In France we are in a hard time. Billy Wilder wrote a comedy when he was depressed. We want to move on. We want to be optimistic and create movies – feelgood movies for the audience, I think it is a wonderful cure to go in to the theatre, 300 or 500 people and to laugh together. I think it is very good to laugh with people around you. Thank you, Eric. And if you see “C’est la Vie” from that viewpoint and not expecting it to be another masterpiece like “Untouchable” then you will enjoy the experience and one added enjoyment is the soundtrack – a joyous rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Boys Town Gang.
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Max Angely (Jean-Pierre Bacri) in C’est La Vie
Adele (Eye Haidara) and Max Angely (Jean-Pierre Bacri) in C’est La Vie 10
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James (Gilles Lelouche) and group in C’est La Vie
James (Gilles Lelouche) in C’est La Vie
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THE RIDER Directed by Chloe Zhao Starring: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lily Jandreau Where you going with that - Tim I’m going riding - Brady You don’t need to go riding today - Tim I’m here and I’m riding - Brady Go kill yourself then - Tim After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America. A powerful movie about a cowboy holding on to his dream of riding again and stubbornly refuses to listen to those who try, with the best intentions, to dampen his spirit. What makes the film unique is casting real rodeo riders which gives the film its authenticity. However, for a story that shows how a man can train while horses and his love for the animals, rodeos are not horse-friendly which is why they endeavour to unseat their riders, which is where Brady’s problem begins. Not an easy watch for animal lovers.
The Rider, a masculine recreation, is directed by a woman, Chloe Zhao. So, what were Chloe’s reasons for wanting to make this film and her decision to cast real cowboys. I met a lot of Indian cowboys when I was shooting my first film “Songs My Brother Taught Me”. Some of them look like white kids, but they’re real members of the Sioux. They’re born, raised, and live on a reservation. Some would be offended if you called them white. That’s not the focus of the film, but I wanted to make a film about one of them. I met Brady, and it’s just incredible how he really honours a way of life that is rapidly disappearing in Middle America, this identity people have that they try to hold on to. I wanted to tell a story with Brady as the main actor, about his life, but I just couldn’t find the story until he got badly hurt last April and then went back to riding – talk about risking one’s life to keep one’s identity. So I talked to him about it. A lot of this stuff is 12
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what he actually went through, and everyone in this film – the father, the sister, Lane, all those boys, you know, all his real friends and family – they’re all real. The conflict between the father and son is 50% real? The two are constantly arguing about how they should train horses, and about life in general. And Tim, the father, in real life is difficult, old-school, a wild cowboy father. He’s more of a father than most of the dads I’ve met out there, but there’s still the expectation of tough love – that’s what these boys are raised by, and they want that more than their mother’s love. Tim would tell me this story of when Brady had in real life actually had some health issues where they had to rush him back to the hospital. And on the car ride back they had a conversation which is sort of in the film when Brady says he feels worthless and then Tim’s telling him. “You’re smarter than me. There’s so much more opportunity for you now.” When I talked to Brady about it, he told me: “Yeah, he’d say that, but he wouldn’t do that. He didn’t raise me that way.” I felt the scene really summarized the heart-breaking dynamic between father and son. And what about Lane, the rodeo rider who is now paralyzed and who communicates with one hand, and whom Brady visits in the hospital at several points? I knew about Lane for a long time, because all these boys looked up to him. Brady and Lane grew up together. They’re best friends. I knew of Lane even before Brady got hurt. Once Brady got hurt, we talked a lot more about Lane, and we talked to his parents about having him act in the film. Lane was excited about it, because he’s such a performer, and a lot of the lines, “Throw some dirt on it” were all his added moments. Someone was actually about to make a film about Lane right before he got hurt, because he’s such a small-town hero. It was probably one of the most humbling experiences of my life, because there’s just so much spirit in Lane. That kid is not beaten down in any way. And it so important to me to make this film because in the rodeo world, and in the cowboy cultures throughout our history, there are very few films that really go into how transient that life is, and how impossible it is to live up to it. At the end of the film, when we see slow-motion footage of an unidentified rider on a bucking horse, to me, Brady and Lane are the rider. Because that eight seconds, that sense of freedom they feel and look for, that is in their spirit despite how trapped they are. What Chloe Zhao has made is a gripping docu/drama.
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Brady (Brady Jandreau) and boy in The Rider
Lane (Lane Scott) and Brady Jandreau) in The Rider
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Brady (Brady Jandreau) in The Rider
Wayne Blackburn (Tim Jandreau) and Lily Blackburn (Lily Jandreau) in The Rider
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TERRY GILLIAM RAINDANCE AUTEUR AWARD 22 August 2018 Elliott Grove, founder of the Raindance Film Festival, presented the Raindance Auteur Award to Terry Gilliam at the Dorchester Hotel, London to a packed audience of filmmakers, film critics, actors and actresses and film buffs galore. Though scheduled to start at 6pm, proceedings didn’t commence until approximately an hour later, but like anything worth having or attending in this case, it was to be a memorable experience, for Terry Gilliam is a highly respected film director with an enviable filmography: Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Jabberwocky, Brazil, The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Tideland, and his latest The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Let us time-travel back to the event and eavesdrop on Terry Gilliam’s acceptance speech. I thought this was going to be an evening of many awards to many deserving people but not so. You won’t have to sit through a lot of boring speeches from a lot of people – just one. So, what can I say. The irony of all of this, first of all. I want to thank Raindance. Elliott Grove interrupted: By the way, Terry. British Independent Film Awards and Raindance There were three people, who when they saw me and say, well done. They were Ken Loach, Mike
When I started the all those years ago. in the street would stop Leigh, and you.
We were all obviously desperate for backing. The irony of this whole evening. I have been honoured with this award for something I don’t believe in, in any way. The irony of an auteur really irritates me, frankly, by these little French critics years ago along with Jerry Lewis movies and Jerry Lewis was the first one to be deemed to be an auteur because he wrote, directed, acted and probably 16
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did everything, probably did the sets, the food, everything and he was claimed to be an auteur who could take total credit for everything in his work and that is utter bullshit frankly. I really do get irritated by it because it certainly has not been my life to be an auteur in that sense. Everything that I have done has been collaborative as Jonathan will know. You’ll realise that all the best ideas in “Brazil” are not mine. For me, the joy of filmmaking is working with a lot of more talented people. OK, I’ve got an idea that we start with, but immediately I’m working with somebody else, Tony Grisoni, so it’s already a double-act and then each person we bring in, designer blah blah blah, cameraman, Nicola Pecorini, it changes, and each person brings their own ideas on what the film should be, and that’s what’s interesting because having worked on the film for a long time and writing it, it’s very boring if everyone bends to my ideas, my will and does everything that I’ve been thinking about. It is tedious beyond belief and luckily, I involve myself with people who don’t do that, who really contribute to the film. They become as much the filmmakers as I am because filmmaking is such a weird beast and from the starting point is one thing, but once you start working, ideas flow-in from all sorts of people. For me, that’s the exciting part, because in many cases I’m bored with my own ideas, new ideas are coming in, it’s changing the film. It changes the idea of the film. Sometimes it shifts the whole story of a film and that’s the excitement of the whole thing so, for me I’m kind of in the middle of the filmmaking part. I enjoy it most because my ego doesn’t exist anymore. I’m just one of the hands writing this piece. In the end, it’s done and the main point I suppose is that I’m the guy who gets to make a lot of choices of what goes in and what doesn’t. The ideas are flowing all that time. The film is no longer mine at that point. A film is made by a specific group of people at a specific point in time. But the main thing is this: I’m the guy who gets to choose. So, I’m not an auteur. I’m a fillteur. And now that I’m old, one day I’ll be sitting there with all my grandchildren and they’ll all look at me with their sweet little eyes and they’ll ask me – how did you make your film? I will hold this up (Raindance Award) and say All by myself.
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Joana Ribeiro, Adam Driver and Terry Gilliam on the set of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Adam Driver on the set of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote 18
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Don Quixote (Jonathan Pryce) and Toby (Adam Driver) in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
Don Quixote (Jonathan Pryce) in The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
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FILMFEST FOLLOWER TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 10th to 21st October 2018
Opening Film OUTLAW KING Directed by David MacKenzie Starring: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugel A true David v Goliath story on how the Great 14th century Scottish ‘Outlaw King’ Robert the Bruce used cunning and bravery to defeat the much larger and better equipped occupying English army.
Closing Film JEREMIAH TERMINATOR LE ROY Directed by Justin Kelly Starring: Kristen Stewart, Diane Kruger, Laura Dern A young woman named Savannah Knoop spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author JT LeRoy, the made-up literary persona of her sister-in-law.
Gala Presentations A STAR IS BORN Directed by Bradley Cooper Starring: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott. A musician helps a young singer actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
BEAUTIFUL BOY Directed by Felix Van Groeningen Starring: Steve Carell, Tomothee Chalamet, Maura Tierney Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heart-breaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years. 20
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EVERYBODY KNOWS Directed by Asghar Farhadi Starring: Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darin Laura a Spanish woman living in Buenos Aires returns to her hometown outside Madrid with her two children to attend her sister’s wedding. However, the trip is upset by an unexpected event that brings secrets into the open.
FIRST MAN Directed by Damien Chazelle Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Json Clarke A look at the life of the astronaut Neil Armstrong and the legendary space mission that bled him to become the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
GALVESTON Directed by Melanie Laurent Starring: Elle Fanning, Ben Foster, Lili Reinhardt After escaping a set-up, a dying hitman returns to his hometown of Galveston where he plans his revenge.
GREEN BOOK Directed by Peter Farrelly Starring: Linda Cardellini, Viggo Mortenson, Mathiershala Ali A working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
HIGH LIFE Directed by Claire Denis Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Andre Benjamin A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.
LIFE ITSELF Directed by Dan Fogelman Starring: Oscar Isaac, Olivia Wilde, Annette Bening. As a young New York couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.
RED JOAN Directed by Trevor Nunn Starring: Sophie Cookson, Judi Dench, Tom Hughes. The story of Joan Stanley, who was exposed as the KGB’s longest-serving British spy.
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SHADOW Directed by Yimou Zhang Starring: Chao Deng, Li Sun,Ryan Zheng Set during China’s Three Kingdom’s era, the story of a great king and his people who will be expelled from their homeland and will aspire to reclaim it.
THE HATE U GIVE Directed by George Tillman Jr. Starring: Amanda Stenberg, K.J. Apa, Anthony Mackie Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil by the mand of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what’s right.
THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER Directed by Sara Colangelo Starring: Rosa Salazar, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gel Garcia Bergal A kindergarten teacher in New York becomes obsessed with one of her students who she believes is a child prodigy.
THE PUBLIC Directed by Emilio Estevez Starring: Taylor Schilling, Alec Baldwin, Jena Malone In “The Public” an unusually bitter arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library. This story revolves around the library’s patrons, many of whom are homeless.
WHAT THEY HAD Directed by Elizabeth Chomko Starring: Michael Shannon, Taissa Farmiga, Hilary Swank Bridget returns home as her brother’s trying to deal with her ailing mother and her father’s reluctance to let of their life together.
WIDOWS Directed by Steve McQueen Starring: Viola Davis, Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Debicki Set in contemporary Chicago, amidst a time of turmoil. Four women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husband’s criminal activities, take fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
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TIFF DOCS AMERICAN DHARMA Directed by Errol Morris A portrait of controversial Breitbart advisor honcho and Donald J. Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon.
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT Directed by James Longley A dozen years after his Oscar-nominated “Iraq in Fragments”, American documentarian James Longley delivers a sweeping, profoundly compassionate group portrait of Afghan students and teachers still weathering natural turbulence.
CARMINE STREET GUITARS Directed by Ron Mann Starring: Jim Jarmusch, Charlie Sexton, Eszter Balint. Five days in the life of fabled Greenwich Village Guitar Store, “Carmine Street Guitars”.
THE ELEPHANT QUEEN Directed by Victoria Stone, Mark Deeble. A majestic female elephant leads her herd in search of a new place to call home, in this empowering and breath-taking documentary from veteran wild life filmmakers.
FAHRENHEIT 11/19 Directed by Michael Moore Michael More’s comedic look at the times in which we live. It explores the most important questions of the Trump era: how did we get here, and how do we get out?
FREE SOLO Directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin Follow Alex Hannold as he becomes the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000 ft high El Capitan Wall with no ropes or safety gear. He completed the greatest feat in rock history.
FREEDOM FIELDS Directed by Naziha Arebi No Plot Given
GHOST FLEET Directed by Shannon Service, Jeffrey Waldron No Plot Given
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GRAVES WITHOUT A NAME Directed by Rithy Panth No Plot Given
HEARTBOUND Directed by Janus Metz, Sine Plambech In this small northern region of Jutland, Denmark, over 900 Thai women are married to Danish men, a trend that started 25 years ago.
MARIA BY CALLAS Directed by Tom Volf Starring: Fanny Ardant, Maria Callas, Aristole Onassis An intimate look at the life and work of Greek American opera singer Maria Callas, as told in her own words.
MEETING GORBACHEV Directed by Werner Herzog No Plot Given
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING Directed by Tom Donahue An investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the industry.
MONROVIA, INDIANA Directed by Frederick Wiseman No Plot Given
PROSECUTING EVIL Directed by Barry Avrich A fascinating portrait of Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg trial prosecutor, who continues to wage his lifelong crusade fighting for law and peace.
QUINCY Directed by Rashida Jones, Alan Hicks An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones, a unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years. Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries. His story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America.
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SEARCHING FOR INGMAR BERGMAN Directed by Margarethe von Trotta Starring: Liv Ullmann, Olivier Assayas, Mia Hanson-Love A closer look at Bergman’s life and work and explores his film legacy, both in front and behind the camera as well as a new generation of filmmakers.
WOMEN MAKE FILM: A NEW ROAD MOVIE THROUGH CINEMA Directed by Mark Cousins
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS BEN IS BACK Directed Peter Hedges Starring: Kathryn Newton, Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges Follows the charming yet troubled Ben Burns who returns home to his unsuspecting family one fateful Christmas Eve. Ben’s wary mother welcomes her beloved son’s return.
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? Directed by Marielle Heller Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Julie Ann Emery, Alice Kaebelberg When Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception. An adaption of her memoir.
CAPERNAUM Directed by Nadine Labaki Starring: Kawthar Al Haddad, Bolunatife, Treasure Bankole A politically-charged fable featuring mostly non-professional actors, about a who launches a lawsuit against his parents.
COLD WAR Directed by Pawel Pawlikoski Starring: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc A passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments.
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COLETTE Directed by Wash Westmoreland Starring: Keira Knightley, Eleanor Tomlinson, Dominic West Colette is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.
DOGMAN Directed by Matteo Garrone Starring: Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce, Nunzia Schiano Marcello, a small gentle dog groomer, finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship of subjugation with Simone, a former violent boxer.
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Directed by Barry Jenkins Starring: Kiki Layne, Stephen James, Regina King A woman in Harlem desperately scrambles to prove her fiancé is innocent of a crime while carrying his child.
THE FRONT RUNNER Directed by Jason Reitman Starring: Vera Farmiga, Molly Ephraim, Hugh Jackman
American Senator Gary Hart’s presidential campaign in 1988 is derailed when he’s caught in a scandalous love affair.
GIANT LITTLE ONES Directed by Keith Behrman Starring: Maria Bello, Kyle MacLachlan, Taylor Hickson
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident.
GIRLS OF THE SUN Directed by Eva Husson Starring: Golshifteh Farahani, Emmanuele Bercot, Erol Afsin
A Kurdish female battalion prepares to take back their town from extremists.
HOTEL MUMBAI Directed by Anthony Maras Starring: Arnie Hammer, Jason Isaacs, Nazanin Boniadi
The astonishing true story of the victims and survivors of the devastating attacks on Mumbai in 2008. A story which fearlessly tackles the defining global issues of our time.
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THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT Directed by Kin Nguyen Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgard, Selma Hayek A pair of high-frequency traders go up against their boss in an effort to make millions in a fibre-optic cable deal.
MAYA Directed by Mia Hansen-Love Starring: Susan Anbeh, Judith Chemla, Alex Descas A 30 year old man named Gabriel, a French war reporter who was taken hostage in Syria and then heads to India after months of captivity.
MANTO Directed by Nandita Das Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rasika Ducal, Tahir Raj Bhasin A biographical account of writer Saadat Hasan Manto’s life and cis set in 1940s India.
MONSTERS AND MEN Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green Starring: Chante Adams, Guiseppe Ardizzone, Nicole Beharie The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school phenom inspired to baseball, take a stand.
MOUTHPIECE Directed by Patricia Rozema Starring: Jake Epstein, Jess Salgueiro, Ari Cohen Cassandra, who is portrayed by two women, expresses the opposing voices that exist inside the modern woman’s head, during a 48-hour period as she tries to organize the affairs for her mother’s funeral.
NON-FICTION Directed by Olivier Assayas Starring: Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne Set in the Parisian publishing world, an editor and an author find themselves in over their heads, as they cope with a middle-age crisis, the changing industry and their wives.
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THE OLD MAN & THE GUN Directed by David Lowery Starring: Robert Redford, John David Washington, Sissy Spacek Based on the true story of Forrest Tucker and his audacious escape from San Quentin by the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.
PAPI CHULO Directed by John Butler Starring: Matt Bomer, Alejandro Patino, Elena Campbell-Martinez A lonely TV weatherman strikes up an unusual friendship with a middle-aged Latino migrant worker.
ROMA Directed by Alfonso Cuaron Starring: Yalitza Aparico, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey. A year in the life of a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
SHOPLIFTERS Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Lilly Franky, Kirin Kiki, Sakura Ando A family of small-time crooks take in a child they find on the street.
THE SISTERS BROTHERS Directed by Jacques Audiard Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix, Riz Ahmed In 1850s Oregon, a gold prospector is chased by the infamous duo of assassins of the Sisters Brothers.
SUNSET Directed by Laszlo Nemes Starring: Susanne Wuest, Vlad Ivanov, Juli Jakab A young girl grows up to become a string and fearless woman in Budapest before World War One.
THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE Directed by Don McKellar Starring: Tanaya Beatiy, Graham Greene, Tantoo Cardinal In a story told from two different perspectives. Will Bird recounts the events which led to him being in a coma, while his niece Annie, recounts her attempt to help to revive him from his coma. 28
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THE WEDDING GUEST Directed by Michael Winterbottom Starring: Dev Patel, Radhika Apte, Jim Sarbh A story centres on a mysterious British Muslim man on his journey across Pakistan and India.
WEEKEND Directed by Stella Meghie Starring: Y’lan Noel, Tone Bell, Kym Whitley A comedian goes away for the weekend with an ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.
WHERE HANDS TOUCH Directed by Amma Asante Starring: Abbie Cornish, Amanda Stenberg, Christopher Eccleston A rites of passage story of a bi-racial teen struggling for survival in Nazi Germany.
WHITE BOY RICK Directed by Yann Demange Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Eddie Marson The story of teenager Richard Wershe JR., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 80s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
WILDLIFE Directed by Paul Dano Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould A boy witnesses his parents’ marriage falling apart after his mother finds another man.
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The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
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The Ballad Buster Scraggs
Beautiful Boy www.moviesbymills.com
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