So Many Films So Little Time…

Fellow film enthusiasts take note: The official start of the 2012 Milwaukee Film Festival is mere hours away. 

Fifteen days, 220 films (comprised of 91 features and 131 shorts), playing at three local theaters (the Oriental, the Downer and the Fox-Bay Cinema).

And that’s not even counting tonight’s sure-to-be memorable opening night soiree at Discovery World  following the festival’s 6:30 p.m. opening night screening of the French-Canadian sperm donor comedy sensation Starbuck (try saying that five time fast) at the Oriental Theatre on Milwaukee’s East Side. Nor does that count the various film panels and discussions, post-screening Q & A sessions, or the additional (smaller) parties and receptions that are scheduled to take place during the festival’s run.

What started out as a relatively modest undertaking by and for local film enthusiasts has grown exponentially in the four short years since the film festival (formerly known as the Milwaukee International Film Festival) was miraculously resurrected and rebooted.

As is the case with any film festival, it’s a challenge to program. But an even greater challenge is trying to navigate them as a moviegoer. To paraphrase an old, yet true saying, “So many films, so little time.”

For those of you still pondering which films screening at this year’s festival appear to be worth parting with your hard-earned money to see, we here at Moviegoers, would like to offer up some suggestions to ensure you will get the biggest bang for your festival-going buck.

Moviegoers’ Must-Sees at MFF 2012

Starbuck

The festival’s opening night film, a French-Canadian comedy about a modern-day 40-something slacker with an expectant girlfriend who is informed that he has fathered 533 children thanks to his frequent, and dare I say copious donations to a sperm bank some 20 years ago, has wowed audiences and critics alike around the world garnering all sorts of press and hardware. Starbuck, which is getting the Hollywood remake treatment with Vince Vaughn assuming the lead role, is the first foreign-language film to open the festival since its inception. It plays the Oriental tonight at 6:30pm. Advanced tickets are all sold out, but $10 rush tickets (which go on sale 15 minutes before any sold-out-in-advance festival screening) might be available. No additional screenings are planned during the remainder of the festival.

The Sessions

The festival’s closing-night film was a hit at Sundance earlier this year where it picked up both the Audience Award and the Jury Prize, stars Academy Award nominee John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) as a man confined to an iron lung, save for a few hours each day, after contracting polio as a child. At the age of 38, he reasons it’s high time he finally lose his virginity, and goes about making that happen. Oscar winner Helen Hunt (As Good as it Gets) bravely tackles the role of the sex surrogate who assists him, and Oscar nominee William H. Macy (Fargo) plays a priest whom Hawkes turns to for counsel. Not surprisingly, the wonderfully talented trio are said to give top-notch, award-worthy turns. The film screens once during the festival on Sunday, October 11 at 7 p.m at the Oriental Theatre. Advanced tickets ($10 for adults, $9 for seniors 60+ and students with valid ID, and $8 for Milwaukee Film Members) are available but are expected to sell-out shortly.

Since we’re on the topic of wonderfully talented actors, few working actors today make it look as consistently effortless as Oscar nominee and Emmy winner David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck; HBO’s “Temple Grandin“). The veteran character actor gets the all-too-rare opportunity to assume leading man status in writer-director Terry Green’s third feature, No God, No Master which was shot on a tight 26-day schedule in approximately 42 locations here in Milwaukee a couple of years back with the majority of the cast and crew being comprised of local talent. In the film set in 1919 New York, Strathairn plays a federal investigator probing a rash of mail bombs aimed at local politicians who put forth sanctions that threaten everyone’s civil liberties. Inspired by true events from the era and sharing surprising parallels to post-9/11 America, No God, No Master serves as a sobering and timely reminder that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The $7 million film, easily the most expensive locally produced film playing this year’s festival, is making its Midwest Premiere at MFF 2012 on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Oriental. Advanced tickets are still available but are expected to sell-out. The film has one additional screening during the festival. Writer-director Green will be in attendance at both screenings – as will local talent that worked on the film – and will take part in post-screening Q&A’s.

3,2,1…Frankie Go Boom & The Sapphires

Both films star the charismatic breakout star from Bridesmaids with killer dead-pan comic delivery. In this instance, it’s not Melissa McCarthy, it’s Irish import Chris O’Dowd. For many, that’s reason enough to check both films out. In Frankie, the potential perils of becoming a YouTube sensation are hilariously examined when a man (“Sons of Anarchy‘s” Charlie Hunnam) is publicly humiliated by his brother (O’Dowd) after he posts a video to the widely popular video sharing site that goes viral. You also get the added attraction of “Sex and the City’s” Mr. Big (Madison native Chris Noth) as a card-carrying, gun-toting member of the NRA, and Hellboy star Ron Perlman as a post-op transsexual hacker. And in The Sapphires, moviegoers will be made aware of a little known piece of history: despite the overt racism they must have endured in their native Australia and abroad, four Aboriginal girls in a all-female R&B group (managed by O’Dowd’s character who discovered them) entertained troops in USO-like shows during the Vietnam War.

3,2,1…Frankie Boom screens once during the festival on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 9:30 p.m. at the Oriental (with executive producer Elliott Lewitt in attendance for a Q&A session following the screening), and The Sapphires screens once as well on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre.

Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Kramer vs. Kramer and Rain Man) makes his feature film directorial debut with this likely crowd-pleasing comedy set in a retirement home that caters to retired opera singers. Any film that boasts a cast with the likes of Oscar winner Maggie Smith (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite), Oscar nominee Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine), Billy Connolly (who should have been nominated right alongside Judi Dench for 1997’s Mrs. Brown), and Michael Gambon is automatically worth a look. Advanced tickets are sold-out, but there’s a possibility of rush tickets becoming available. The film screens once on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. at the Oriental.

In order to commemorate the 25th anniversary of director Rob Reiner’s timeless big screen fairy tale starring an splendid ensemble cast headed by Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher and Milwaukee Children’s Film Festival supporter John Axford is presenting this extra-special screening of the film. Why is it extra-special, you ask? The film is being shown the good old fashion way – on film – 35mm film to be exact. For those old enough to remember those huge film reel canisters that used to occasionally be placed out in movie theater lobbies, it’ll be a walk down memory lane in more ways than one. Plus, it’s a awesome movie that kids and adults love alike, and the 35mm presentation is how moviegoers saw the film throughout its original theatrical run in 1987. It screens once during the festival on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 2:30pm at the Oriental. Axford will be in attendance at the screening.

This independently financed film that was filmed entirely in Wisconsin will bring back memories of the Steve Carell/Keira Knightley romantic dramedy from earlier in the year, Seeking A Friend for the End of the World. In the midst of a viral outbreak ravaging the Midwest with apocalyptic reverberations, a guy (played by Milwaukee resident Joe Belknap) sets out to meet up with his girlfriend in Wausau. Along the way, he’s aided by some fellow survivors, but obstacles (some of his own making) are a constant. The film, which is said to be beautifully shot, atmospheric and surprisingly gripping given people’s perception of micro-budget scary movies, screens once during the festival on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Oriental. Directors Adam Bartlett and John Pata will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

Two New Yorkers and longtime friends in their 30s decide to buck convention and have a child with one another since neither has found “the one” yet, and time is ticking away. Sounds familiar, right? Writer-director-actor-producer Jennifer Westfeldt made a film with a similar conceit that was released earlier this year called Friends With Kids. In Gayby, the two friends in question are a straight female and her gay male best friend. Both made a pact years earlier that they’d have a child together if they were still single in their 30s. Since there’s no real danger of romantic entanglement, both are game. That is until she insists on doing it the good old fashioned way. Gayby is the feature-length version of a well-received 2010 short of the same name from writer-director Jonathan Lisecki. The film screens four times during the festival, including Friday, Sept. 28 at 9:45 p.m. at Fox-Bay Cinema.

Much like last year’s line-up, this year’s Cream City Cinema Program selections ALL look worth the time, effort and money to turn out for. The Milwaukee Show, an annual presentation of shorts made by local filmmakers, is typically one of the most anticipated programs during the festival and often sells out in advance.

This year’s line-up includes:

Director Brad Lichtenstein’s timely and controversial documentary about the closing of Janeville’s GM plant features footage of now-Governor Scott Walker and Paul Ryan. The film screens four times during the festival and Lichtenstein will be in attendance for all the scheduled screenings.

Director Brad Pruitt’s illuminating examination of Milwaukee’s education system screens twice during the festival, and Pruitt will be at both screenings.

Director Chris Thompson’s imaginative documentary which uses re-enactments and firsthand testimonials to shed light on the infamous Milwaukee-based serial killer responsible for the grisly deaths of 17 local men. Thompson will be in attendance at each of the film’s four festival screenings.

Director Tate Bunker’s (MFF’s 2010 Filmmaker-in-Residence winner) modern-take on the classic Grimm’s fairy tale. Advanced tickets have sold-out for the first of three scheduled festival screenings. Bunker will be in attendance for all three screenings.

Ripping a page from director Michael Apted’s Up documentary series, director Laj P. Waghray chronicles three sleepovers attended by four young women stretched out over a 10-year period from ranging from adolescence to young adulthood. Waghray will be in attendance for the two scheduled festival screenings, the first of which is already sold-out.

An annual showcase of the best short films produced by local filmmaking talent, including Tate Bunker’s Filmmaker-in-Residence project Studies in Space, and the Collaborative Cinema award winner The Vampire Formerly Known as Dracula, written by Milwaukee High School of the Arts student Ian Walls and directed by MATC graduate Nathaniel Schardin. Ten shorts in all will screen at the one-time festival screening set for Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7pm at the Oriental. All of the filmmakers will be in attendance at the screening.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the festival’s official website, stop by one of the official Milwaukee Film box offices located at the Oriental Theatre (2250 N. Farwell Ave.), the Downer Theatre (2589 N. Downer Ave.), and the Fox-Bay Cinema Grill (334 E. Silver Spring Dr.), or call 414-727-8468.