WEST VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL |
Friday, November 5
http://wip.warnerbros.com/wedontlive/ Drama1 hour, 41 minutes R for sexual content and languageUSA Starrring Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, Naomi Watts Directed by John Curran Based on two works by Andre Dubus, "We Don't Live Here Anymore" is a sexy and provocative drama about married life and its discontents. Keenly observed, the film charts the amorous affair of a married man with his best friend's wife and how their liaison upsets the delicate balance of relationships, culminating in a fling between their spouses.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203523/ 8 minutesComedyno ratingUSA Starring Martin Hynes, Lisa Jakub, Jason Peck Directed by Joe Nussbaum In 1967, writer's-blocked USC film student George Lucas has only three days to finish his script or he won't graduate. He ends up falling for a girl named Marian (with her hair done up in buns on the sides of her head) who encourages him to write what he knows and feels. (“Maria Full of Grace” begins immediately after short.)
 Winner of the 2004 Sundance Audience Award, "Maria Full of Grace" is a drug movie that departs from the cinematic depictions of gunfights and fast living typically associated with the cocaine trade. This is a low-rent and understated world, one of which the heroine Maria becomes a part after finding herself pregnant with her worthless boyfriend's baby. After quitting her job in Columbia preparing roses for shipment overseas, Maria attempts to glean some upward mobility from the new "opportunity" she's found as a drug mule ferrying cocaine to New York. 10:15 p.m. 10:15 p.m. As with most John Waters films, “A Dirty Shame” takes place in Baltimore, where Sylvia (Tracy Ullman) and her husband Vaughn (Chris Isaak) live sexless lives as the owners of a convenience store. Sexless, that is, until Sylvia suffers a concussion in a car accident that turns her into a bona fide nymphomaniac. Comedy ensues, with fetishes, sex-capades galore, and impossibly large breasts. A true comic romp. Saturday, November 6 When you venture I-40 across the USA, you can’t miss the signs for the Big Texan’s 72oz steak. Eat it all and fixins and it’s free – that’s worth 4 16oz steaks, a salad, bread, and shrimp cocktail. The waitress will tell ya, most people lose it all after the shrimp cocktail. Can he eat it all? The Angry Alien animation troupe present some of the world’s most famous films acted by Bunnies in 30 Seconds. (“Memron” begins immediately after short films.) MEMRON This mockumentary pokes fun at corporate greed and its consequences. Imprisoned CEO’s pass their time at a country club prison playing golf and fraternizing with the staff, while the regular joe employees must struggle to forge ahead in their lives out in the real world, in the wake of financial disaster. 2 p.m. “Lost Boys of Sudan” is a spellbinding documentary that chronicles a year in the lives of two teenage boys who have been, like many Sudanese children, orphaned and forced to become refugees as a result of war. Selected for a resettlement program in America, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor believe Utopia awaits them. Their new lives in Houston however, are intimidating and somewhat overwhelming. Free from their war-torn pasts, Dut and Chuor must now learn to navigate a landscape of high-rise apartment buildings and traffic jams, and to mature into self-sufficient adults by means of low-paying urban jobs. 4 p.m. December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor: it’s not the Japanese air force killing people on the beach but the shards of a giant meteor, headed for Earth. FDR gets the bad news from an aide, calls an emergency meeting, and sends for Matt and his crew of drillers. But how will they get to the hurtling rock? And, if the meteor does break into smaller pieces, where will they land, and will that create any political problems for the President? A subplot has Gwen torn between her two loves, Matt and Ben. Is a sequel in the works? (“Riding Giants” begins immediately after short film.) RIDING GIANTS A documentary detailing the lives of extreme surfers, “Riding Giants” allows the viewer a glimpse into this solitary and dangerous world. These athletes are driven and strangely obsessed with pursuit of the “perfect wave,” practically eager to play game after game of chicken with death in exchange for a few seconds of hydro-nirvana. 6:30 p.m. Ted (Jeff Bridges) and Marion (Kim Basinger) are a couple whose marriage is rife with subtle vitriol and quiet psychological warfare. They have been unable to heal either individually or as a unit from the devastating loss of their two sons in a car accident years earlier. As a consequence, Ted and Marion are lost in the psychological warren of an emotional duel borne of raw nerve endings and ever-blurrier moral boundaries. Each of them aims to hurt the other as this story, based on the first third of John Irving’s 1998 “A Widow for One Year,” both literally and figuratively unravels. 9 p.m. In this futuristic world where couples are forbidden to reproduce unless their DNA is a good match, William Geld (Tim Robbins) is on assignment in Shanghai to investigate Maria Gonzalez (Samantha Morton) for suspected DNA chicanery. He is struck by love at first sight of the film’s heroine, however, and must then attempt to reconcile both the nature of his work and his marital status with his newfound love interest. Sunday, November 7 “The Animation Show” is a compilation of short films from eight different countries. A medium normally only viewed on the internet or television, the short is finally given its due coverage by “Beavis and Butthead” creator Mike Judge and stick figure proponent Don Hertzfeldt. The content of the films runs the gamut from G-rated to raunchy, so a little something for everyone awaits in this hodgepodge of short attention span gems. 3 p.m. Set in the 19th century, “Zatoichi” is the story of a blind swordsman more aware of his surroundings than your average jack with 20/20 vision. Walking with a slight stoop and the half-smiling, laid-back carriage of someone not necessarily concerned with details of the here and now, Zatoichi is disarmingly quick with his cane sword. His targets fall one by one, as he takes revenge for two orphaned sisters. All this action, however, plays dual roles as it also functions as choreography to the unexpected and refreshing percussive rhythm of the accompanying score. 5:30 p.m. This remake of the Argentinean film “Nine Queens,” the story is about Richard Gaddis (John C. Reilly), a Los Angeles con man in search of a new partner. Enter Rodrigo (Diego Luna), a young grifter pulling minor scams in a casino. When Rodrigo is caught by a savvy waitress who senses his scheme, Richard steps in, posing as an undercover cop, and escorts him out. Much to Rodrigo’s surprise, Richard asks him to be his partner-in-crime. 7:30 p.m. Silver City Set against the backdrop of a mythic “New West,” this satire follows grammatically challenged candidate Dicky Pilager, son of Colorado’s venerable Senator Jud Pilager, during his gubernatorial campaign. When Pilager finds that he’s reeled in a corpse during the taping of an environmental political ad, his ferocious campaign manger begins an investigation into the potential links between the corpse and the Pilager family’s enemies, which leads into a complex web of influence and corruption, involving high-stakes lobbyists, media conglomerates, environmental plunderers and undocumented migrant workers. (A reception for Mr. Sayles and Ms. Renzi follows the film.) Monday, November 8 The relationship between Antoine and Helene is deteriorating. Helene spends more time at work, Antoine drinks, and the two act like mere acquaintances, not lovers. When Antoine stops at a bar and Helene threatens to continue without him, a fight erupts between them. Angry and drunk, Antoine insists on staying in the bar, but when he emerges he finds the car empty, save for a note saying that Helene has left for the train. In a drunken stupor, Antoine attempts to follow his wife’s trail, joined by a mysterious and dangerous hitchhiker. 8:30 p.m. “Mean Creek” begins as a story of teenage bullying and revenge, but gradually evolves into a tale of moral challenge and growth. After George pounds Sam in a school yard fight, Sam and his friends arrange a practical joke in order to give George a little medicine. George’s brazen façade, however, is merely a shell covering a pained and lonely core. Once the rest of the kids discover this — in the midst of enacting their practical joke — they must decided amongst themselves whether to take the high road or the low, to punish George for his transgressions or take mercy on his weakness. Tuesday, November 9 A tri-generational family journey takes three women from Tbilisi, the capital of the one-time Soviet republic of Georgia, to Paris. Eka, the grandmother, determines to travel to visit her son in Paris after failing telephone lines and an uncertain postal system have stymied the efforts of familial communication. Her daughter and granddaughter, however, have been trying to spare Eka the unsettling truth that her son has died. The trio nonetheless embark together on the hapless search. 8 p.m. “Control Room” is a documentary that allows the viewer to glimpse behind the scenes of the Arab news channel Al Jazeera. Although the context of the film is inescapably political — and was, appropriately enough, directed by the Arab-American documentarian Jehane Noujaim — it does not itself take sides, or worse, pander to one or the other. It merely watches and listens as journalists do their jobs and talk about them, jobs which, as one Al Jazeera producer confesses, he would gladly leave behind if it would enable him “to exchange the Arab nightmare for the American dream.” Wednesday, November 10 “The Clay Bird” is the partially autobiographical feature film debut of Tareque Masud. It depicts the upheaval in what is now Bangladesh during the latter stages of its attempt to break away from Pakastani rule over 30 years ago. 8 p.m. After the death of her father, Hannah becomes concerned with the strange behavior of her mother. As her mother’s troubled childhood is revealed, Hannah realizes how little she ever knew. Thursday, November 11 Shot with a black and white hand-cranked camera, “War” is a poetic rendering of a failing Pennsylvania countryside and its inhabitants. The resolute farmers of Warren County struggle to maintain the viability not only of their farms, but also of their way of life. 8:15 p.m. When Anna Delambre first visits William Faber’s office, she mistakenly believes he is a psychiatrist. As he does nothing to persuade her otherwise, she continues to frequent his office, spilling the tantalizing beans about her life. Friday, November 12 Late one evening, Alex suddenly abandons his girlfriend, Simone, to follow the beautiful Aimee. In his encounter with Aimee, time and place dissolve for him and he becomes a stranger to Simone, towards whom he cannot return. Alex’s future, is Aimee’s love. But will he have the courage to embrace it? A psychological romantic drama, about a man, who forgets about his past and must put his faith in love, in order to gain a future. 8 p.m. After getting noticed by Miramax Pictures for his short film, a filmmaker has a moral dilemma when it comes up to facing the truth about the work he may (or may not) have made. (“Before Sunset” begins immediately after short film.) BEFORE SUNSET
10 p.m. Life for David Walsh (Matt Dillon) is going exceptionally well, until things take an unexpected turn. In one day, his fiancee (Christina Applegate) dumps him and the bank boss fires him. To top it off, David tries to leave work but gets caught in bank robbery. And the day from hell is far from over! Saturday,November 13 Although the title is suggestive of majestic swordfights and honor-bound heroes, the protagonist of “Twilight Samurai”is instead a bedraggled widower whose work-a-day life does eventually land him in the midst of a physical challenge. By day Seibei is made the object of scorn and ridicule by his co-workers, by night he tends to his senile mother and endures berating by his cruel uncle. In the midst of all this, however, are Seibei’s daughters, who allow him a reason to come home. A 2004 Oscar nominee for best foreign language film, “Twilight Samurai” is a quiet and sorrowful rendering of one man’s personal struggle to maintain dignity and hope in his uncertain world. 3:30 p.m. After spying his girlfriend in another man’s car and overhearing her insult him to a friend, Danny decides to literally “take off.” During an outdoor barbecue, he attaches his lawn chair to a cluster of helium balloons and floats away into the blue yonder, as his friends stand gaping. Danny eventually lands in the town of Clarence, where he meets a new love interest and quickly becomes beloved by the townspeople. The world he has left behind is still searching for him, though, and Danny is the nucleus of a media frenzy which the town of Clarence fails to notice — that is, until his lawn chair is discovered in the woods by some children, and the news media are alerted. 6 p.m. A Tarantino-esque comedy thriller, “Nicotina” is a story at the center of which is a caper gone awry. As the title may lead one to suspect, smoking figures prominently in the movie - the narrative is arranged around quarrelling pairs of actors, each of which consists of one smoking and one non-smoking member. Shootings and other acts of violence punctuate the action, which unfolds in real time, skittering along with the nervous energy of a nicotine high. 8 p.m. Meet Jerome: tortured artiste, connoisseur, and canvas all in one. On a trek across Dallas, he regales us with his quest for meaning, identity, artistic self-expression, and a possible modeling gig for GQ. (“Metallica: Some Kind of Monster” begins immediately after short film.) Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Some Kind of Monster is a music documentary about Metallica’s making of their album St. Anger and the difficulties they had to go through in the process. The directors shot over 1200 hours and followed the band around night and day for over a year to create this documentary. Sunday, November 15 Compared to a mental patient who, according to one psychiatrist, exhibits “all the characteristics of a prototypical psychopath,” the corporate life form is examined and declared innately flawed in this documentary. “The Corporation” defines the essence of big-time capitalists as fundamentally predatory, a societal monster eager to devour every living thing in its path, in a morally depraved struggle to become always bigger and more powerful. A population of “mindless consumers of things they do not want” feeds the hungry monster, as this destructive symbiotic relationship continues to evolve, destroying the landscape of which it is a part. 6 p.m. One year after 9/11, an American journalist travels to Afghanistan in an effort to learn the truth about the search for Osama bin Laden. These are the recovered tapes of his experience in the war zone. 8 p.m. “The Saddest Music in the World” is a black and white musical set in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1933, and a gem of cinematic surrealism. Chester Kent, the film’s protagonist, is seemingly incapable of the emotion suggested by the title, as he confides to a fortune teller in the beginning of the movie that he did not so much as shed a tear as a boy at his mother’s funeral. His icy stoicism, however, does not deter him from entering an international competition to find the world’s most melancholy music. Structured like some wacky game show, the musical competition provides a rich background for fascinating scenarios and songs alike.
NOTE: Film schedule, times may change without notice. WVIFF reserves the right to hold an event which may require purchase of a separate ticket. WVIFF reserves the right to screen short films before feature films, which will be included with the price of admission to the subsequent feature film. If you would like to receive an email to be notified of the schedule, please click here. WVIFF@AOL.COM
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GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE 
NC-17 for pervasive sexual content
ANGRY ALIEN — BUNNIES IN 30 SECONDS.
Directed by Nancy Hower
Directed by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk
Directed by Robert Moniot
Directed by Stacy Peralta
Directed by Tod Williams
Starring Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton
USA
Starring Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ookusu
Starring John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring Richard Dreyfuss and Chris Cooper
Directed by Cedric Kahn
Directed by Jacob Aaron Estes
Directed by Julie Bertuccelli
Directed by Jehane Noujaim
Starring Nurul Islam Bablu, Russell Farazi, Jayanto Chattopadhyay, Rokeya Prachy
Germany/Netherlands, Drama
“Before Sunset” is a continuation of the story begun in “Before Sunrise,” a film that chronicles one blissful night in the lives of two apparent soulmates. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) had promised nine years earlier to meet in six months in Vienna, yet they have not seen one another since their first meeting. Chances are their paths would have never crossed again had Jesse not written a novel based on their sole encounter. Celine appears at his Paris book signing, and the two are reunited. They are, however, nine years older now, adults with all of the age-appropriate baggage, responsibilities, and restrictions on haphazard lust and love affairs.
Starring Matt Dillon, Christina Applegate, Steve Zahn
Rated PG-13 for sex-related situations
Starring Diego Luna, Marta Belaustegui, Lucas Crespi
Not rated
Canada
Rated R for language and violent images
Directed by Guy Maddin
