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UPDATED: “Oz” exceeded all expectations with an $80– yes eighty– million dollar weekend. And “Silver Linings Playbook” looks like it will do $10 million more than even its producers expected. It crossed the $120 mil line Sunday. Now $130 is in its sights.
Critics are divided about Sam Raimi’s “Oz, the Great and Powerful.” But audiences love it. Last night, “Oz” took in more than $24.1 million. For the weekend, it will bring in $70 million plus. That includes rotten weather on the east coast last night, so today and tonight may be bigger than thought. “Oz” is coming to a third biggest ever March opening.
Bravo! The movie looks great, and the actors are all terrific starting with James Franco and the three witches–Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and Mila Kunis. Moreover, Disney has ordered up the sequel. I don’t know what some people thought the movie would be–the actual “Wizard of Oz” cannot be duplicated and no one tried to do it. The movie was made in 1938, kids. That this “Oz” approximated its charm in a modern way is the accomplishment.
For those who want to see Franco in a less conventional role, wait til you see him in “Spring Breakers.” Harmony Korine’s wild saga is a week away. Franco is a rapper-drug dealer into three-ways. He steals the movie from all the so- called “kids.” A couple of white rappers are already say they inspired his look. But the character is all original, and very adult. In “Spring Breakers,” we are not in Kansas anymore.
One of the great people in the media world, Sir Howard Stringer, has announced his retirement. Stringer, 71, told a group at the Japan Society tonight that he will retire in June. Stringer has led Sony through a lot of changes. Sony Pictures and Sony Music have thrived under him. The only part of the company that’s struggled is electronics, as Sony has never really come up with a way to compete with Apple. Once, the Sony Walkman was in everyone’s hands. Then the DiscMan. But the iPod and iPad really rocked Sony’s world. (I do love their TVs and laptops, though.) Stringer leaves Sony Music in very good shape, and Sony Pictures is solid with movies like “Zero Dark Thirty,” the Spider Man series, and, of course James Bond via MGM. Recently, they sold their headquarters building on Madison Avenue. Last year, trusty CFO Rob Wiesenthal left for Warner Music. And now Stringer will cede power. He’s been with Sony since 1997, and CEO since 2005. Personally, I will miss him. But it’s not like he won’t be back, and soon, with some great project.
It’s been “radio silence” in Justin Bieber’s Twitter happy world since this afternoon. That’s when he lunged and cursed at photographers outside his London hotel. The Biebs made it from the hotel entrance to his car and got inside, refusing to stop for a photo or two. The paps–paparazzi–cursed him for not giving them a little income for the day. Young Justin, tattoos ablaze, slid open the door of the SUV and popped out like a Jack-in-the-Box, and yelled, “What did you say? “F you” and “I’ll beat the f— out of you,” etc. His handler stuffed him back inside before JB was turned to meat pie by his audience. Since then, around 6pm London time, there’s been not a sound from the usually voluble Bieber or manager Scooter Braun. By now, Just would have taken off his shirt, flexed some muscle, and wept to a picture of Selena Gomez. Who knows? Maybe he’s actually sleeping.
Big day on Barbara Walters’s “The View”: I can tell you exclusively that the likely new member of the panel is Brooke Shields. Sources say Barbara Walters really wants her. Shields is a Princeton graduate, very articulate and the right age– 47, believe it or not. She will also be a great Hollywood connection for the bookers, and she’s a mom. I’m told the deal isn’t done yet, but it’s thisclose (no typo there) to being signed. Brooke is an excellent choice.
Meantime, the sad news is that Joy Behar is leaving after 17 years. My sources say “she’s just had enough. She wants to try new things.” Walters loved her, and I’m sure she’s sad to see her go. Behar, it’s strongly said, may be returning to Headline News for her own talk show again. I never understood why she left HLN in the first place. I was a guest many times on that show and an avid viewer. Joy rocks.
Leaving with no tears from most is Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She was not popular with viewers. She was extremely right wing, and did not voice what women at home wanted to hear about just about anything. During Rosie O’Donnell’s time, EH was miserable to behold. Guests aren’t prone to speaking with her, she never matured into anything but the annoying neighbor who didn’t grow with the times.
‘The View” will still look for a fifth anchor, someone maybe in their 30s. And maybe a reporter, since Walters — though she rebounded like a champ this week–is showing signs of her age. But that’s not to suggest Barbara is retiring. She will still be on ABC when it’s just a digital signal blinking from space.
Clive Davis is on a roll. Last night he spoke or was interviewed– or both–at the 92nd St. Y for his book. “The Soundtrack of My Life” comes in at number 2 on the New York Times Best Seller list this Sunday. His collaborator, Anthony DeCurtis, was the appointed interviewer on stage in front of a sold out crowd that barely noticed the increasing snow storm outside.
But many times, Clive simply addressed the audience without DeCurtis having to ask a question. Clive’s shpiels, especially about Whitney Houston, were sort of mesmerizing. He also played some interactive games with the audience, asking them to identify different artists from unreleased recordings or demos. We got to hear Macy Gray warble “The Game of Love” with Santana–something I didn’t even know existed.
Anyway two headlines from this evening: first, that Clive did not tell Simon & Schuster he was including the story of his bi-sexuality in the book. It wasn’t in the outline or proposal, and they didn’t know about it until they read it. How do you like that? Also, he says Bartlett Sher has definitely been hired for the Broadway revival of “My Fair Lady” that he’s producing. Clive wants Colin Firth and Anne Hathaway for Doolittle and Eliza, but that’s still being discussed. I love Anne Hathaway but I could also see Amy Adams in that part.
Back to the Times: no head of a record company has ever had a hit book like this. It’s quite an achievement.
Justin Bieber is blaming the “paps” for making him lose his way this week. Using Twitter as his means of communication, Bieber told fans today that the paparazzi have made him start a show two hours late one night, then have a melt down, a doctor’s visit, and a major interruption before finishing the next show.
Who knows? Maybe there’s some substance to that. But Bieber is starting to act like Michael Jackson at his worst.
Jackson was famous in his career for pulling stunts. He knew how to get attention and publicity better than anyone. From wearing pajamas to court, to calling in sick instead of doing a show (HBO, Beacon Theater). Let’s not forget Michael pulling up at a local politician’s office to ask why there weren’t more fast food franchises in the sleep Santa Ynez Valley. When Michael was feeling blue, lonely, or out of the spotlight, he was an expert at this.
And so Justin Bieber, not as talented and many years younger, is now exhibiting signs of the same malady. First it was the constant car problems– speeding, minor accidents, tinted windows. Now it’s in concert–showing up 2 hours late, to boos a few nights ago. And last night, stopping the show, feigning illness, causing a delay and making a big point of returning to the stage. In between, posting pictures of himself shirtless (this seems like a really big deal to him, this shirtless thing) on Instagram.
What will it be tonight? Well, that’s the whole point. Bieber, who turned 19 this week and pouted about his “worst birthday,” is on a roll now. It was inevitable. He’s become addicted to attention very quickly.
Ahhhhh! Rough morning. Trying to feel better for this show tonight but let the paps get the best of me…
When did Ryan Seacrest get a pompadour? Will Mariah Carey get a chest cold before she really says what she thinks about the contestants? Is Nicki Minaj on sedatives? And does anyone care about the 20 “American Idol” contestants? These questions are the most pressing things going on right on “American Idol.” Last night the show– 90 minute special, third edition in a row this week– got a measly 3.5 rating. It was beaten soundly by CBS’s “Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men.” Even if the rating is revised up a little, it’s still down from the night before, and shows a steady decline.
The problems are numerous. Mariah, who I know is sassy, says very little by the time she gets to comment about a singer. I’d move her position, and make Keith the final speaker. Someone needs to tell Mariah to tell a story when her turn comes, relate the contestant’s performance to something from her experience, criticize them a little. All she’s doing is nodding in assent. And last night her puppies were out and barking. It was, to say the least, distracting. I thought they were going to perform a song on their own.
And then: there is no drama with these earnest, talented contestants. Getting rid of Zoanette takes away a lot of the pizzazz. Angela Miller is very good, but until they get rid of her Farrah Fawcett haircut from 1977 and throw her some curves, the show is going to keep sinking. Where is the cliffhanger? Where is the sobbing? Where is the love?
“American Idol,” wake up. “The Voice” is coming March 25th. And it wants you.
Jane Fonda has two Oscars. She’s played a hooker, a newswoman, a stuffy society lady, the wife of a Vietnam vet, a single mom in an office, and dozens of other unusual characters. But now she’s going to play a Jewish mother. Fonda is joining the cast of Shawn Levy’s “This Is Where I Leave You” based on the novel by Jonathan Tropper. Jason Bateman plays her son who returns home for his father’s funeral and shiva, looking for his ex wife, and dealing with his siblings.
The book is funny and lovely, and the movie — if handled right– could be great for everyone. Among the other cast members is Corey Stoll, who played Hemingway in “Midnight in Paris.” “This Is Where I Leave You” was set up originally with director Adam Shankman, and Zac Efron was supposed to play one of Bateman’s siblings. But the whole thing fell apart when Shankman’s “Rock of Ages” tanked at the box office. Sources say the studio lost confidence in him directing a non musical. And, they say, there was an issue with Efron commanding a larger salary than Bateman.
So now, everything is realigned, the movie has a happy new life, and Jane Fonda is brushing up on her Jewish customs and Yiddishisms. I’m told the script is very funny, and has a lot of inside references to the way people come and go during the Jewish six days of mourning. There will be a lot of food.
At the Broadway premiere of Holland Taylor‘s tour de force performance as Ann Richards in “Ann,” Elaine Stritch confirmed the worst. A New York living legend, Stritch is packing up and heading home to Detroit. She’s 88, and she’s had enough New York for a lifetime. She’s been here since she was 17. Famously, she once tended bar at Elaine’s restaurant for Elaine Kaufman when she needed money.
Last year she told us she served a man 37 drinks before Elaine stopped her. Luckily, she was more of a success as an actress. But New York without Elaine Stritch? She’s been living at the Hotel Carlyle for decades, and performing there in exchange for rent. No more. She’ll do a stint at the Cafe Carlyle and be on her way before May 1st.
“I’ll be back,” she assured me, “for visits. I’ve already booked a couple of things.” Her family is in Detroit. Stritch bought a condo there for about $1.5 million according to reports. Money goes a lot farther in Detroit.
Stritch was one of Holland Taylor’s many buddies to come to opening night for “Ann” at the Vivan Beaumont Theater. The regal and legendary Liz Smith arrived with buddies Billy Norwich and Iris Love, also elegant. Lily Tomlin, Laura Linney, Tea Leoni, Linda Lavin, and Kathleen Turner were among the stars. Some, like Tomlin, Smith, Love, like Taylor, had all been good friends with the former Texas governor who passed away at age 73 in 2006. Holland told me that Tom Hanks, her “Bosom Buddies” co-star from the early 80s, had already been in to see her.
Newly minted Oscar winner Anne Hathaway and husband Adam Shulman were also on hand, but there to support Anne’s mother Kate. Kate Hathaway is a producer on “Ann,” her first outing. Many Hathaways and Shulmans were present including Adams’s parents, and Kate’s attorney husband Jerry (Anne’s dad).
Taylor — who still recurs occasionally on “Two and a Half Men” after years as a regular– gives a monumental performance of a play she herself wrote. She captures Richards’ wit and wisdom, her bawdy humor and direct style perfectly. I don’t want to jinx it, but I dare say Holland Taylor is a likely Tony nominee and maybe even a winner. She’s superb. This is not an impersonation but an embodiment. The performance is so mesmerizing that at the end of it, Stritch came all the way down the steep staircase from the top of the orchestra seats (the Beaumont seats people on a steep incline) to the stage to applaud Taylor. “Marvelous,” she called to Taylor. I don’t how she got back up those stairs. In Detroit, I guess, there will be escalators.
Full Frame is the famous documentary festival held in Durham, North Carolina every spring. Dawn Porter’s “Gideon’s Army” opens the festival on April 4th. There will be docs about LBJ, Dick Cheney, Richard Nixon, Hemingway, and the Beatles.
Invited Program
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (Directors: Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori)
Myth and music collide in this story of the influence and impact of revered power-pop band Big Star, featuring never-before-seen footage, photos, and interviews.
Citizen Koch (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin)
A multilayered dissection of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United campaign finance decision as seen through the lens of Wisconsin’s 2011 election standoff.
The Crash Reel (Director: Lucy Walker)
After a training accident leaves Kevin Pearce with a traumatic brain injury, the intrepid snowboarder undertakes a remarkable recovery.
DaVinci (Director: Yuri Ancarani)
This surreal portrait of a fantastic voyage features visuals from a camera-based surgical computer controlled by a single joystick.
The Editor and the Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Klan (Directors: Martin M. Clark, Walter E. Campbell)
A smalltown newspaper editor in North Carolina stands up to the KKK and is awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his courageous and tireless dissent.
Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children (Director: Patrick Reed)
If you’ve been to hell and back, how do you exorcise the memories? Former U.N. commander Roméo Dallaire’s new mission: end the use of child soldiers. North American Premiere
First Cousin Once Removed (Director: Alan Berliner)
In this stirring tribute, Alan Berliner traces the tenacious lines of connection between him and his cousin Edwin Honig as Edwin slowly succumbs to Alzheimer’s disease.
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Director: Shola Lynch)
Activist Angela Davis recounts her 1970 arrest and trial, which helped define her life as a revolutionary icon and champion of free speech.
The Fruit Hunters (Director: Yung Chang)
Extremely dedicated connoisseurs seek to devour, yet also sustain, the world’s most intoxicating and elusive produce.
Gideon’s Army (Director: Dawn Porter)
This remarkable film—a powerful testament to what it means to dedicate one’s life to the service of others—follows three young public defenders as they wrestle with massive caseloads and overwhelming student loans in order to ensure the rights of the accused.
If You Build It (Director:Patrick Creadon)
Innovative teachers, striving students, and a radical curriculum in Bertie County, N.C., are chronicled over the course of one transformative year. World Premiere
In So Many Words (Director: Elisabeth Haviland James)
This intensely revealing biography of writer Lucy Daniels expands the documentary form with its imaginative visualization of the stresses of her early life. World Premiere
The Last Shepherd (L’ultimo pastore) (Director: Marco Bonfanti)
This beautifully shot story of the last travelling shepherd shows that pastoral bliss may be sustained even in industrial northern Italy.
Leviathan (Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel)
This gripping multi-perspective account takes us deep within the shadows of a commercial fishing vessel.
Manhunt (Director: Greg Barker)
This spellbinding film dissects the painstaking search for Osama bin Laden, which originated with the “Sisterhood,” a remarkable team of CIA analysts.
Mussels in Love (L’Amour des Moules) (Director: Willemiek Kluijfhout)
In this magnificently photographed and playful ode, a variety of characters profess their devotion to the briny mollusk. US Premiere
Open Heart (Director: Kief Davidson)Rwandan six-year-old Angelique must have heart surgery, but her dad isn’t allowed to go with her to the hospital in Sudan, or to recover her body if she dies.
Pandora’s Promise (Director: Robert Stone)
Environmentalists and former anti-nuclear activists on three continents reflect upon their changes-of-heart about the safety and tremendous potential of nuclear energy.
Running from Crazy (Director: Barbara Kopple)
In light of her family’s history of suicide, Mariel Hemingway refuses to let mental illness overwhelm her own life: “control is everything.”
Sofia’s Last Ambulance (Director: Ilian Metev)Krassi, Mila, and Plamen staunchly navigate the potholes that pepper Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, in one of the city’s few remaining ambulances.
Venus and Serena (Directors: Maiken Baird, Michelle Major)
This unprecedented look at the tennis legends’ lives on and off the court is accentuated by the testaments of family, friends, and some of their more famous fans.
We Always Lie to Strangers (Directors: AJ Schnack, David Wilson)
This touching portrayal takes us into the lives of four families who perform for tourists in the “live music capital of the world,” Branson, Missouri.
Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington (Director: Sebastian Junger)
A warm and candid portrait of the extraordinarily brave, empathic photographer, who died in Libya in 2011, by his partner on the film Restrepo.
The World According to Dick Cheney (Directors: R.J. Cutler, Greg Finton)
A wealth of archival material and interviews shape this comprehensive, even-handed portrait of one of America’s most divisive politicians.
NEW DOCS
12 O’Clock Boys (Director: Lotfy Nathan)
A struggling adolescent seeks acceptance from a group of extreme dirt bikers, an illegal gang seen to be terrorizing the streets of Baltimore.
After Tiller (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson)
After the murder of their friend and colleague Dr. George Tiller, only four physicians continue to perform late-term abortions, risking their lives for women’s right to choose.
AKA Doc Pomus (Directors: Peter Miller, Will Hechter)
This biopic celebrates blues legend Doc Pomus, AKA Jerome Felder, a man who didn’t just write “Lonely Avenue” but lived it.
American Promise (Directors: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster)
This personal film follows the directors’ son and his best friend from their first day of kindergarten through high school graduation, and how their lives diverge.
Ash (Director: Nathan S. Duncan)
This moody, experimental portrait of Austin State Hospital’s vacated spaces is a ghostly memorial to the patients who once stayed there. World Premiere
The Baby (De Baby) (Director: Deborah van Dam)
As one woman pieces together the fragmented memories of her childhood, she finds herself linked to a photograph of Anne Frank holding an infant girl. North American Premiere
Battery Man (Biba Struja) (Directors: Dusan Cavic, Dusan Saponja)
“Electricity has no friends but me.” The story of a (super)man who can withstand, and control, up to 20,000 volts of electricity.
Black Out (Director: Eva Weber)
With no power at home, Guinean children walk miles to study for exams beneath the humming glow of airport, gas station, and parking lot lights. North American Premiere
Blood Brother (Director: Steve Hoover)
A man’s life is changed forever when he travels to India and realizes he cannot leave the children he has met at an orphanage behind.
Buzkashi! (Director: Najeeb Mirza)
A visually stunning film in which a Tajikistani shepherd must confront momentous changes both at home and in his beloved sport of Buzkashi.
By Her Side (Ik stond erbij) (Director: Niels van Koevorden)
Three fathers-to-be share their hopes, dreams, and anxieties as they anticipate the birth of their children. North American Premiere
Camera/Woman (Director: Karima Zoubir)
A Moroccan divorcée supports her family by documenting wedding parties while navigating her own series of heartaches. North American Premiere
Cutie and the Boxer (Director: Zachary Heinzerling)
The tension between an artist and his supportive wife of forty years is further strained when a curator expresses interest in her work.
Dance for Me (Dans for mig) (Director: Katrine Philp)
A teenage Russian dancer relocates to Denmark to live with his adolescent partner so they can prepare for a series of prestigious ballroom championships. North American Premiere
Downloaded (Director: Alex Winter)
The history of Napster, from its humble chatroom beginnings to its takedown at the hands of a music industry that didn’t know what hit it.
The Expedition to the End of the World (Ekspeditionen til verdens ende) (Director: Daniel Dencik)
A motley collection of scientists and artists board a restored three-mast schooner and set out for uncharted territory, engaging in equal measures of exploration and whimsy.
Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story (Director: Brad Bernstein)
Expect the unexpected from this outré graphic artist, erotic illustrator, and revolutionary children’s book author and his unconventional views.
First Comes Love (Director: Nina Davenport)
In this autobiographical portrait, Nina Davenport boldly lays bare the hardships and triumphs of her journey toward single motherhood in a modern age.
God Loves Uganda (Director: Roger Ross Williams)
American Christian evangelists export virulent anti-gay teachings to Sub-Saharan Africa with deadly consequences.
Good Ol’ Freda (Director: Ryan White)
Liverpudlian teenager Freda Kelly was the Beatles secretary and tells “one of the last true stories of the Beatles you’ll ever hear.”
Homegoings (Director: Christine Turner)
This film explores the mind of a man whose heart and passion for the dead inspires our own appreciation for the human soul.
Irish Folk Furniture (Director: Tony Donoghue)
Spirited animation brings handmade furniture to life in this colorful and delightfully quirky slice of rural Ireland.
Magnetic Reconnection (Director: Kyle Armstrong)
The Canadian Arctic is the terrestrial, and extraterrestrial, setting for a contemplative survey of transience, from generations-old decay to fleeting particles of light.
Maidentrip (Director: Jillian Schlesinger)
Follow teenager Laura Dekker across three oceans and five continents on her journey to become the youngest person to sail around the world—alone.
Medora (Directors: Andrew Cohn, Davy Rothbart)
In Indiana, a high school basketball team on a 44-game losing streak isn’t reaching for the championship—they just want to win a single game.
Menstrual Man (Director: Amit Virmani)
A microenterpreneur has a dream: to reduce gynecological diseases among rural Indian women by teaching them to make, and sell, sanitary pads. World Premiere
Muscle Shoals (Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier)
There is more than meets the ear in these vivid and surprising accounts of performance and perseverance in the Muscle Shoals, Alabama, music scene.
Nile Perch (Director: Josh Gibson)
An austere and contemplative observation of Lake Victoria fishermen rendered in arresting chiaroscuro.
Our Nixon (Director: Penny Lane)
Super 8 footage by Oval Office intimates Haldeman, Ehlrichman, and Chapin deliver an astonishingly fresh view of the Nixon White House.
Outlawed in Pakistan (Directors: Habiba Nosheen, Hilke Schellmann)
After a young woman is brutally raped, her family overcomes severe social customs and tribal norms in order to take her case to trial.
Pablo’s Winter (Director: Chico Pereira)
Former Almadén mercury miner Pablo spends his halcyon days cursing, kvetching, and chain-smoking to the chagrin of his wife and his doctor.
The Palace (Director: Tomasz Wolski)
A fascinating and witty cinematic portrait of a gigantic Soviet-era edifice and its denizens in Warsaw, Poland.
The Pleasures of Being Out of Step (Director: David L. Lewis)
This non-linear profile of jazz critic Nat Hentoff is laced with music and illuminates the civil libertarian’s enduring influence. World Premiere
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) The titular band’s controversial performance and subsequent imprisonment are documented in this revealing portrait of the women and their cause.
Reborning (Directors: Yael Bridge, Helen Hood Scheer)
The story of one woman’s calling to create dolls that look exactly like newborn babies.
The Record Breaker (Director: Brian McGinn)
Even though he holds more Guinness Book of World Records than anyone else on the planet, Ashrita Furman is not slowing down.
Remote Area Medical (Directors: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman)
Over the course of one weekend, RAM’s dedicated team sets up a “pop-up” clinic at a NASCAR speedway to provide no-cost, accessible healthcare to people in need. World Premiere
A River Changes Course (Director: Kalyanee Mam)
Is convenience progress? A beautiful and heartbreaking vérité look at three families subsisting in (what may be the end of) rural Cambodia.
Slomo (Director: Josh Izenberg)
A wealthy neurologist leaves the rat race behind and gracefully skates his way, on one foot, to spiritual fulfillment.
Spinning Plates (Director: Joseph Levy)
From a small cocina to a mecca for country dining to a three-star restaurant in Chicago, this film celebrates our passion for eating out.
A Story for the Modlins (Director: Sergio Oksman)
After discovering a stranger’s box of family photos on the sidewalk, Oksman pieces together a sketch of the Modlins’ bizarre lives.
Suitcase of Love and Shame (Director: Jane Gillooly)
This experimental film reconstructs a mid-century love affair using erotically charged correspondence left behind on reel-to-reel tape. North American Premiere
Taxidermists (Director: Nicole Triche)
This story of artists who love wildlife culminates in the “Olympics of taxidermy” and presents some of the most breathtaking animal sculptures ever captured on film.
True-Life Adventure (Director: Erin Espelie)
A dramatic four-minute nature documentary chronicling what happens in a tiny area of a Rocky Mountain stream on a lovely June afternoon. North American Premiere
Twenty Feet from Stardom (Director: Morgan Neville)
Backup singers, the unsung heroes of pop music, finally get their moment in the spotlight in this jubilant history and appreciation.
The Undocumented (Director: Marco Williams)
An unvarnished account of the repatriation of the remains of immigrants who died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the Arizona desert. World Premiere
A Will for the Woods (Directors: Amy Browne, Jeremy Kaplan, Tony Hale, Brian Wilson)This film explores the green burial movement by focusing on one man’s quest for a final resting place that will do no harm to the earth. World Premiere
Wolf Mountain (Directors: Dan Duran, Brendan Nahmias, Sam Price-Waldman)
At Wolf Mountain Sanctuary in the Mojave Desert, Tonya Littlewolf literally runs with the wolves, those that were born in captivity and are unsuited for life as pets or in the wild.
Wrong Time Wrong Place (Director: John Appel)
Survivors of the 2011 bombing and mass shooting in Norway recount the day’s tragic events in this look at how chance circumstances can have profound consequences. North American Premiere
You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Director: Scott Calonico)
Diplomacy, arm-twisting, and gastronomy as lifted from LBJ’s daily diaries and recorded phone conversations and animated by archival photographs.
Yucca Mtn Tally (Director: Phoebe Brush)
An artful reflection on a nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert is filmed against a backdrop of boundless horizon and thoughts about deep time.
