Lolo, Director Julie Delpy

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Violette (Julie Delpy), a 40-year old workaholic with a career in the fashion industry falls for a provincial computer geek, Jean-Rene (Danny Boon), while on a spa retreat with her best friend. Though Jean-Rene faces a major challenge: he must win the trust and respect of  Violette’s teenage son, Lolo (Vincente Lacoste), who is determined to wreak havoc on the couple’s fledging relationship and remain his mother’s favorite. After TWO DAYS IN PARIS, TWO DAYS IN NEW YORK and SKYLAB, Julie Delpy returns with a sharp romantic comedy, alongside Dany Boon, the irresistible creator of WELCOME TO THE STICKS. Lolo recently premiered at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and North American Premiere at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Writer / director Julie Delpy joins us for a spirited conversation on working with her own ensemble of talent and the making of films that inspire her.

For news and updates go to: filmrise.com/lolo/

Currently screening at:
Playhouse – Pasadena – TICKETS
Monica Film Center – Santa Monica – TICKETS
Noho 7 – North Hollywood – TICKETS
Music Hall – North Hollywood – TICKETS
Edward Westpark 8 – Irvine – TICKETS

“Lolo is fun and fresh to look at: Violette’s habitat is fashion-world, Centre-Pompidou new Paris, blessedly free of the Louvre-and-Seine shorthand that sells French movies to American audiences.” – Ella Taylor, NPR

“Delpy brings an unflinching perspective to the realities of balancing new love and motherhood, even while playing it for laughs.” – Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

“Lolo is a maternal horror film in the guise of a light romantic comedy, and therein lies much of its charm.” – Bilge Ebiri, Village Voice

“A curiously unsentimental director of romantic comedies, Julie Delpy sees romance for the work that it primarily is.” – Chuck Bowen, Slant Magazine

Take Me to the River, Director Matt Sobel

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In Take Me to the River a Nebraskan family reunion couldn’t seem more backwards to a gay Californian teenager. If Ryder had his way, he’d choose a moment just like this to come out, the bigger the scene the better. For his mother’s sake however, Ryder agrees to keep quiet, save parading around the picnic in his most audacious pair of short-shorts. Ryder’s antics raise dubious eyebrows from his hardened cowboy relatives, but 9-year-old Molly can’t get enough. She follows her cool California cousin everywhere. After lunch, they walk to the barn to look for a bird’s nest in the rafters. Their strange encounter, and whatever happened while the two escaped their family’s watchful eyes, makes Ryder the sudden target of suspicion, and places him at the center of a long buried family secret. Robin Weigert (Concussion, Synecdoche, New York, Deadwood) anchors a superb ensemble cast that includes Richard Schiff (West Wing, The Automatic Hate), Josh Hamilton (Kicking and Screaming, Frances Ha and Gracepoint) and a breakout performance by Logan Miller (The Stanford Prison Experiment, Night Moves). Director / producer / writer Matt Sobel stops by to talk about his stunning, controversial and brilliant feature debut.

For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/Take Me to the River

Facebook.com/TakeMetotheRiverFilm

“Writer-director Matt Sobel’s quietly engaging debut is one of the great discoveries of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: His fish-out-of-water observations have a personal edge — the film is shot partly on his own extended family’s Nebraskan property — but it soon builds to a place of nightmarish psychosexual revelations.” – Ibad Shah, Indiewire

“Superlatively acted culture-clash indie chillingly evokes primal dread and sexual transgression….” –Ronnie Scheib, Variety

“TAKE ME TO THE RIVER provides a fresh and haunting perspective on the ‘family secrets’ subgenre… the film is narratively claustrophobic, beautiful, disturbing and ripe.” – John Fink, The Film Stage

“….Sobel is worthy of the title of best new American independent filmmaker.” – Eric Lavalle, Ioncinema

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, Director of Programming Mike Dougherty

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The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, supporting emerging filmmakers, recognizing the leadership of entertainment industry performers and business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora. Each year the festival is held at ArcLight Hollywood and features a rich mix of film programs designed to build and support the growing interest in the Indian entertainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for Indian films while supporting filmmakers of Indian descent in career development as they navigate the larger studio system in Hollywood. IFFLA’s creative and business programs include the the One-on-One Michael Doughteryprogram where industry professionals from major and independent production and distribution companies are invited to participate in meetings with the IFFLA filmmakers; and panel discussions with speakers from the film industry. The 14th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) will take place April 6-10, 2016 at ArcLight Hollywood, the elegant, state-of-the-art facility at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood, and the festival’s home since its inception. Director of Programming Mike Dougherty join us to talk about the wide ranging films that will be showcase at this year’s festival.

For the latest news and updates go to: indianfilmfestival.org

IFFLA film guide: indianfilmfestival.org/film-guide-2016

Supergirl (Kickstarter) Director Jessie Auritt

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In the testosterone-fueled sport of powerlifting, the last person one expects to see is a slight, 95-pound, 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl. Since she began competitively lifting at the age of eight, under the coaching of her father, Naomi “Supergirl” Kutin has consistently shocked spectators and lifters alike, lifting close to three times her bodyweight and breaking one record after another. Nicknamed “Supergirl” by her parents, she has become an international media sensation, appearing on multiple television shows and amassing thousands of fans on social media. SUPERGIRL follows Naomi’s transformation into a young woman as she prepares for her Bat Mitzvah and simultaneously trains for the biggest powerlifting competition in North America, where she hopes to Jessie Auritt headshot set a new all time world record. Along with the universal struggles of adolescence, Naomi faces a series of complex challenges from religious obligations, to cyberbullying, to serious health problems that jeopardize her ability to continue powerlifting. As Naomi comes of age and confronts these issues, her true strength and character are revealed. Three years in the making, the film is almost ready to premiere on the big screen and is launching a Kickstarter campaign to help propel the film from post-production to audiences around the country. A strong coming-of-age story, Supergirl has the power to inspire wide audiences everywhere, athletes and adolescents alike. Director Jessie Auritt joins us for a conversation of the making of Supergirl and the crowd source finances needed to bring the film to a wider audience.

Please visit the Supergirl kickstarter page here: bit.ly/supergirlks

For news and updates go to: Supergirldoc.com

The Confirmation, Director Bob Nelson

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Clive Owen shines in this irresistible comedy as Walt, a down-on-his luck carpenter tasked with entertaining his eight-year-old son Anthony while Anthony’s mom (Maria Bello) and her new husband are away. But when Walt’s prized toolbox is stolen, a quiet father-and-son weekend turns into an adventure of a lifetime. Aided by an oddball drywall repairman (Patton Oswalt), Walt and Anthony go on a wildly funny search for the thieves—and find something they never imagined: a true family connection. As Walt and Anthony set about finding the guys who stole the tools and improvise around their other misfortunes, they begin to discover a true connection with each other, causing Walt to become a better father and Anthony to reveal the promise and potential of the good man he will become…Director and Oscar nominated screenwriter Bob Nelson (Nebraska) joins us for a conversation on moving into the director’s chair and the challenges and rewards of working with a strong ensemble cast.

For news and updates go to: lighthousepictures.ca

Opening Friday, March 18 at the Laemmle’s NoHo 7 5240 Lankershim Boulevard • (310) 478-3836

“Feature films these days rarely come as gentle and equitable as “The Confirmation.” – Gary Goldstein, LA Times

“One of the selling points of “The Confirmation” is how it steers clear of melodrama or tidy perfection in favor of a taste of life on the margins, where even living paycheck to paycheck would be a luxury.” – Stephanie Merry, Washington Post

“In the best moments, Nelson juxtaposes … ephemeral, eternal doubt against the concrete realities of small-town American poverty and marginality.” – Adam Nayman, AV Club

“The movie’s not just good but moving, funny and true to the way people actually live in hard-times America.” – Alan Scherstuhl , Village Voice

The Brainwashing of My Dad, Director Jen Senko

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Right-wing cable news and “conservative” talk radio attract older Americans like graying moths to an angry flame. But why would someone who was either apolitical or a Democrat in younger days become addicted to conservative talk shows in their twilight years? Filmmaker Jen Senko wondered how her WWII veteran and Kennedy Democrat father had been transformed into a Fox News fanatic, suddenly and inexplicably railing against minorities, homosexuals, poor people, and Democrats. Using her dad as an entertaining example, Senko pulls back the curtain to expose the tools and tricks of the wizards behind the right-wing media revolution. And in discovering what happened to him, Senko reveals the all-too-chilling bigger picture of what’s happening behind-the-scenes to influence our national discourse.

For news and updates got to: thebrainwashingofmydad.com

Facebook: facebook.com/thebrainwashingofmydadmovie

Twitter @brainwashingdad

instagram: instagram.com/the_brainwashing_of_my_dad

Traverse City Film Festival 2015, Cinequest Film Festival 2016

Opening in New York at Cinema Village and Los Angeles at the Laemmle Music Hall, Friday March 18

“A timely and thought-provoking portrait of the soulscape of America with its rage, lack of civility, and right-wing media machinations.”

Only the Dead See the End of War, Director Michael Ware

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Australian journalist Michael Ware arrived in Baghdad in 2003 as a novice reporter on a three-week assignment to cover the invasion of Iraq. He left seven years later, having gained unprecedented access to the Iraqi insurgency and American troops, as well as a myriad of demons – the after-effects of witnessing seemingly endless, horrific violence. Examining the Iraq War and its moral consequences through the story of the rise and fall of jihadi terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of Al Qaeda in Iraq and the progenitor of ISIS, ONLY THE DEAD SEE THE END OF WAR is a harrowing and graphic account from both sides of the war zone, as well as an illuminating window into the origins of a modern terrorist organization. Directed by two-time Oscar® winner Bill Guttentag in collaboration with Michael Ware, won three 2015 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (Australian equivalent of the Academy Awards) including Best Direction in a Documentary and the 2015 Walkley Documentary Award (Australian equivalent of the Pulitzer).  Co-director / journalist / subject Michael Ware joins us for a lively conversation on what motivates him to put himself in such insanely dangerous situations and what he has learned about the consequences and future of the on-going wars in the Middle East.

The Automatic Hate, Director Justin Lerner and Actor Joseph Cross

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When Davis Green’s (Joseph Cross) alluring young cousin Alexis (Adelaide Clemens) appears on his doorstep one night, he discovers that a side of his family has been kept secret from him. Against his father’s wishes, Davis travels to rural, upstate New York to meet his other cousins. While wrestling with a taboo attraction to one another, he and Alexis attempt to reunite their families, uncovering the reasons behind a long-standing rift and the shocking secret that tore their fathers apart. Together, their discoveries force them to confront the temptation to keep their familial grudge going rather than end it. THE AUTOMATIC HATE is the second feature from Emmy and Gotham award-winning filmmaker Justin Lerner. Director / writer Lerner and lead actor Joseph Cross joins us for a lively conversation on a film that will keep viewers entertained and guessing until the final frame.

For news and updates got to:theautomatichate.com

The Automatic Hate will open in Los Angeles Friday, March 11 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.

WINNER! Silver Audience Award, Mill Valley Film Festival

OFFICIAL SELECTION – SXSW Film Festival 2015 (World Premiere), Seattle International Film Festival 2015, Woodstock Film Festival 2015

“This arresting seriocomedy deftly walks a tightrope between droll and tense, over a gaping pit of crazy… That balance is as attributable to Lerner and Katherine O’Brien’s inventive screenplay as it is to the former’s very skillful direction” – Variety

“One of the 10 Best Films I saw at SXSW 2015 [with] the most the explosively uncomfortable dinner party scene ever.” – Indiewire

“Fascinating… challenging, and entertaining.” – Ain’t it Cool

“Nothing short of brilliant.”  We Got This Covered

Trapped, Director Dawn Porter

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TRAPPED is a compelling and alarming documentary that shines a bright light on the hundreds of state regulations were passed from 2011 to 2013 restricting access to abortion in America. Reproductive rights advocates refer to these as “TRAP” laws, or Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers. While these laws have been enacted in states across the country, Southern clinics in particular are now in a fight for survival. In Texas, less than half of the clinics open in 2013 are still functioning. In Alabama, a handful of clinics struggle to keep their doors open. And in Mississippi, just one abortion clinic remains. Clinics are struggling to comply with requirements that the American Medical Association has deemed medically unnecessary. Despite this hostile environment, the doctors, clinic owners and staff refuse to give up. TRAPPED tells the personal stories of those most impacted by these regulatory battles from the physician who crisscrosses the country assuring medical services are still available to the determined women and men who run the clinics and struggle to meet the ever-changing regulations to the lawyers leading the legal charge to eliminate these laws to the women they are all determined to help. The men and women of TRAPPED fight to preserve abortion rights in a country where Roe v. Wade no longer protects a woman’s right to choose. Director, writer and producer Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army and Spies of Mississippi) stops by to talk about the concerted effort by anti-choice forces determined to eviscerate a woman’s right to determine the fate of her own body.

For news and updates go to: trappeddocumentary.com

Trapped: Will be screening in Los Angels starting March 4th at the The Landmark Los Angeles

“Dawn Porter’s TRAPPED has an almost eerie timing — it examines the existential fight faced by abortion clinics in America.” — Los Angeles Times

“Mixing interviews with the staffs of the surviving clinics with heartbreaking accounts of botched, private abortions, Trapped is a succinct and heart-rending revelation of this complex and controversial subject.” – Duane Byrge, Screen International

“In addition to being instructive, it brims with compassion, leaving viewers with haunting images of women we never even got to see in the first place.” Anne Hornaday, Washington Post

They Will Have to Kill Us First, Director Johanna Schwartz

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In the gripping documentary They Will Have To Kill Us First, we see the impact on music and musician when Islamic hardliners took control of northern Mali in 2012, they enforced one of the harshest interpretations of sharia law in history and, crucially for Mali, they banned all forms of music. Radio stations were destroyed, instruments burned and Mali’s musicians faced torture, even death. Overnight, Mali’s revered musicians were forced into hiding or exile where most remain even now. But rather than lay down their instruments, the musicians are fighting back, standing up for their cultural heritage and identity. Through everything, they have used music as their weapon against the on-going violence that has left Mali ravaged. The situation in Mali forms part of an alarming trend: across the globe, extremists are attacking culture, art and freedom with increasing frequency and violence. They use religion to justify rampant destruction and murder. They Will Have To Kill Us First director Johanna Schwatz joins us to talk about human side of Mali’s conflict and the destructive impact it has had on Mali’s political, social and musical communities.

 For news and updates go to:theywillhavetokillusfirst.com

HASHTAG: #theywillhavetokillusfirst FACEBOOK: facebook.com/music4mali

TWITTER: @music_in_exile INSTAGRAM: @theywillhavetokillusfirst

SPOTIFY: theywillhavetokillusfirst

Screenings for Southern California

Los Angeles – Laemmle Monica Film Center –April 1st

Irvine, California – Regal Theatre

“Social journalism of the highest order, They Will Have to Kill Us First is by turns horrific and front-loaded with sonic heroism.” – Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

“Delivers a vibrant testimony of resilience under oppression.” – Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

“Beautiful music and a good introduction to the complexity of Malian/Tuareg politics.” – Louis Proyect, rec.arts.movies.reviews

“A profile in courage but also groove” – Alan Sherstuhl, Village Voice

Colliding Dreams, co-directors James Dorman and Oren Rudavsky

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COLLIDING DREAMS recounts the dramatic history of one of the most controversial, and urgently relevant political ideologies of the modern era. The century-old conflict in the Middle East continues to play a central role in world politics. And yet, amidst this fierce, often-lethal controversy, the Zionist idea of a homeland for Jews in the land of ancient Israel remains little understood and its meanings often distorted. The documentary addresses that void with a gripping exploration of Zionism’s meaning, history and future. Told through the remarkable lives and voices of Jews and Palestinians living in the Middle East today, COLLIDING DREAMS weaves together past and present, ideas and passions, wars and peace talks, brilliant minds with the voices of ordinary citizens to develop a film portrait of unprecedented depth and sensitivity. Co-directors James Dorman and Oren Rudavsky join us for a lively conversation on Zionism, anti-Semitism, the Six Day War of 1967, the settlement movement, Palestinian rights and Israel’s future.

 For news and updates go to: collidingdreamsthemovie.com

 Opens Friday March 4th at the Los Angeles
Laemmle Royal, LA
Laemmle Town Center, Encino
Edwards Westpark 8, Irvine

“At once compassionate and rueful, “Colliding Dreams” is recommended viewing for open minds, and essential viewing for those that remain snapped shut.” – Ella Taylor, Variety

 “’Colliding Dreams” is a film of ideas and a film of history, a thorough and engrossing look at the root causes of the tortured relationship between Israel and the Palestinians.” – Kenneth Turan, LA Times

 “How can everyone go home? It’s an impossible question, but a vital one. By listening deeply, Dorman and Rudavsky suggest that, even if there might not be an answer, we can always change the story; see how it already has changed, so many times?” – Diana Clarke, Variety