Category: Film

hillbilly

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Winner of the Best Documentary Feature at the 2018 Los Angeles Film Festival and made its New York City premiere at DOC NYC. Debuts Tuesday, January 8, 2019, on Digital, Cable and Satellite.

Directed by Sally Rubin and Ashley York
Cast – bell hooks, Amythyst Kiah, Frank X Walker, Crystal Good, Ronny Cox, Billy Redden, Michael Apted, Silas House
1:25:1 Run Time

What the Filmmakers Say

Since the presidential election, cultural divide in America has been the source of riveting and visceral discussions and arguments. Stereotyping and slurs are rampant, finger-pointing and name-calling abound. hillbilly is a personal and political journey by the filmmakers into the heart of the Appalachian coalfields, exploring the role of media misrepresentation in their creation of the iconic American “hillbilly,” and examining the social, cultural, and political underpinnings of this infamous stereotype.

hillbilly will surprise if not shock imaginations because of its revelations, such as the renown artists, poets, activists, queer musicians, “Affrilachian” poets, and intersectional feminists who are unexpected voices emerging from this historically misunderstood region. Author, feminist, and social activist bell hooks is a hillbilly.

 

 

Gregg W. Morris can be reached at gmorris@hunter.cuny.edi

THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS – Oscar Shortlisted Documentary

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One of 15 contenders for Best Documentary Feature at 91st Academy Awards. The nominations to be released 22 January, 2019, and the winner to be announced at the 91st Academy Awards February 24, 2019.

What the Film Makers Say

Set in Eastern Ukraine on the front-line of the war, following  the life of 10-year-old Ukrainian boy Oleg throughout a year, witnessing the gradual erosion of his innocence beneath the pressures of war. Oleg lives with his beloved grandmother, Alexandra, in the small village of Hnutove. Having no other place to go, Oleg and Alexandra stay and watch as others leave the village. Life becomes increasingly difficult with each passing day, and the war offers no end in sight. In this now half-deserted village where Oleg and Alexandra are the only true constants in each other’s lives, the film shows just how fragile, but crucial, close relationships are for survival.

Through Oleg’s perspective, the film examines what it means to grow up in a war zone: A child’s growing universal struggle to discover what the world is interlaced with all the dangers and challenges the war presents.

 

 

Directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont.
Produced by Monica Hellström (THE ACT OF KILLING), Final Cut For Real

Spotlight Award Nominee – Cinema Eye Honors 2019
Honorable Mention – Pare Lorentz Award – 2018 IDA Awards
Winner – First Appearance Award – IDFA 2017
Winner – Best Nordic Documentary – Göteborg Film Festival 2018
Winner – Golden Gate Award – SFFILM 2018
Winner – Fipresci Award – Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival 2018
Winner – Best International Film – DocAviv Film Festival 2018
Nominee – Best European Documentary – European Film Awards 2018

 

Gregg W. Morris can be reached at gmorris@hunter.cuny.edu

Russian Film Week in New York City, December 8-14

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This year’s diverse program of 14 films includes Russia’s submission for the 2019 Academy Awards®, SOBIBOR, directed by, and starring, Konstantin Khabensky; ANNA KARENINA: VRONSKY’S STORY, directed by Karen Shakhnazarov; a dramatic biopic THE STORY OF ONE APPOINTMENT, directed by Avdotya Smirnova. Visiting filmmakers and actors include filmmaker Alexey Uchitel, founder of Rock Studio Films; directors Karen Shakhnazarov, Olya Zueva, Susanna Alperina, and many others.

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Kinetically Charged Red Carpet @ 2018 Nordic International Film Festival

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One of the missions for this publication, its editor and correspondents covering red carpets in the New York City metro area – such as, and definitely not limited to, Tribeca Film Festivals (TFF), New York Film Festivals NYFF), New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), DOC NYC – is to capture kinetically charged moments of, if things go well, a carefully crafted feeding frenzy of photojournalists trying to get their $$$ money shots, broadcast reporters angling for their interviews as well as celebrities and PR reps and red carpet staff moshing, jostling to accomplish their goals.

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THE DARK Returns!!!

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At the Cinema Village Cinema, 22 E 12th St, NYC, 11 p.m. tonight The New York Times said in a recent review, “In ‘The Dark,’ a Traumatized Teenager Becomes a Zombie.” Hogwash! See this great movie and decided for yourself.…

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