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Ian MacKaye of Fugazi presents NINA SIMONE doc at MFF 2009!!

Published April 29, 2009 1 2 Comments
Tags: 2009, Baltimore, Dischord Records, documentary, France, french, Fugazi, gospel, guest host, hardcore, Ian McKaye, jazz, Maryland, Maryland Film Festival, Minor Threat, Nina Simone, Nina Simone: La Legende, punk, soul, The Evens, tickets

Nina Simone: La Legende Two legendary musicians come together at Maryland Film Festival 2009, when MFF guest host, punk/hardcore pioneer Ian MacKaye, presents the rarely screened French documentary Nina Simone: La Légende. This 1992 film, made for French television, captures soul/jazz/gospel icon Simone at her most impassioned and outspoken, reflecting on her life, career, and beliefs. It also incorporates performance and interview footage from a 1969 film about Simone, when her fearless, eclectic career was arguably at its peak.

It’s an intriguing choice from Dischord Records co-founder MacKaye, whose own work with such world-renowned bands as Minor Threat, Fugazi, and, currently, The Evens, is also known for its impassioned spirit and politically charged themes.We offer this not-to-be-missed event in the tradition of previous MFF musician guest-hosts as Jonathan Richman, Branford Marsalis, Will Oldham, and Henry Rollins — and we can’t wait to hear what MacKaye has to say about Simone and this inspiring documentary.

Click here to purchase tickets to NINA SIMONE: LA LEGENDE!

Read about Ian MacKaye guest hosting at the MFF on Pitchfork!

Read about it on Prefix!

John Waters Pick Announced: LOVE SONGS

Published April 27, 2009 1 1 Comment
Tags: Alex Beaupain, Andrew O'Hehir, Baltimore, bisexuality, Cannes, France, french, Jed Dietz, John Waters, Love Songs, Maryland, Maryland Film Festival, Oscars, Paris

May 8, 7:00pm

JOHN WATERS TO HOST 11TH MFF PICK!

French romantic films set in Paris are legendary; filmmakers from a variety of cultures have worked hard to emulate the specific energy of young people exploring their sexuality that French filmmakers seem to capture so easily. Director/screenwriter Christophe Honoré steps firmly into the middle of this tradition, and then twists and turns, and then throws a couple of punches. Honore’s world includes threesomes, bi-sexuality, and startling new ways to deal with grief.

Built around twelve songs by Alex Beaupain, Love Songs is the anti-Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Salon film critic Andrew O’Hehir describes it as a “blend of François Truffaut’s wistful Parisian sentimentalism and Pedro Almodóvar’s acrid polysexual comedy.”

Love Songs screened in competition at Cannes 2007, was nominated for numerous awards, including four Cesars (French Oscars), but the film never played on more than 6 screens in this country. The remarkable cast includes Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of actors Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni.

— Jed Dietz, Director, Maryland Film Festival

Click here to purchase tickets to LOVE SONGS!