Posts Tagged 'Jim Jarmusch'

ACCLAIMED CINEMATOGRAPHER BRADFORD YOUNG TO CO-HOST MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL’S 2013 CLOSING NIGHT FILM, MOTHER OF GEORGE!

Bradford Young

Bradford Young

Maryland Film Festival (May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore) is proud to announce that acclaimed cinematographer Bradford Young will co-host its 2013 Closing Night screening, presenting Oscilloscope Laboratories’ Mother of George alongside director Andrew Dosunmu. MFF 2013’s Closing Night, which takes place the evening of Sunday, May 12th in downtown Baltimore’s historic Charles Theater, will be the first public screening of Mother of George since its premiere within Sundance 2013.

Young won the U.S. Dramatic Cinematography award at Sundance 2013 for his gorgeous work on both Mother of George and David Lowery’s Cannes-bound Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. His rich body of work as cinematographer includes Dee ReesPariah (2011) and Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere (2012), as well as two features screened within Maryland Film Festival: James Spooner’s White Lies, Black Sheep (MFF 2008) and Dosunmu’s earlier feature Restless City (MFF 2011). It’s with great pleasure that MFF welcomes back to Baltimore one of the most talented cinematographers working in contemporary film.

The story of a Nigerian couple in Brooklyn struggling to make their young marriage work while running a restaurant and navigating a new culture, Mother of George boasts gripping central performances from Danai Gurira (of The Visitor, The Walking Dead, and Treme) and Isaach De Bankolé (whose distinguished filmography includes career-spanning collaborations with such directors as Claire Denis and Jim Jarmusch). Maryland Film Festival has proudly supported Mother of George since its earliest stages of development, awarding Dosunmu and screenwriter Darci Picoult the Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship for their script in 2005. It’s a beautiful and fitting selection for the closing night of the festival’s 15th annual edition.

ANDREW DOSUNMU’S MOTHER OF GEORGE TO CLOSE MARYLAND FILM FESTIVAL 2013!

mother-of-george-danai-gurira

MFF 2013 Closing Night selection: Andrew Dosunmu‘s Mother of George

Maryland Film Festival (May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore) is proud to announce our 2013 Closing Night selection, Mother of George by Andrew Dosunmu. Mother of George, which premiered in the prestigious U.S. Dramatic Competition section of Sundance 2013 and is distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories, will screen the evening of Sunday, May 12th in downtown Baltimore’s historic Charles Theater, with director Dosunmu in attendance.

The story of a Nigerian couple in Brooklyn struggling to make their young marriage work while running a restaurant and navigating a new culture, Mother of George boasts gripping central performances from Danai Gurira (of The Visitor, The Walking Dead, and Treme) and Isaach De Bankolé (whose distinguished filmography includes career-spanning collaborations with such directors as Claire Denis and Jim Jarmusch). Also of note is the film’s gorgeous cinematography from Bradford Young (of Pariah and Dosunmu’s 2011 feature Restless City), who won the U.S. Dramatic Cinematography award at Sundance 2013 for his gorgeous work on both this film and David Lowery’s forthcoming Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.

Maryland Film Festival has proudly supported Mother of George since its earliest stages of development, awarding Dosunmu and screenwriter Darci Picoult the Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship for their script in 2005. Dosunmu’s first produced narrative feature, the beautiful and moving Restless City, was presented within Maryland Film Festival 2011, and it’s with great pleasure that we welcomes him back to Baltimore with this tremendous new work.

The fifteenth annual Maryland Film Festival 2013 takes place May 8-12, 2013 in beautiful downtown Baltimore, screening nearly 50 features and 80 short films on 7 screens in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.  Click here to check out our 2013 program.

Next Gunky’s Basement: Jim Jarmusch’s DEAD MAN on 3/6!

DEAD MAN poster

Featuring an original screenprinted poster by Justin Lucas! Get yours for just $5 at the show!

Gunky’s Basement, the Maryland Film Festival series curated and hosted by Dan Deacon + Jimmy Joe Roche, continues with a rare 35mm screening of Jim Jarmusch‘s DEAD MAN!

Starring Johnny Depp as William Blake and Gary Farmer as Nobody, and featuring a stunningly stark soundtrack by Neil Young, DEAD MAN (1995) was a dramatic departure for director Jarmusch from the deadpan indie comedies Stranger Than Paradise and Mystery Train into the realm of “psychedelic western.”

DEAD MAN’s phenomenal supporting cast includes Crispin Glover, Iggy Pop, Gabriel Byrne, Billy Bob Thornton, and, in his last significant role, Robert Mitchum. Boasting gorgeous cinematography from Robby Müller (Paris, Texas; To Live and Die in LA; Breaking the Waves; Repo Man) DEAD MAN is a landmark film of the 1990s–and probably hasn’t screened on film in Baltimore since its initial release 18 years ago!

As always with Gunky’s Basement, it’s a 35mm print for just $5 and FREE for Friends of the Festival!  The film screens at 9pm at the Charles Theater on Wednesday 3/6.

Also featuring an original screenprinted poster created for the evening by Baltimore artist Justin Lucas!

More info on Gunky’s Basement here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_Film_Festival#Gunky.27s_Basement_Film_series

Become a fan of Gunky’s Basement here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/GUNKYS-BASEMENT-Film-Series-Presented-by-Dan-Deacon-Jimmy-Joe-Roche/228160647220302

Festival Programming Highlights #1: VITO and PILGRIM SONG

As we roll out the Baltimore premieres of over 100 new movies within MFF 2012 this weekend, we know it can be hard to make your final selections. Each day this week, MFF director of programming Eric Hatch will be highlighting a few titles he thinks you’re going to love.

Today’s programmer picks are the documentary VITO and the narrative PILGRIM SONG. Both have Friday daytime first screenings (to which our Friends of the Festival have FREE access!), and second screenings on Saturday.

VITO – A documentary about the inspiring story of gay-rights activist and Celluloid Closet author Vito Russo.

VITO is an incredibly moving documentary about Vito Russo, a lifelong film lover and activist who wrote The Celluloid Closet and co-founded ACT-UP. Courageous, full of personality, and unapologetically his own person, Vito was a true inspiration. Everyone I know who has seen this film has been blown away; file this one alongside The Times of Harvey Milk as an absolutely crucial documentary about gay activism in the United States. MFF regulars will remember director Jeffrey Schwarz from his William Castle documentary Spine Tingler! Head’s up: his next project is a documentary about Baltimore icon Divine!  VITO plays Friday 5/4 at 1:30pm and Saturday 5/5 at 2:30pm at the Charles Theater.  Click here for tickets.

PILGRIM SONG is an atmospheric, sensory-rich mix of comedy and drama by Martha Stephens.

PILGRIM SONG is an exquisitely shot drama with plenty of laughter along the way. Director Martha Stephens tells the story of a laid-off teacher in a sagging relationship who sets off on a solitary hike along a Kentucky trail. Along the way, he meets a cast of characters both poignant and humorous, worthy of comparison to the films of Kelly Reichardt (especially Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy) and Jim Jarmusch. Fresh from its world premiere at SXSW 2012, Pilgrim Song is a true gem of American indie filmmaking.  PILGRIM SONG plays Friday 5/4 at 2:30pm and Saturday 5/5 at 4:30pm at the Charles Theater.  Click here for tickets.

-Eric Hatch, Director of Programming