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In the midst of a creative crisis after years of making short films, a group of friends foolishly endeavor on the best possible way to break out of their seemingly hopeless situation: make their first feature film with no money, credibility, or talent.
Directed by Jason Taylor.
A criminal psychologist struggles to help a serial killer, stricken with amnesia, come to grips with his heinous crimes.
Directed by Nicholas Shields.
Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream. Directed by Julio Torres. Starring: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, Isabella Rossellini, RZA, James Scully, Greta Lee
Rated R
Corporate drone Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) hates his soul-killing job at software company Initech. While undergoing hypnotherapy, Peter is left in a blissful state when his therapist dies in the middle of their session. He refuses to work overtime, plays games at his desk and unintentionally charms two consultants into putting him on the management fast-track.
**VHS Night is a feature of the Broadway Theater and not a feature of CMIFF, therefore tickets are available via The Broadway’s ticket site for $8 in advance/$10 at the door.
A lyrical, decades-spanning exploration across a woman's life in Mississippi, the feature debut from award-winning poet, photographer and filmmaker Raven Jackson is a haunting and richly layered portrait, a beautiful ode to the generations of people and places that shape us. The New Yorker called it “the directorial debut of the year.”
Directed by Raven Jackson.
Rated PG-13
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Directed by Wim Wenders
Cast: Koji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Yumi Asou, Sayuri Ishikawa
Locally made short films from a variety of genres.
CAGED LION - John Paul Kerfoot
THE ART ASSISTANT - Sophie Worm
SALAMANDER - Paul Rothman
SLASHCHAT - Trenton Morgan
LONE WOLF - Nicholas D Gascho & Brittany Dunn
SOME STRINGS ATTACHED - Corinne Dukes
FAREWELL TOUR - Erik Howard
GIVE US A SMILE - Alessia Fionda
THE BOY & THE GALAXY - Isaac Shultz
UP IN MICHIGAN - Jack Lawrence
No one fights to preserve a multiplex, but some people will risk everything to save a marquee. Through booms and busts, Delft Theatres Inc. - and its innovative gem, The Nordic - endured in Marquette for almost 100 years, even as the world changed endlessly around them.
Local kid Bernie Rosendahl’s modern crusade to restore the historic arthouse to its former glory leads filmmakers to discover a hidden cinema empire in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Portraying the fascinating history of motion pictures through one iconic screen - "Marqueetown" is the true story of chasing your dreams, redefining failure and success, and reembracing the enduring magic of movies.
Directors Joe Beyer and Jordan Anderson will be on hand for a Q&A after the film
A Mexican American family, whose lives revolve around their legendary restaurant, prepares for their annual family reunion dinner oblivious to the fact that a shattered taco truck dream is about to change everything.
Directed by Nadia Zoe.
Rated PG-13
**Michigan Premiere**
In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance. But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself. Shuchi Talati’s debut film offers a sensitive and distinctive take on the fraught dynamics between mothers and daughters. Fresh off it’s premiere at Sundance, this is GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS first screenings in Michigan.
In English and Hindi with subtitles.
A diverse collection of short films made by college students.
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS - Kamilla Julia Kostrubiec (College of Creative Studies)
GORO GORO - Ryotaro Sawada & Agatha Tiara Christa (Savannah College of Art & Design)
OFFICER DAVE - Mateo Robert Bartlett (Motion Picture Institute)
LINT - Jack Horrigan (Saginaw Valley State University)
CRIME CLEANERS - Taylor University students
SITCOM SYNDROME - Taylor University students
NOTHING IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE - Caleb Couvion (Taylor University)
SINCERELY, JONAH - Cyan Shreve (Howard University)
ARCADERS - Abby Goebel (Taylor University)
GOLDEN GATE - Marissa Dutton (University of Michigan)
BURNING UP - Shaun Samtani (University of Michigan)
YOU’RE BREAKING UP, I’M GOING TO CALL YOU BACK - Mira H. Steuer (Ohio University)
UNTITLED AND UNFINISHED - Justin Park-Swanson (University of Michigan)
THRESHOLD - Tanner Hamilton (Grand Valley State University)
AISLE 5 - Taylor University students
An eclectic selection of innovative short films made by students in grades K-12. Come see films made by our youngest filmmakers!
THE ERASERVERSE - Made by students from Indian Hills Elementary (grades 4-6)
STATIC ETERNITY - Academy of Entertainment Arts at Hollins High School (St. Petersburg, FL)
JUNE’S HALLOWEEN - Blue Water Middle College (Port Huron, MI)
BEYOND THE GATE - Hickory High School and Governor's School of the Arts (Chesapeake, VA)
BREADWINNERS! - Savannah Arts Academy (Savannah, GA)
1, 2, 3 RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT - Taipei Municipal Song-Shan Senior High School
NON-STOP FOCUS - East High School (Denver, CO)
TVC-15: THE RETURN OF MAJOR TOM - Downriver Detroit Student Film Consortium
DEAN’S LIST - Savannah Arts Academy (Savannah, GA)
MAGIC ERASER: DELETE! - Chung Cheng Elementary School, New Taipei City
GAME PLAN - Zionsville Community High School (Zionsville, IN)
IT’S YOUR CHOICE - Audrey Maxon from San Domenico School (San Rafael, CA)
TABULA RASA: A FRESH START - Savannah Arts Academy (Savannah, GA)
WATER STAR MEDICINE (NASA) - Turquoise Trail Middle School/MESA Foundation
KUINERRAQ - MESA Foundation
Destined to be remembered as one of the great films about the meaning, texture, and experience of food, this sumptuous, exceptionally well-crafted work, set in late 19th-century France, stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel (married, decades ago, in real life) as Eugénie, a cook, and Dodin, the gourmet chef she has been working with for 20 years. As they reach middle age, they can no longer deny their mutual romantic feelings, which have so long been concentrated in their passionate professionalism. This simple narrative—based upon Marcel Rouff’s 1924 novel La passion de Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet—sets the table for a sublime, sense-heightening exploration of pleasure, in which the play of sunlight across a late-afternoon kitchen is as meaningful as the image of a perfectly poached pear or the crisp of a buoyant vol-au-vent. Director Trân Anh Hùng won the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his bravura, scrupulously deployed feat of epicurean cinema.
Directed by Anh Hung Tran.
In French with English subtitles
Rated PG-13
In order to escape a life of crime and drug abuse, Stan Zuray decided to leave his life in Boston behind and found his way to the remote interior of Alaska. This documentary follows the Discovery Channel star's life that he’s built for the last 40+ years, while processing the trauma that brought him to homestead in the middle of nowhere. It showcases parts of Stan's life that Discovery wouldn't show.
Throughout the film we follow Stan through his day to day activities, showcasing a beautiful yet brutal relationship with nature and we learn what it means to take control of your own life.
Director Ryan Walsh is a CMU grad and will be on hand for a Q&A after the film.
