Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory
The full film slate is unveiled for the upcoming PFF: Spring Showcase, a new spring extension of the Philadelphia Film Festival, which will be held Friday, April 11 to Thursday, April 17, 2014. In its opening weekend, the Showcase will feature 17 films currently screening through the international film festival circuit. The remainder of the event will feature evening screenings highlighting the creative and visually captivating films of 2014 Oscar Winner for Best Director, Alfonso Cuarón. The retrospective series will screen all of Cuarón’s features in chronological order beginning with his first, 1991’s SÓLO CON TU PAREJA.
New Feature Film Line-up includes:
Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory
USA // English // 2013 // 74 min
DIRECTOR: Michael Rossato-Bennett
This inspiring doc tracks the story of how music is being used to jog precious memories for hundreds of elderly patients suffering from dementia. Join us for this musical journey through these incredibly moving personal stories.
Belle
United Kingdom // English // 2013 // 105 min
DIRECTOR: Amma Asante
CAST: Gugu Mbatha Raw, Tom Wilkinson, Sam Reid, Sarah Gadon, Miranda Richardson, Penelope Wilton, Tom Felton, James Norton, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson
Featuring performances from Tom Wilkinson, Miranda Richardson and Emily Watson, Belle is a lush period piece based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate daughter of a Caribbean slave and a white British admiral. Adopted into her father’s family, Belle goes on a tumultuous journey towards marriage and freedom.
Club Sandwich
Spanish // Mexico // 2013 // 82 min
DIRECTOR: Fernando Eimbcke
CAST: María Renée Prudencio, Lucio Giménez Cacho Goded, Danae Reynaud
While on vacation at a secluded resort, the intense bond between fifteen-year-old Hector and his hip, single mom Paloma is threatened when Hector meets his first crush, a sweet girl his age named Jazmin. The awkwardness of adolescence is perfectly captured in Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke’s funny, gentle third feature.
The Double
United Kingdom // English // 2013 // 93 min
DIRECTOR: Richard Ayoade
CAST: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor, Cathy Moriarty, James Fox
Based on the novella by Dostoevsky, this surreal dramedy tells the story of a man (played by Jesse Eisenberg) driven crazy by the appearance of his doppelganger, a physically identical version of him who is more successful at work, has more confidence and is able to land the girl he loves (played by Mia Wasikowska).
Felony
Australia // English // 2013 // 105 min
DIRECTOR: Matthew Saville
CAST: Tom Wilkinson, Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney, Melissa George
Joel Edgerton and Tom Wilkinson star in this hard-boiled Australian thriller about a decorated police officer attempting to cover up his involvement in a brutal traffic accident.
Frank
Ireland, United Kingdom // English // 2013 // 95 min
DIRECTOR: Lenny Abrahamson
CAST: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy
Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gyllenhaal star in this hilarious offbeat comedy about a down-on-his-luck musician who gets his dream gig playing in a noise rock band run by an eccentric front man with a unique sense of perfection.
God Help the Girl
United Kingdom // English // 2013 // 111 min
DIRECTOR: Stuart Murdoch
CAST: Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, Hannah Murray, Pierre Boulanger, Cora Bissett
Stuart Murdoch, the creator of the Brit-pop group Belle & Sebastien, brings the music of his side project, God Help the Girl, to life in this adorable story of troubled teens with big dreams of forming a band.
Hellion
USA // English // 2014 // 98 min
DIRECTOR: Kat Candler
CAST: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner, Jonny Mars, Walt Roberts
Featuring a pair of incredible child performances, this Sundance sleeper hit tells the touching story of two brothers, lashing out against their father’s drinking problem and embracing their love of heavy metal and dirt bikes while finding their place inside their fragile world.
The Keeper of Lost Causes
Denmark, Germany, Sweden // Danish // 2013 // 97 min
DIRECTOR: Mikkel Nørgaard
CAST: Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Fares Fares, Sonja Richter, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Søren Pilmark, Troels Lyby
Reminiscent of other recent Scandinavian mysteries such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Keeper of Lost Causes tells the story of two eager detectives who try to solve a forgotten disappearance case that proves to be terrifyingly sinister.
Moebius
South Korea // Korean // 2013 // 89 min
DIRECTOR: Kim Ki-duk
CAST: Cho Jae-hyun, Seo Young-ju, Lee Eun-woo
One of the most daring pieces of modern cinema, Kim Ki-Duk’s shocking, provocative, grotesque, unpredictable meditation of family, monogamy and Buddhism is equal parts brilliant, hilarious and unsettling. A genre classic in the making.
Mood Indigo
France // French // 2013 // 100 min
DIRECTOR: Michel Gondry
CAST: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Omar Sy, Aïssa Maïga
Michel Gondry’s (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) latest film is the highly imaginative and touching tale of an intense love between a shy man and a sweet woman with an unusual illness where a flower grows in her lungs. Bursting with ideas, this moving story is indicative of the power of cinema.
Obvious Child
USA // English // 2013 // 83 min
DIRECTOR: Gillian Robespierre
CAST: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross, Gabe Liedman, Richard Kind
Comedian Jenny Slate shines as Donna Stern, a 27-year-old standup comedian who’s life and art is stagnated when an unexpected one night stand leaves her with a difficult decision in this hilarious and extremely personal story.
The One I Love
USA // English // 2014 // 91 min
DIRECTOR: Charlie McDowell
CAST: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson
Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss star as a young, struggling couple who are sent to a secluded resort to undergo a unique type of therapy. Once they arrive, they quickly realize that nothing there is what it seems in this thought-provoking comic gem from this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Supermensch
USA //English //2013 //84 min
DIRECTOR: Mike Myers
Actor Mike Myers’ directorial debut tells the legend of Shep Gordon, the infamously innovative and generous manager who launched the careers of Alice Cooper, Blondie, Luther Vandross and Raquel Welch. Packed with hilarious testimonials, this entertaining documentary tracks the life of an unsung entertainment hero.
Wetlands
Germany // German // 2013 // 109 min
DIRECTOR: David Wnendt
CAST: Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Meret Becker, Axel Milberg, Marlen Kruse, Edgar Selge
In the year’s edgiest romantic comedy, a kinky teenager ends up the hospital after an unusual shaving accident, only to find herself struck by an unexpected romance with a handsome male nurse.
Whitey: United States V. James J. Bulger
USA // English // 2014 // 107 min
DIRECTOR: Joe Berlinger
With unprecedented, jaw-dropping access, legendary documentarien Joe Berlinger returns with a portrait of the south Boston mobster whose impending trial has cracked open decades of fascinating questions about corruption in the FBI.
Witching and Bitching
Spain // Spanish // 2013 // 110 min
DIRECTOR: Alex de la Iglesia
CAST: Hugo Silva, Mario Casas, Pepon Nieto, Carolina Bang, Terele Pavez, Jaime Ordoñez, Carlos Areces, Santiago Segura, Secun de la Rosa, Macarena Gomez, Grabriel Delgado, Carmen Maura
A set of bumbling bank robbers get more than they bargained for when their high speed getaway leads them off the grid into a small village where a blood-thirsty coven of witches is preparing for an ancient ritual in this zany Spanish horror comedy.
Alfonso Cuarón Retrospective Series includes:
Children of Men
USA, United Kingdom // English, German, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Arabic, Georgian // 2006 // 109 min
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
CAST: Clive Owen, Juliane Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine
A harrowing vision of the future, this invigorating science fiction thriller follows a sultry activist who is trying to transport the last pregnant woman on earth to safety.
Gravity
USA, United Kingdom // English // 2013 // 91 min
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
CAST: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
With balletic percision, Cuarón directs this terrifying story of an astronaut, untethered in space, looking to find her way home. Come take this last chance to see this cinematic triumph on the big screen in glorious 35mm.
Great Expectations
USA // English, French // 1998 // 111 min
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
CAST: Gwyneth Paltrow, Ethan Hawke, Hank Azaria, Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft, Robert De Niro
Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow are electric in this modern adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel about a goodhearted painter pining after his childhood love.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
USA, United Kingdom // English // 2004 // 142 min
Alfonso CuarónDaniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman
Tapped to direct the third installment of the popular series, Cuarón put his unique stamp on the project with mixed film stocks, new art direction and deep characterizations that quickly became new hallmarks of the worldwide sensation.
A Little Princess
USA // English, French // 1995 // 97 min
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
CAST: Liesl Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Rusty Schwimmer
In this charming adaptation of the classic Francis Hodgson Burnett novel, Cuarón’s sophomore feature tells the story of a young girl who is sent to a demanding boarding school when her father goes missing.
Soló Con Tu Pareja
Mexico // Spanish, English, Japanese, Latin // 1991 // 94 min
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
CAST: Daniel Giménez Cacho, Claudia Ramírez, Luis de Icaza, Astrid Hadad, Dobrina Liubomirova, Isabel Benet
Cuarón’s first feature is a hilarious dark comedy of errors about star crossed lovers, a mistaken diagnosis of HIV and two attempted suicides.
Y Tu Mamá También
Mexico // Spanish // 2006 // 106 min
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuarón
CAST: Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna
The breakthrough film that really made Cuarón famous, this is the sexy, daring story of two teenagers who embark on an enlightening road trip with an attractive older woman.