VIRGINIA MINNESOTA (2017)

[caption id="attachment_29603" align="aligncenter" width="1242"] The Song of Sway Lake[/caption] Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema returns with a film lineup of 110 films and Regal Entertainment Group as the lead sponsor for the 2nd annual 10-day event in Queens, taking place from August 3rd to August 11th, 2018. While the festival organizers are saddened to leave the Kew Gardens Cinemas in Kew Gardens, they are very excited for what this means for the future of the film festival. For it’s sophomore year, Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema will be moving into its new home at Regal Entertainment Group’s UA Midway Stadium 9 in Forest Hills, Queens. The Opening Night Film at the Midway will be the New York Premiere of Ari Gold’s award-winning and critically acclaimed “The Song of Sway Lake” starring Rory Culkin on Friday, August 3rd at 6:30pm. On Sunday, August 12th, the festival’s Awards Dinner Gala returns to Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. To kick-off the sophomore edition, Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema has partnered with Queens Museum to bring A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S FEAST: A Celebration of Food, Art and Cinema. This spectacular one-night event, taking place inside the Queens Museum on Tuesday, July 31st from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., will feature over 30 food vendors from Queens and other parts of NYC. On Thursday, August 9th, the Queens Museum will be presenting a festival selected film, as part of their Passport Thursdays Outdoor Screening series. On Saturday, August 12th, The Center At Maple Grove will play host to two panels – The Jury’s Out: Meet the 2018 Festival Jurors, and A Change Overdue: Diversity in Cinema, a discussion on diversity in an independent film featuring invited filmmakers from the Festival. Friday, August 10th, UA Midway Stadium 9 will play host to the Festival’s Midnight Madness Grindhouse Horror Night.

2018 Kew Gardens Festival of Cinema Film Lineup

NARRATIVE FEATURES:

A VIOLENT MAN Dir. Matthew Berkowitz, USA, 107 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE Ty is a little known MMA fighter until a viral video reveals him beating the undefeated world champion in a local gym. Ty is suddenly a murder suspect when the reporter covering his story is found dead, but why kill the journalist who would make him a legend? ALL EYES ON YOU Dir. Felix Maxim Eller, Germany, 88 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE The silent loner Marco is dreaming about a girl ever since they met, but she seems to have disappeared. In a cold Halloween night, he searches for her in the streets once again. Chased by a mysterious man, he soon discovers the darkest secrets of the city, initiating a nightmarish race against time. BEHIND THE BLUE DOOR Dir. Mariusz Palej, Poland , 93 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE For 11-year-old Lukas, an incredible adventure begins the moment he and his mom set off on a summer holiday trip and have a terrible car crash. His mom is in a coma, and the boy must visit his aunt Agatha. She brings him to her guesthouse by the seaside. Here, discovers a secret passage to a different dimension and soon learns what amazing and yet frightening mysteries this new world offers. The movie won Best Debut at Ale Kino! BLUE Dir. Gabriela Ledesma, USA, 109 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE Based on true events, Blue is a light hearted drama that tells the story of Helen Daniels, a young woman struggling to piece her world together after a botched suicide attempt. This is the debut feature film for writer/director Gabriela Ledesma. BRUCE!!!! Dir. Eden Marryshow, USA, 104 min. QUEENS PREMIERE Let’s be real: Bruce is an a**hole. He’s sh*tty to his friends. He’s sh*tty to pretty much every woman in his life. He has no job. He has no career. And his parents are tired of lending him money. And you know what? Honestly, all of this was working out pretty well for him, until he meets Kiera, falls hopelessly in love and is finally forced to grow the f*ck up… in his thirties. CHASING SUNSHINE Dir. Darren Coyle, USA, 63 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE A buddy, odd couple comedy where we follow Darcy and Jack as they drive all over the San Fernando Valley following clues on a scavenger hunt. DARCY Dir. Heidi Philipsen and Jon Russell Cring, USA, 96 min. QUEENS PREMIERE It’s summer break, and fifteen-year-old Darcy is working in her family’s motel, a seedy operation on the edge of town. Sustaining the motel is the practice of taking in occupants who have until only recently been incarcerated—an arrangement that Darcy’s parents have arranged with the Department of Corrections for a price. EDGE OF THE WORLD Dir. Randy Redroad, USA, 85 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE Mitch Davis has a long winning history as the Boys Ranch cross country coach. Admired for his leadership with at risk young men, he is well respected by his peers. But, since a devastating personal loss five years ago, Coach Davis has not been the same. HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN Dir. Milton Chassman, USA, 91 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE One part mockumentary, one part docu-drama, How to Grow Your Own could very well be cinema’s first ever mocku-drama! It tells the story of a weed-growing agoraphobic and the directionless stoner who comes to stay. INTO THE VALLI Dir. Nicholas Buscarino, USA, 77 min. WORLD PREMIERE Into the Valli takes us on a dive into Chris Parrella’s warped mind; which houses a multi-layered obsession to do whatever it takes to emulate the life of a legendary singer. As his family distances themselves, his obsession grows deeper in hopes he can reach the same level of success. MOVING PARTS Dir. Emilie Upczak, Trinidad and Tobago, 77 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE After the death of her father, Zhenzhen hires a smuggler to take her to the Caribbean island where her brother, Wei, works in construction. Wei gets her a job at a restaurant, but when the smuggler demands more cash, she is forced into a compromising position. Help comes unexpectedly from Evelyn, who runs an art gallery in the neighborhood—but the contrast between the dark rooms above the restaurant and the blindingly white gallery calls everyone’s innocence into question. MURDER MADE EASY Dir. Dave Palamaro, United States, 76 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE Best pals Joan and Michael host an elaborate dinner party for their dearest friends to remember the passing of Joan’s husband Neil. But as each guest arrives they find that their very lives are on the menu to protect a secret that links them all. Pop Horror.com calls Murder Made Easy: “A spectacular homage to the classic murder mysteries of Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock.” MY NAME IS BATLIR, NOT BUTLER Dir. Stare Yildirim, Turkey, 90 min. QUEENS PREMIERE In My Name is Batlir, Not Butler, the film’s protagonist says, “I’m not actually overweight, I just have some excess in a certain area….It is told in Anatolia that, the baby looks like whatever the mother craves for while she is pregnant. My mother craved for watermelon. I mostly talk to 52 Hertz, she is the loneliest whale in the world, and she is my best friend.” NYMPHADELLE Dir. Quentin de Jubécourt, France, 55 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE A long time ago, in a medieval world, Aegeus, son of Lord Theron, is forced to hide in the forest after the murder of his parents for political reasons. He meets there a young woman, Asteria, who decides to follow him on his journey. ONE BEDROOM Dir. Darien Sills-Evans, USA, 83 min. QUEENS PREMIERE Breaking up is easy. Moving out is hard. After five years of ups and downs, an African American 30-something couple in a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood spends their final afternoon together arguing and remember better days, as one of them moves out and hopefully on with her life. REGIONRAT Dir. Javier Reyna, USA, 99 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE Ray, a pothead underachieving teenager, feeling lonely after a self-imposed six months exile in Seattle, returns to his hometown and as he reconnects with friends, he is soon reminded why he left town in the first place. Based on the novel by Richard Laskowski. SNOWFLAKE Dir. Adolfo Kolmerer and William James, Germany, 121 min. In an odd twist of fate, Tan and Javid find themselves living out a bizarre screenplay page by violent page. While hunting down the murderer of their families, their reality turns topsy turvy when they read of their own untimely deaths and realize this screenplay is coming true. SOMETHING Dir. Stephen Portland, USA, 90 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE A man (Michael Gazin) and woman (Jane Rowen) are struggling to adjust to life with their new baby. But their situation begins to unravel further, when they start to suspect that a menacing stranger could be lurking, watching, even entering their home. This twisty and chilling single-location drama/horror/mystery will keep you guessing right up until the end, and even after that. SUSHI TUSHI OR HOW ASIA BUTTED INTO AMERICAN PRO FOOTBALL Dir. Ziad Hamzeh, USA, 90 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE The coach of a pro football team, The Portland Lobsters, that has lost 32 in a row, as a last resort, travels to Japan to buy a school of sumo wrestlers. He intends to bring the sumo wrestlers back to Maine to replace his inept offensive line. The team is eventually able to form a front line that allows their QB to throw a pass and not get sacked. T-JUNCTION Dir. Amil Shivji, Tanzania, 105 min. After the passing of her estranged father, Fatima makes an unlikely friend at a hospital, Maria. Bound by pain, Fatima keeps coming back to hear Maria’s tale of the T-junction where she found love and loss in a ragtag community. THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS Dir. Adrian Goiginger, Austria, 103 min. QUEENS PREMIERE A kid’s true story of his life in the unusual world of his heroin addict mother and their love of each other. THE DIRTY KIND Dir. Vilan Trub, USA, 85 min. WORLD PREMIERE Raymond, a young private investigator specializing in divorce, gets too ambitious and takes on a case that involves more than just snapping pictures of cheating couples. While searching for the estranged daughter of a client, Raymond discovers that she works as a stripper under the name Natalie Cottontail. Natalie’s exploits bring together a desperate collection of lost souls – sucking everyone down a drain of despair. THE DOCTOR’S CASE Dir. James Douglas, Canada, 66 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE The Master of Horror meets the Master Detective. When a diabolical English lord is murdered, Sherlock Holmes and Watson must unexpectedly exchange roles in order to solve ‘the perfect locked room mystery.’ Based on the short story by Stephen King. THE ESCORT Dir. Bizhan Tong, United Kingdom, 69 min. WORLD PREMIERE When Eric pays an escort, Veronica, for 60 minutes of her time he intends to convince her to quit this line of work. But Veronica is no damsel in distress and what ensues is a verbal battle of wits which peel away the layers of who they really are. What they find out about themselves and the secret Eric holds will ensure nothing remains the same again. THE MISSING SUN Dir. Brennan Vance, USA, 78 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE After a solar flare powers down her remote community, Alma discovers her husband Terry comatose. Suspecting he is having an out-of-body affair with an ex-lover, Alma attempts to bring him back to reality with help from Terry’s estranged, drug-addled son and the leader of a new-age religion that specializes in astral travel. THE SONG OF SWAY LAKE Dir. Ari Gold, USA, 94 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE It’s summer on Sway Lake, the most glamorous lake in the Adirondacks – former playground of the jazz-age New York aristocracy. Music collector Ollie Sway recruits his only friend, a rowdy Russian drifter, to help him steal a 78 record from his own family’s estate. TRAUMA Dir. Lucio A. Roja, Chile , 107 min. A shocking, brutal tale that blends the dark history of Chile’s recent past (violent and repressive military dictatorship of Pinochet) with the seemingly modern and progressive Chile of today. The two worlds clash when a group of women venture to the idyllic countryside for a weekend of fun. However, their outing soon turns nightmarish when a man, a victim of torture in the hands of the government, unleashes his pent-up rage on them. VIRGINIA MINNESOTA Dir. Daniel Stine, USA, 97 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE Separated for fifteen years by a childhood tragedy that robbed them of their mysterious and inspirational little friend, Virginia, two young women—Lyle and Addison—are reunited at the place both vowed never to return. Together, they embark on an illuminating overnight journey where they revisit painful memories and discover long-forgotten gifts Virginia had bestowed on them so many years before. WE (WIJ) Dir. Rene Eller, The Netherlands, 100 min. Sex, nihilism and aimless youth…During one hot summer in a Belgian-Dutch border village, eight teenagers play games of discovery to break the listless monotony. They challenge each other and themselves and soon, their sexual curiosity starts to blur the lines between right and wrong.

DOCUMENTARIES:

BENEATH THE INK Dir. Cy Dodson, USA, 13 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE A timely look at hate and racism in one Southeastern Ohio community that reveals heartfelt moments of change and redemption. BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOODS Dir. Seth Fein, USA, 82 min. Have you seen the Unisphere? What do you see? Between Neighborhoods sees the interborough and international histories of imperialism and immigration that orbit the world, in Queens, across the last fifty years. HORROR MOVIE: A LOW BUDGET NIGHTMARE Dir. Gary Doust, Australia, 100 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE A filmmaker’s life-long dream turns into a nightmare when he sets out to make a super-low-budget horror film about an aborted fetus that seeks revenge on its family. With Hollywood ‘scream queen’ Dee Wallace (E.T., Cujo, The Howling) onboard, union issues and the budget spiralling out of control, it’s not long before things wildly go off the rails. KEW GARDENS: SAVE THE BRIDGE Dir. Jonathan Oliveira, USA, 19 min. WORLD PREMIERE A series of mom and pop shops reside on the Kew Gardens bridge which bring a variety of uniqueness to the community; but after the MTA pleas for the bridge to be brought down, three teens take it upon themselves to give the people of Kew Gardens a voice to speak out against the corporate giant. MODIFIED Dir. Aube Giroux, Canada, 87 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE Modified is a feature-length documentary-memoir that questions why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the United States and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. NOTHING CHANGES: ART FOR HANK’S SAKE Dir. Matthew Kaplowitz, USA, 80 min. How far would you go to pursue your passion? At 87 years old, Hank Virgona commutes to his Union Square studio six days a week and makes art. Despite poor health, cancer, lack of revenue and obscurity as an artist, Hank is unrelenting in his quest to understand how life and art are the same. OPERATION WEDDING Dir. Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov, Israel and Latvia, 63 min. QUEENS PREMIERE Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Soviet Jews who were denied exit visas, plots to “hijack” an empty plane and escape the USSR. STAMP SHOW Dir. Michael Fishman, USA, 14 min. WORLD PREMIERE In 2016 the world’s largest stamp show, which takes place once every ten years, was held in NYC at the Javits Convention Center. The subject was intriguing though I knew it would be crowded and challenging (the official count for attendees was 23,017). With a small camera in hand, I set out to capture the experience of attending the sprawling show. THE COMMODORE STORY Dir. Steven Fletcher, United Kingdom, 120 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE A cram-packed 2-hour documentary that take us through Commodore’s world changing evolution from the 70’s to the 90’s from the PET, Vic20, C64 to the Amiga and beyond including the very rare C65 and the wave of new Commodore related products that are hitting the market today. Commodore was started by Jack Tramiel who was a survivor of the Holocaust. THIS LAND Dir. Alan Thompson, USA, 58 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE This land is our only home, yet due to our addiction to fossil fuels, a finite, non-renewable source of energy to sustain our lifestyles, we are putting our future at risk. This Land takes us from the Texas and Mexico border to the Dakotas, and then Northern Canada. We’ll meet native and local communities fighting against gas and oil pipelines and see what is at stake for our land, this land.

SHORT FILMS:

88 CENTS Dir. Tyler Pina, USA, 37 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE A TAXI OF COLDNESS Dir. Joonha Kim, South Korea, 20 min. ACE Dir. Jordan Gear, USA, 19 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE AN AMERICAN ATTORNEY IN LONDON Dir. Darrell Alden, United Kingdom, 15 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE ANGEL OF ANYWHERE Dir. James Kicklighter, USA, 22 min. ANOTHER GIRL Dir. Austin Kase, USA, 22 min. AWKWARD Dir. Jared Beekhuyzen, Australia, 13 min. WORLD PREMIERE BLESS ME FATHER Dir. Paul Horan, USA, 16 min. BUTTERFLIES Dir. Cady McClain, USA, 13 min. QUEENS PREMIERE CAST IRON CAN’T BE WELDED Dir. Buks Rossouw, South Africa, 19 min. CREATIVE BLOCK Dir. Nicola Rose, USA, 16 min. QUEENS PREMIERE DAMES IN CARS Dir. Jason Spagnuoli, USA, 6 min. DOOR TO DOOR Dir. Kevin Etherson, USA, 9 min. QUEENS PREMIERE E.RO.SION, NOUN Dir. Catriona Rubenis-Stevens, USA, 14 min. QUEENS PREMIERE FLOAT Dir. Tristan Seniuk and Voleak Sip, USA 24 min. QUEENS PREMIERE JESSICA Dir. Jessica Kingdon, USA, 11 min. JOE Dir. Kaye Tuckerman, USA, 20 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE LOSS Dir. Jayne Nicoletti, USA, 3 min. MS. LINDA Dir. Ciara Cordasco, USA, 3 min. MY NAME IS SOMEBODY Dir. Orges Bakalli, USA, 14 min. ONCE UPON A DREAM Dir. Anthony Nion, Belgium, 13 min. QUEENS PREMIERE PATH OF DREAMS Dir. Tamara Ruppart, Japan, 25 min. QUEENS PREMIERE PHOTOKILL Dir. Lance J. Reha, USA, 19 min. PIETAS Dir. Lance J. Reha, USA, 4 min. R.V Dir. Will Hawkes and Melissa Center, USA, 10 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE ROOSTER AND THE QUEEN Dir. Aaron Weisblatt , USA , 18 min. ROSE AND PEONY Dir. Sébastien Azzopardi , France, 11 min. SISTERS Dir. Charles Ancelle, USA, 21 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE ST. JOSEPH Dir. Kathrina Miccio, USA, 24 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE SWEETHEART Dir. Marco Spagnoli, Italy, 8 min. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE TABIIB (THE DOCTOR) Dir. Jim Savio, USA, 30 min. THE CONDUCTOR Dir. Xavier Guignard, United Kingdom, 22 min. EAST COAST PREMIERE THE GIRLS WERE DOING NOTHING Dir. Dekel Berenson, United Kingdom, 17 min. THE INVADERS Dir. Mateo Márquez, USA, 7 min. NEW YORK PREMIERE THE LONG WET GRASS Dir. Justin Davey, Ireland, 14 min. QUEENS PREMIERE THE NOISE OF THE LIGHT Dir. Valentin Petit, France, 23 min.

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