The DoorPost Film Project Winners Screening at 5 Points Theatre
February 12, 2010 Comments »
Independent Film in Jacksonville is alive and well and we have this great, FREE event on Monday at the 5 Points Theatre to prove it. The DoorPost Film Project Screening will show all four winners of the 2009 Short Film Contest.
The Doorpost Film Project exists to encourage truth-seeking visionaries by honoring their creativity as filmmakers, serving them in the context of building community and sharing their discoveries with the world so that others may have hope.
The Butterfly Circus
La Premiere
The Rift
Guest Room
5 Points Theatre Media Update 2/4
February 4, 2010 Comments »
1. Our midnight movie this week will be Back to the Future 2 (and 3, which I said last week). Note that it starts at 11 pm (we often do that when the 9 pm movie is less than 2 hours long). After that we’ve got:
February 12 – Heathers – 11 pm
February 19 – Housu – 11 pm
February 26 – Weird Science – 11 pm
2. Me and Orson Welles and Nine start this Friday (Nine at 5 and 9 pm and Orson at 7 pm). Both are fun movies that got overlooked at Christmas. Broken Embraces (the new Almodavar film) starts February 12. It looks like we’ll get The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (the new film from Director Terry Gilliam, and Heath Ledger’s last film) starting on March 12.
Trailers:
Nine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_5_lzags3I
Me and Orson Welles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTofKi1XUJM
Broken Embraces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IApuTyhNW_E
Imaginarium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3giivt2l3MY
3. Join us for the Super Bowl! Doors will open at 6 pm on Sunday, February 7th. As always, football is free at the 5 Points Theatre. We are also moving our scheduled movies to earlier in the day on Sunday.
4. The theatre will be showing the Oscar-nominated live action and animated shorts. Live action shorts will be shown on Tuesday, February 23rd at 7 pm. Animated shorts will be Wednesday, February 24th at 7 pm. This should be a fun look at some interesting films. Many short film directors go on to bigger and better things in the future.
Wine, Films, Community
Comments »
First Coast Film Friends Happy Hour
Tuesday, February 9 at 7:00pm.
Walkers in Riverside
Invite your friends and others interested in the film/television and entertainment industry.
To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=278238804227&mid=1ce643fG1f58ac83G3e2910aG7
2009 Doorpost Project Winning Films Screen in Jax
Come watch the top four winners from 2009 at the Five Points Theatre on Monday, February 15 at 8 p.m.
The Doorpost Film Project is an international filmmaking competition in which filmmakers create a 7-minute movie that captures a truth-seeking topic such as freedom, joy, community, authenticity.
The top 20 finalists are chosen and must submit script for a new 12 to 30-minute short based one of the same themes as the first round.
Five finalists are then commissioned to shoot a second short for the final round of the project for which they are each given $40,000.
The first place winner received $100,000.
The event is the kickoff for Cinemania, a new film society launched by the Florida Times-Union and www.jacksonville.com.
For more information contact Cinemania director contact Sharon Y. Cobb Sharon@FunnyFixx.com.
5 Points Theatre Media Update 1/25/10
January 25, 2010 Comments »
1. We’ve just gotten back from the Art House Convergence conference in Salt Lake City, and we picked up a bunch of big and small ideas to improve the theatre. One of the easiest was to post our press releases online. So, from now on, I’ll be posting these Media Updates at www.jaxindiefilm.com.
2. An Education is playing now. It’s gotten great reviews, and generated some Oscar buzz for lead actress Carey Mulligan. We’ve got it for two weeks (through February 3rd).
3. Starting February 5th we’ve got Nine and Me and Orson Welles. Nine is a musical by the director of Chicago. It opened on Christmas Day and got killed by Avatar, Sherlock Homes, It’s Complicated and Up In The Air. We think people around Riverside will like it.
Me and Orson Welles is a fun little film by director Richard Linklater (School of Rock, Dazed and Confused and others) and starring Zac Efron of High School Musical fame. It’s set in 1937 as Orson Welles is putting on his now-famous version of Julius Caeser at the Mercury Theatre. Here’s the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQvq7eulfWc
4. There’s been a little bit of confusion about our Midnight Movie starting times. We try to start the Midnight Movie soon after the late movie, so they can range from 11 pm to midnight. Here are the start times for our next few late movies:
January 29 – Labyrinth – 11 pm
New One\
February 5 – Back to the Future 2 – 11 pm
February 12 – Heathers – 11:30 pm
February 19 – House – TBD
House is a truly strange Japanese ghost story from 1977. Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0NWIxl2VJk
5. Broken Embraces, the new Pedro Almodovar film startting Penelope Cruz, will open February 12th. Watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWw9n0ekYCw
Filming on a Microbudget
January 18, 2010 Comments »
WORKS IN PROGRESS present filmmaker Patrick Barry who’s producing his independent feature VEER!, set to film in Jacksonville on 16mm, on a microbudget.
Monday, January 18th, 6pm-8pm @ WJCT (Community Room)
100 Festival Park Avenue
Global Perspectives: International Independent Film Showcase
January 15, 2010 Comments »
Come see short films and documentaries from Bangladesh, Burma, Kenya, and other countries, and meet the filmmakers who produced them at the 5 Points Theatre on January 21. The filmmakers are visiting the Jacksonville as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
Doors for the free screening open at 5:30 p.m. Donations benefit the International Visitor Corps of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Film Festival.
“Up in the Air”: A Lighthearted Look @ Layoffs
January 11, 2010 Comments »
Losing 7 million jobs over the past two years is nothing to laugh about. Yet “Up in the Air’s” tongue and cheek approach to telling the story of corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) who flies around the country firing people for a living during is funny, refreshing, and cathartic.
It may be cliché, but laughter really is the best medicine.
Like many of my friends, I was laid off last year, and almost every week I’d hear a story about someone else who’d lost his or her job. Add to that the daily news reports spouting even more pessimism about any signs of recovery.
That’s why Jason Reitman’s lighthearted yet poignant take on the tsunami of layoffs this country has seen was, pardon the pun, like a breath of fresh air.
I loved some of the film’s ironic twists. Bingham spends the rest of his time of the road as a motivational speaker. Oh and the company he works for decides to cut costs by having its employees fire people virtually rather than in person.
The writing is nothing short of brilliant. Lines like “I just don’t want to settle. I was supposed to drive a Grand Cherokee by now” deserve to share the spotlight with the likes of “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
It takes an independent director to blend the real life aspects of well, real life—even at its most difficult moments—with satire and sarcasm in a way that is wonderfully enjoyable. I haven’t seen “Avatar” but I can safely say this is my Oscar pick for Best Picture.
The 5 Points Theatre will be showing “Up In The Air” from January 15 to January 21.
A dash of film to spice up the New Decade
January 4, 2010 Comments »
First Coast Film Society Social
Hob nob with local filmmakers and the people who bring their characters to life at The First Coast Film Society’s monthly social.
Tuesday, January 5 at 6:30 pm, Ale House in Tinseltown.
To see more details and RSVP, follow this link :
www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=397047280318&mid=1a35800G3fee6425G12ae3feG7
NorthStar Film Fest at the January 6 ArtWalk
For those of you who love ArtWalk but don’t want to invest in the gloves you’re going to need if it stays as bone chilling cold as it’s been, you can stay warm while enjoying some films made across our state for the 48 Hour Film Project and National Film Challenge.
Two of the nine short films made the top 15 in the world. Screenings will be preceded by performances by local artists.
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 5 to 9 p.m at 119 E. Bay Street
Hope no one is planning any outdoor screenings any time soon! See you at the movies.
Black Gold, Black Hole
December 29, 2009 Comments »
Until I caught a glimpse of this informative chart I thought I had a good grip on the cinematic offerings of doomsday entertainment this year. Having not even heard of the outlier to the right, my curiosity was piqued.
So Collapse is apparently an independent film directed by Chris Smith with dire prognostications from a seemingly reliable source. Remember the premise of Mad Max? We run out of oil and the world goes to hell pretty quick. Well, I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but the main and only character in this documentary seems to think we are rapidly approaching or perhaps have even surpassed Peak Oil.
In the wake of two notable faux-documentary films this summer it is hard to know if what you are watching is actual footage and what is more clever fabricated story telling. this guy seems legit enough, has the credentials to back it all up and basically lays out a convincing enough story you might find yourself tilling your backyard for your own apocalypse garden.
So where catch a glimpse of the prophesy? Basically you are out of luck unless you have Comcast OnDemand. I have been tweeting at this guy for some kind of clue as to how to get this shown in Jacksonville, but I haven’t had too much luck. Perhaps if there was more interest we could get this here… before it’s too late.
Building an Independent Film Community
December 24, 2009 Comments »
“Juno,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Thank You for Smoking”—these are just a few of the wonderful independent films I’ve seen over the years.
Don’t get me wrong I love a good Hollywood blockbuster like “The Dark Knight” or “Pirates of the Caribbean” but there’s something so real and refreshing about a film that retains the artistic vision of the director and relies much more on story than action or special effects.
Indie films like the recently released “Precious” also touch on issues that many of the large movie studios shy away from. They give us a broader perspective about life and the realities we and others we may not usually cross paths with face.
When I moved to Jacksonville, there was no venue dedicated to these lower-budget, truly imaginative films made by new and emerging directors.
Then one of the things on my wish list, besides learning to surf (now moved to the 2010 list), came true. The 5 Points Theatre reopened in November of 2008 as a theatre dedicated to art house and indie films.
That wasn’t the only cool thing about its reopening. As I read more about Jacksonville’s early 20th century movie-making roots, I learned that the 5 Points Theatre had been a big part of that legacy.
Built in 1927, the 5 Points Theatre was the first theatre in Florida and the third in the country to show “talkies” or talking movies.
Did you know that the theater is reported to have had the longest run of “The Godfather” of any theater in the country?
When Jack Shad and Pete Moseley who own the building and the theatre were looking at what to do with the venue after it has spent much of the 80’s and 90’s as a playhouse and a nightclub, all that history factored into their decision.
“We looked at other options for the space – restaurants, event space, etc. – but it just seems to want to be a theatre,” Jack highlighted.
“We think there’s a need for a venue to show independent film. There are just not that many places that will take a chance on locally made films or non-blockbuster type movies.”
As someone who makes documentaries, that’s music to my ears.
Locally and independently produced films don’t have access to the big marketing and distribution budgets that the big studios offer. So if the directors of these films want them to be seen, the best place to reach audiences is through community venues like the 5 Points Theatre.
Sure you can rent the DVD in a couple of months, but a theater gives you a chance to meet people with similar interests and have a discussion with them about a film.
That’s community.
Indie film like other arts and cultural offerings makes a city like Jacksonville vibrant and draws people from other parts of the country looking to relocate to an interesting, affordable city with a thriving arts scene.
Jaxindiefilm.com is your central resource for local and independent film in Jax. We’ll feature interviews with local filmmakers and a place for them and film lovers to connect and build community.
Have an upcoming film event? Finished a new film? Send us an email three weeks in advance: news@jaxindiefilm.com
As the big movie season begins, I look forward to bringing people together to watch something a little different, not quite off the beaten path… but maybe a slight detour from the route you normally take.
See y’all at the movies!
About JaxIndieFilm
Created to be a gathering place for the Jacksonville film community to read and post articles on film. We're building a strong independent film community in Jacksonville. In association with the 5 Points Theatre.
Have Local Film News?
Email us at: news@jaxindiefilm.com
Contributors
Natalie Halpern is passionate about cultivating a vibrant cultural community in Jacksonville, through independent film.
Alex Martinez spends his free time working on photography, short films and is a strong supporter of independent film.
Stacie Cregg is a theater major who reads books, drinks beer, and watches movies.
Tad Kellermann future director of groundbreaking, genre-redefining motion pictures.
