See the Oscar nominated Live-Action and Animated Shorts
February 23, 2010 Comments »
You can’t see these anywhere else!
Watch the five live-action short films nominated for the Oscar.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 7 p.m. at the Five Points Theatre
The Door – Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
A man and his family deal with the terrible aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.
Instead of Abracadabra – Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
A young man dreams of becoming a magician, while his exasperated father wishes he would find himself a job.
Kavi – Gregg Helvey
An Indian boy and his parents are forced to work as slave labor in a brick kiln.
Miracle Fish – Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
An eight-year-old boy receives an unusual paper fish for his birthday.
The New Tenants – Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Two men move into an apartment and find themselves entangled in its terrifying history.
Jacksonville Film Festival members get a ticket and concession discount!
Watch the five short animated films nominated for the Oscar.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 7 p.m Five Points Theatre
French Roast – Fabrice O. Joubert
A businessman drinking coffee in a Parisian café discovers that he has lost his wallet.
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty – Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
An old woman tells her own version of the Sleeping Beauty story to her terrified granddaughter.
Logorama – Nicolas Schmerkin
In a world made up entirely of trademarks and brand names, Michelin Man cops pursue a criminal Ronald McDonald.
A Matter of Loaf and Death – Nick Park
As a serial killer threatens the city’s bakers, Wallace and Gromit, now bakery owners, meet a mysterious woman and her poodle.
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte) – Javier Recio Gracia
The Grim Reaper and a self-satisfied doctor battle over the life of an elderly woman.
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
“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.
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!
New Coen Brothers’ film A Serious Man opens Thanksgiving at the 5 Points Theatre
November 25, 2009 Comments »
As the title of this post indicates, the new Coen Brothers’ movie A Serious Man opens Thanksgiving day at the 5 Points Theatre, with shows at 5, 7 and 9 pm. For more showtimes, go to www.5pointstheatre.com.
The Coen Brothers are famous for their unbroken string of astounding and truly different movies, from Raising Arizona to Fargo to O Brother, Where Art Thou to the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men (with many more in between).
Here’s a brief synopsis that I’m sure does not do justice to the film (from IMDB):
A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary mans search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik (Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg), a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith (Sari Lennick) that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances, Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. Larrys unemployable brother Arthur (Richard Kind) is sleeping on the couch, his son Danny (Aaron Wolff) is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah (Jessica McManus) is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job.
Chiaroscuro, Baby Red Carpet Premiere at Florida Theater
November 3, 2009 Comments »
If you can’t wait to see this local film when it opens Friday night at Five Points Theater, or if you just want to see the stars walk down the red carpet, come on out to the Florida Theatre on Wednesday, November 4 for one of the biggest film events this town has ever seen.
From the Florida Theater website:
The pre-show reception begins in the Florida Theatre lobby at 6pm and includes free drinks and free parking. After the stars make their way down the red carpet, the screening of the film will begin at 8pm.
Tickets are $38.50. Dress is black tie. You can purchase them from the Florida Theatre’s box office, Ticketmaster, or from the film’s website.
Casablanca Playing For Free This Friday
September 30, 2009 Comments »
The 5 Points Theatre will show Casablanca on Friday, October 2nd at 7 pm for free! We re-opened the theatre a year ago with a free showing of Casablanca, and wanted to run it again as our 1st anniversary approaches.
Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in the words of one character, love and virtue. He must choose between his love for a woman and helping her and her Resistance leader husband escape from the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.
Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a bitter, cynical American expatriate in Casablanca. He owns and runs “Rick’s Café Américain”, an upscale nightclub and gambling den that attracts a mixed clientele of Vichy French and Nazi officials, refugees and thieves. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, it is later revealed that he had run guns to Ethiopia to combat the 1935 Italian invasion, and fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War against Francisco Franco’s Nationalists.
Crude Coming to 5 Points Theatre
September 27, 2009 Comments »
You can catch this powerful documentary at the 5 Points Theatre October 18th-22nd. In addition to the film, we are planning a question and answer session with the one of the film makers. Stay tuned for further details.
Crude is three years in the making, this feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet.
The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case, Crude is a real-life high stakes legal drama, set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures.
Presenting a complex situation from multiple viewpoints, the film subverts the conventions of advocacy filmmaking, exploring a complicated situation from all angles while bringing an important story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.
My Life is Great: The Stevie Stiletto Story
September 22, 2009 Comments »
The 5 Points Theatre
Friday, October 9th at 7:00pm and 9:30pm
For over 25 years, the legendary band Stevie Stiletto were punk rock stalwarts, yet never got the national recognition they deserved. After dozens of releases, thousands of shows, hundreds of brushes with the law, countless line-up changes and one terminally ill diagnosis, the band is finally getting their due with this two-hour, in-depth documentary.
Starring Ray McKelvey, Frank Phillips, Lorne Mays, Neal Karrer, Michael Butler, Thommy Berlin
Produced and Edited by Kevin Dunn
Directed by Kevin Dunn and Doug Milne
Music by Stevie Stiletto
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.
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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.
