2008 Festival Information

Event Venues

Festival History

Thursday, October 18, 2007
All Thursday Screenings Held at Venue #1: Crandell Theatre

1:30pm My County My County
Peabody Award–winner Laura Poitras spent eight months alone in Iraq making this documentary that focuses on the 2005 elections, although it has larger implications for the American occupation. The central figure is Sunni electoral candidate and doctor Dr. Riyadh and assorted U.S. and U.N. officials, as well as private contractors. Directed by Laura Poitras. Documentary. 90 minutes. Not rated

Short: Honored Director Stephanie Fischette

3:00pm Terror’s Advocate
A powerful, disturbing documentary on attorney Jacques Verges who, in addition to being a chum of Pol Pot when the two were students at the Sorbonne, is famous worldwide for defending Klaus Barbie. When asked if he would defend Hitler, Verges is reputed to have replied, "I'd even defend Bush." Directed by Barbet Schroeder, whose documentary on Idi Amin was similarly controversial. 138 minutes. Not rated

5:30pm Things We Lost in the Fire
The first English language film by Danish director Susanne Bier, whose After the Wedding was nominated for an Oscar last year, Things boasts an all-star cast that includes Halle Berry, Benicio del Toro, and David Duchovny. The film tells the story of a woman who takes her husband’s best friend into her home after her husband dies in an act of random violence. The problem is, he’s a heroin addict and has destroyed everything around him. Drama. R

6:00pm-7:00pm Volunteers Party at Chocolate Moose
FilmColumbia 2007 Volunteers - this party is for you! Come to the Chocolate Moose Thursday between 6 and 7 and we'll treat you to a chocolate fountain and wine. Meet fellow volunteers, get a tee-shirt and directions.

8:00pm Margot at the Wedding
Noah Baumbach’s eagerly anticipated follow up to The Squid and The Whale, a 2005 FilmColumbia selection. Starring Nicole Kidman, Jack Black, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and John Turturro, the new picture takes a magnifying glass to a bitchy but funny Kidman who tortures her sister (Leigh) engaged to a man (Black) she dislikes. Think Ingmar Bergman with a sense of humor. Drama. 93 minutes. R

Short: The Meatrix Director Louis Fox

Friday, October 19, 2007
VENUE #1: CRANDELL THEATRE

Noon Radiant City
Imagine a documentary on out-of-control development/suburban sprawl that doesn't feel like a documentary and is fun to watch, and you have Radiant City, from Canadian filmmaker Gary Burns. This is a message movie whose message is artfully delivered through a melange of clever pop cultural artifacts. Animated graphics by Columbia County's own Frank & Caroline Mouris. Selected by the Toronto Film Festival. 93 minutes. Not rated

2:30pm Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains
Former president Jimmy Carter's recent book on the Middle East, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, stirred up a hornets nest when he compared Israeli policies towards the Palestinians to the those of the former white South African government towards its oppressed black underclass. Feature (The Manchurian Candidate) and documentary (The Agronomist) director Jonathan Demme followed Carter on his book tour, as the Nobel Peace Prize–winner patiently confronted angry critics hurling epithets at him–liar, bigot, anti-Semite, etc. Selected by Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. 120 minutes. G

5:00pm The Band’s Visit
Comedy/Drama. 85 minutes. Subtitles. PG-13

Short: Shadow Puppets of Doom Director Michael McLaughlin

6:00pm Let’s Celebrate FilmColumbia Pub Party
Join the FC crew, filmmakers and filmgoers at the hippest pub in the area, Peint O Gwrw. Cash bar and hors d'oeuvres.

7:30pm Cassandra’s Dream
Woody Allen’s latest, this dark and twisted drama ventures boldly into James M. Cain territory, with spectacular results. Stars Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell playing brothers in straightened circumstances who aspire to a better life and will do anything to get it. Belonging to Allen’s British period, it was shot in London and is more Match Point than Scoop. Selected by the Toronto Film Festival. Drama. 108 minutes. PG-13

10:00pm Reservation Road
In an actual and metaphorical collision between two families, one loses a ten-year-old musical prodigy in a hit-and-run, while the others live with the consequences, an unexpected mix of revenge and redemption. Reservation Road is directed by Terry George, who gave us the sensational Hotel Rwanda, and features Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, and Mira Sorvino. Selected by the Toronto Film Festival. Drama. 102 minutes. R

VENUE #2: MORRIS MEMORIAL

5:30pm Kamp Katrina
Kamp Katrina follows the lives of a small group of people who have taken refuge in a backyard garden transformed into a tent city by a New Orleans couple. The film focuses on their struggle to pick up their lives in the face of loss and grief–and without basic infrastructure supports. Documentary. Not rated

Saturday, October 20, 2007

VENUE #1: CRANDELL THEATRE

10:00am Children’s Program
Featuring a kaleidoscope of the best children’s short films from around the world, this program will delight the kid in all of us. Produced by Patti Greaney of GIRALDI Productions in NYC. G

Noon Taxi to the Dark Side
The most powerful documentary to come out of the Iraq war so far, this film by Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), analyzes the process by which American boys and girls barely out of adolescence have been transformed into torturers by the U.S. military. It begins with the case of an Afghan cab driver who ended up dead five days after he was captured and taken to Bagram Air Force base, and then moves to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison where the methods perfected in Afghanistan were turned on Iraqis. Gibney meticulously but never gratuitously documents the culture of torture in a film that should be seen by everyone concerned about the abuses committed in the name of the U.S. Documentary. 108 mins. Not rated, but contains nudity and sexual humiliation

Short: Little White Flowers Director Chris Messina

2:30pm 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
This 2007 Cannes Festival Palme d’Or winner, directed and written by Cristian Mongiu, is set in Bucharest in the twilight years of the Soviet bloc, and is this year’s Lives of Others. The story concerns the arduous and humiliating efforts of a young woman to get an abortion, illegal under the Ceausescu regime. Selected by the NY Film Festival. Drama. Subtitles. 113 minutes. Not rated

5:00pm Lars and the Real Girl
Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson) stars in this off-beat love story about a lonely guy who falls for a plastic sex doll he buys on the internet. Lars is convinced it’s (she’s?) human. He calls her Bianca, talks to her, and takes her to the doctor. Thanks to a little help from a stellar supporting cast that includes Patricia Clarkson and Emily Mortimer, Lars is shaping up to be one of this year’s best indies. Selected by the Toronto Film Festival. Bingham Ray will be on hand to field questions. Comedy/Drama. Not rated

8:00pm Atonement
Already being acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, this picture has played all the major festivals. Promises to be one of the most outstanding sneaks we've screened to date. Drama. R

VENUE #2: MORRIS MEMORIAL

1:00pm Animation Program For GrownUps
FilmColumbia is proud to present award-winning, cutting-edge animation by the best in the industry. Programmed by Gary Leib, animator for American Splendor. This is not kid stuff! R

3:00pm Next Generation Program

Short: Trigger Finger Director Marc Marino
Short: Red Light
Smuggled out of Cuba. A tour-de-force of filmmaking. Not to be missed. Not rated, contains adult scenes.

Columbia University Shorts
Short: The Second Line Director John Magary
Short: Security Director Matthew Linnell
Short: Rattlesnakes Director Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson

5:30pm Zahira’s Peace
Director Nina Rosenblum documents Zahira Obaya’s brave struggle to heal physically and emotionally after surviving the Madrid terrorist attack on March 11, 2004. 80 min. Not rated

Short: Where's Herbie?
A riveting profile of a 90 plus year-old lobster fisherman from Maine. Director Jenny Mackenzie. 13 minutes

VENUE #3: TRACY MEMORIAL VILLAGE HALL

10:00am Screenwriting Panel
Back by popular demand, with actor Scott Cohen (Kissing Jessica Stein) moderating. Here is the rare opportunity for area screenplay writers to bring a ten minute scene (no more than five pages) of their work; Cohen’s fellow actors give a cold reading and discuss the piece. Actors will do as many readings as time permits. Bagels and coffee served

1:00pm Scriptreading, "The Promised Land"
“The Promised Land,” set in South Texas near the Mexican border in the early 1870s, is the story of a group of black Seminoles who migrated to Mexico after being driven out of Florida by the U.S. Army earlier in the 19th Century. Original screenplay by Wesley Brown. Directed by Regge Life and produced by Rose Ross. No late audience entry.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

VENUE #1: CRANDELL THEATRE

10:30am Young Filmmakers Contest
The anticipated announcement of FilmColumbia’s regional contest for young filmmakers–who will be the three young filmmakers to see their film on the big screen and win the prize money? Come and find out. The Chatham Middle School's Film Project: Hairy Potter and the Flashlight of Fire (Regge Life: filmmaker/mentor) will also be screened.

Noon Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments
Edgar B. Howard and Tom Piper's fascinating and meticulous documentary on the work of Ellsworth Kelly, one of the masters of the postwar abstract movement, a virtuoso of distilled form and color. The filmmakers accompany Kelly back to Paris, where he relives his time there during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and explores the influences that shape his work. It also catches him in the act of creation–a commission for the new U.S. embassy in Beijing to be installed in the summer of 2008. Documentary. 65 minutes. Not rated

2:00pm Persepolis
Based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up Iranian in the grip of post-Shah fundamentalism (think Maus, Persian-style), this animated drama follows her trials and tribulations as she takes the veil, but discovers Western music. She evades the thought police until her parents emigrate to Austria where she endures persecution of a different sort. She returns to Iran, only to leave again, finally settling in France. Voiced by Sean Penn, Iggy Pop, Gena Rowlands, and Catherine Deneuve, among others, Persepolis closed this year’s New York Film Festival, and was also selected by the Toronto Film Festival. Animated drama. 95 minutes. Not rated

Short: Why It’s Bad to Break the Law
Director Nathan Udall

4:00pm War/Dance
Northern Uganda has been the site of a protracted and bloody guerrilla war between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army, which makes a practice of abducting children, arming them, and transforming them into fighters. This documentary, made by Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine, at once horrifying and profoundly moving, follows three children from the Patongo refugee camp as they make their way across a forbidding war zone to perform in a national music and dance competition. Selected by the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. Documentary. 105 minutes. Not rated

6:00pm Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Brothers played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke become ensnared in a particularly bizarre crime, and in an attempt to save themselves, simply proceed from bad to worse. Director Sidney Lumet returns to form in this taut psychological thriller. Also stars Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei. Selected by the New York and Toronto Film Festivals. Drama. 123 minutes. Rated R

8:30pm The Kite Runner
Based on the best seller by Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner is directed by Marc Foster, who gave us Monster’s Ball and Stranger Than Fiction, and is now making the new James Bond movie. The story, focusing on Amir, the scion of a wealthy family who betrays his best friend Hassan, the son of his father’s loyal servant, unfolds against the backdrop of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban. Drama. 122 minutes. Rated PG-13

VENUE #2: MORRIS MEMORIAL

2:00pm The Descendant
After his mother's death, a man visits his grandparent's secluded farmhouse for the first time in 20 years, uncovering his past and a shameful family secret, in this historically-inspired ghost story. Director Phillippe Spurrell. 95 min 

Short: Letting Go Director Dan Masucci

4:30pm Kings
Two ex-friends set out on a journey in search of a long lost childhood relic lost over a tragic event that sent them spinning in very different directions. Director Chad Matthew Hursa. Shot in Columbia County and features Main Street, Chatham and such local attractions as Crandell Theatre Not rated

Short: A Driving Lesson Director C. Frazer Press

VENUE #3: TRACY MEMORIAL VILLAGE HALL

10:00am Filmmaker Panel Discussion & Brunch
Is Technology Making Indie Filmmaking More Independent?
The 1990s saw a convergence of traditional independent films and studio pictures that turned indies into a big and mainstream business. Now, innovative production and distribution technologies are enabling a new wave of independent filmmakers with little money and few connections to create and distribute their own films. Join our panelists in a lively discussion of the changes going on in the film industry.

Films Screened at FilmColumbia 2007

My Country, My Country

Terror’s Advocate
Best *Documentary, César Awards 2008

Things We Lost in the Fire
*Best Performance in a Feature Film, Micah Berry, Actor Age Ten or Under, Young Artist Awards

Margot at the Wedding
*Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast and Best Film, Gotham Awards 2007
*Nominated: Best Supporting Female, Independent Spirit Awards 2008, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Radiant City
*Genie Awards 2008: Best Documentary

Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains
Venice Film Festival: 3 wins: Biografilm Award, EIUC Award, FIPRESCI Prize

Sneak: The Band's Visit
32 wins including:
*Cannes Film Festival 2007: winner Un Certain Regard
- Jury Coup de Coeur
*Awards of the Israeli Film Academy 2007: 8 awards including Best Film

Kamp Katrina

Cassandra’s Dream

Reservation Road

Taxi to the Dark Side
*Academy Award 2008: Best Documentary
*Writers Guild of America 2008: Documentary Screenplay Award

4 Months, 3 Days, & 2 Weeks
*Cannes Film Festival 2007: won: Golden Palm Award, FIPRESCI Prize,
*Golden Globe 2008: nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
*Independent Spirit Awards 2008: nomination for Best Foreign Film

Short: Trigger Finger

Short: Red Light

Short: The Second Line
*Columbia University Film Festival 2007: won Festival Award for Best Film and Student Choice Award for Best Film

Short: Security

Short: Rattlesnakes
*Columbia University Film Festival 2007: 4 awards

Lars and the Real Girl
*Academy Awards 2008: nominated for Best Screenplay
*Writers Guild of American 2008: nominated Best Original Screenplay
* Golden Globes 2008: Ryan Gosling nominated for Best Actor
*Screen Actors Guild 2008: Ryan Gosling nominated for Best Male Performance

Zahira’s Peace

Sneak: Atonement
*Academy Awards 2008: won Best Score; nominated for 6 others including Best Motion Picture
*Golden Globes 2008: won Best Motion Picture and Best Original Score; nominated for 5 others

Ellsworth Kelly: Fragments

Persepolis
*Academy Award 2008: Best Animated Feature Film
*Cannes Film Festival 2007: won Jury Prize; nominated for Golden Palm
*Golden Globe Awards 2008: nominated Best Foreign Language Film
*New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2007: won Best Animated Film

The Descendant

War/Dance
*Academy Awards 2008: nominated Best Documentary Feature
*Sundance Film Festival 2008: won Directing Award; nominated Grand Jury Prize

Kings

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
*Gotham Awards 2007: won Best Ensemble Cast