At Life with Moxie we are forever promoting planning ahead so you are able to accommodate the things that are truly important to you. Well one thing that is really important to me is learning. One of my favorite ways to learn is through independent film. Documentary films are an obsession, shorts are a rare special treat, and narratives stretch the mind… all the better if it is subtitled.
We are so fortunate here in Southwest Florida, because the 8th Annual Naples Independent Film Festival is happening this month, October 27 through the 30. The most anticipated weekend of the year!
Film festivals are amazing and occur the world over. They are the ultimate celebration of independent film. Independent film is a breed apart from what is traditionally shown in theaters. I consider them films for people who love to be challenged. The definition of independent film, is one that receives private funding rather than studio backing.
Yet, independent films aren’t about where the money comes from. They are about urgency, the need of the filmmakers to master their visions, capture what the mind sees in the world and to understand their place in it. They are stylized, intense, cinematically challenging, superimposing what is seen with what is being seen. These films are made by filmmakers as an opportunity to learn who they are by experiencing themselves translating their vision onto the screen and they are powerful.
This years line up of independent film is significant. Major award winners, premiers, actors, directors, veteran filmmakers and first time filmmakers, all descending on this little slice of heaven we call Naples, for our enrichment, over four very incredible days.
NIFF 2016 features a celebration of music! From themed documentaries and performance (SCORE: A Film Music Documentary, Sidemen: Long Road to Glory, Contemporary Color) to narratives where music performance is part of the storyline (Hunky Dory, Junction 48), and bookended by music-themed Opening and Closing Night Galas, audiences will be treated to the powerful intersection of music and film.
The Closing Night Gala begins with a Red carpet arrival at 5:30 pm. Delicious food and cocktails will be offered. Mix and mingle with friends and filmmakers. 2016 NIFF Awards Presentation begins at 6:30 pm. and film presentation starts at 7:00 pm. Closing night welcomes a special appearance by Colin Hay from Men at Work. Mr. Hay is the star of the Closing Night film, Colin Hay: Waiting for My Real Life.
Following the film and Q&A session, the 2016 Wrap Party begins, to celebrate the end of another fantastic film festival. Then at 10 p.m. Colin will do a 30-minute performance at nearby Blue Martini Lounge. The Closing Night Film and Wrap Party is sponsored by Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee. Tickets are $100 for the Closing Night movie and performance. There will be a limited number of tickets available for the performance by Colin Hay at Blue Martini Lounge for $25, available through the NIFF website.
The opening night film and VIP party, sponsored by The Ronto Group, is the official unveiling of the weekend to come, replete with jewels, red carpet, limo’s, actors, directors, lights, camera’s and so much action. Get your tickets at Artis-Naples.
Then starting Friday morning through Sunday evening is all film all the time. Here is the official list of films that have been selected for NIFF 2016.
Opening Night Film
Alive and Kicking - Director: Susan Glatzer: This upbeat documentary gives the audience an intimate, insider’s view into the culture of the current Swing dance movement while shedding light on issues facing modern society.
Narratives
A Month of Sundays - Director Michael Saville: Everyone deserves a second chance, even a real estate agent. Frank’s mid-life funk is turned around when he receives a phone call from his dead mother.
Ayiti Mon Amour – Director Guetty Felin: Haiti, five years after the earthquake.... In a coastal town forgotten by the rest of the world, the sea is gaining ground and although the memories of the great disaster still haunt the villagers, life must go on.
Fare – Director Thomas Torrey: A cab driver finds himself transporting the man who is secretly sleeping with his wife.
Girl Flu. – Director Dorie Barton: Bird, 12, has to become a woman whether she wants to or not, as she and her free spirited mother navigate the ins and outs of her disastrous first period.
Hunky Dory – Director Michael Curtis Johnson: A comedy-drama about a drag queen and his son.
Junction 48 – Director Udi Aloni: A family tragedy brings Kareem closer to his singer girlfriend, Manar, and motivates him to do something more with his life.
Little Mountain Boy – Director Xavier Koller: A young boy must climb high into the mountains to retrieve his family's most prized possession.
Occupy, Texas – Director Jeff Barry: The story of a washed up Occupier (Gene Gallerano) who returns home after the death of his parents to find himself responsible for his two teenage sisters (Lorelei Linklater and Catherine Elvir) and his Texas-sized past.
Operator – Director Logan Kibens: Joe, a programmer and obsessive self-quantifier, and Emily, a budding comedy performer, are happily married until they decide to use one another in their work.
The High Sun (Zvizdan) – Director Dalibor Matanić: Three different love stories, set in three consecutive decades, in two neighboring Balkan villages burdened with a long history of inter-ethnic hatred.
The Other Kids – Director Chris Brown: A raw, intimate look into the struggles of six small-town teens on the verge of high school graduation.
Documentaries
Contemporary Color – Director David Byrne: In the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne (Talking Heads) staged an event at Brooklyn's Barclays
Center to celebrate the art of color guard’s synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles, and sabers. Recruiting performers including St. Vincent,
Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock, and Ira Glass to collaborate on original pieces with 10 color guard teams from across the US and Canada, Contemporary Color is a beautifully filmed snapshot of a one-of-a-kind live event.
Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story- Director Brett Schwartz: Chef and inventor Homaro Cantu helped put Chicago on the culinary map and wanted to change the world. Insatiable takes you on a dizzying and thrilling ride with Cantu, in a story that moves from redemption and inspiration to tragedy and back again.
Kate Plays Christine – Director Robert Greene: In this ingenious blend of documentary and psychological thriller, Robert Greene follows Kate Lyn Sheil as she prepares for the role of Christine Chubbuck, the Florida newscaster who committed suicide live on-air in 1974.
Learning to See: The World of Insects – Director Jake Oelman: One man's transformational journey to find the Amazon's strangest creatures.
Life, Animated – Director Roger Ross Williams: Life Animated is the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films.
Most Likely to Succeed – Director Greg Whiteley: Examining the history of education in the United States, the growing shortcomings of conventional education methods are revealed in today’s innovative world, while exploring compelling new approaches that aim to transform learning as we know it.
SCORE: A Film Music Documentary – Director Matt Schrader: Tracking the progress of modern-day film score development, SCORE will illustrate how the first few notes on a piano keyboard end up in the most dramatic moments of a film's emotional climax.
Sidemen: Long Road to Glory – Director Scott Rosenbaum: Sidemen: Long Road to Glory is an intimate look at the lives and legacies of three legendary bluesmen not long before their deaths in 2011: piano player Pinetop Perkins, drummer Willie 'Big Eyes' Smith and guitarist Hubert Sumlin, all Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf sidemen. Historic live shows are accompanied by performances and personal insights from many of the stars they inspired, including; Bonnie Raitt, Gregg Allman, Tim Reynolds, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Perry, Joe Bonamassa and Johnny Winter.
The Founders – Director Charlene Fisk: In 1950, 13 amateur women golfers battled society, finances and sometimes even each other to create the first and longest running professional sports organization for women. With humor, grit and raw talent, these underdogs not only changed the course of women's sports, they created a timeless story of redemption and endurance.
The Rebound – Director Shaina K. Allen: The film follows the underdog journey of the Miami Heat Wheels, a wheelchair basketball team, in their quest for a national title. The story is a visceral portrait of the athletes’ journey to realize their dreams while facing life’s biggest challenges.
Voyagers Without Trace – Director Ian McCluskey: In 1938, three young Parisians arrived in the American West with kayaks, cameras, beer and a plan: to be the first to kayak down the wild Green and Colorado rivers. They recorded their journey, creating the first adventure film shot in vivid color. But the reels go unseen for 75 years, until filmmaker Ian McCluskey spots a photo of the trio on a roadside marker. His curiosity sends him on a historical treasure hunt, learning to paddle the same waters and searching for clues.
Shorts are one of my favorite categories. They can be 5 minutes or 30, shot solely on a cell phone or by a full crew, animated, a thriller, comedy, documentary, you name it. They are an extreme concentration of cinematic creativity distilled down to one cohesive mini called a short. These are the collections of shorts this year. One ticket gets you one program.
Shorts Program I: Discovering Identity
Wannabe
Sophie: A Story of Discovery
Situational
Colours
Frontman
Shorts Program II: Facing the Challenge
Out of the Village
Facing the Surge
Tyson
Phil's Camino
Shorts Program III: The Science of Fiction
The Light Thief
Sputnik
It’s Snowing
Bernie and Rebecca
Again
For the first time ever, the film fest is being held in October over Halloween weekend. So on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. there will be a full-day marathon, in one dedicated theater, of all-Halloween all-day. Here is the line up:
Halloween Tribute: Saturday Movie Marathon
The Addams Family
Young Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Creepshow
Psycho
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Midnight (No props, please!)
Closing night has always been a special night. The awards are given, an amazing movie is shown, and it is our last hurrah with the filmmakers and actors as the letdown of the end of the fest sets in. This year they have really outdone themselves!
Closing Night Film
Colin Hay: Waiting for My Real Life – Directors Nate Gowtham, Adam Faulls: Colin Hay - Waiting For My Real Life tells the inspiring story of Colin Hay’s personal and artistic journey from the heights of rock superstardom as the frontman for Men At Work, to the depths of obscurity
and addiction, to finding salvation through song as an acclaimed solo artist.
For more information on participating films and to see trailers, please visit naplesfilmfest.com. Tickets to all NIFF films and events are on sale now. To purchase tickets and for a complete schedule of screening times please visit the NIFF website or call 239-775-FILM (3456) or buy directly at Silverspot.
The 8th Annual Naples International Film Festival takes place October 27-30, 2016, with the Opening Night Film and Party, sponsored by The Ronto Group, at Artis-Naples. The Closing Night Film and Wrap Party, sponsored by Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, happens at Silverspot Cinema with an amazing party to follow, then the performance by Colin Hay after the party at Blue Martini Lounge.
Truly my favorite weekend of the year, I have 11 films picked so far as well as all the parties. Plan for it now and get your tickets online because they usually sellout. If you are expecting to do dinner before or after a movie, make that reservation now too, because the restaurants will be packed. I hope to see you there!
Have ideas you’d like to add to the list? Need more suggestions? Let me know!
Julie Koester is CEO of Life with Moxie, a Lifestyle Revolution Company www.lifewithmoxie.com and Host of Life with Moxie Radio, Saturday’s at 1pm on 98.9 WGUF in Southwest Florida. You can reach her at Julie@lifewithmoxie.com
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