May 23, 2011

Jeff Lipsky (FLANNEL PAJAMAS, 2006 Sunday Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee) returns to the Angelika this week with TWELVE THIRTY. His latest intimate portrait stars Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James on GLEE) as a virginal 22-year-old aspiring architect who pursues erotic encounters with two sisters and their mother in the upper-middle-class Langley family of Iowa City.

Mr. Lipsky spent the weekend at the Angelika Dallas regaling audiences with entertaining stories about the production of this and his other films. Watch one of the Q&A sessions, moderated by the Dallas Video Society’s Bart Weiss, below:

TWELVE THIRTY is playing at the Angelika Dallas now through this Thursday, May 26 – tickets are available online.

May 20, 2011

Nominee for Best Animated Feature at this year’s Academy Awards THE ILLUSIONIST came out on DVD this week. Director of the Dallas Video Association Bart Weiss hosted a Q&A with animator Justin Hall and production manager Fiona Hall in February to welcome them to the neighborhood (they had recently moved to Dallas!) and discuss this lovely film.

Check out the video below, then add THE ILLUSIONIST to your Netflix queue!

ABOUT THE ILLUSIONIST
Academy Award nominee Sylvain Chomet (THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE) directs this adaptation of a never before produced script written by legendary French filmmaker Jacques Tati. Set in post-war Edinburgh, this exquisitely animated, mostly silent homage to the stage entertainer. At once melancholy and heartwarmingly nostalgic, THE ILLUSIONIST tells the tale of a vaudeville magician who, forced out of the limelight by the rise of rock â??nâ?? roll, must face the inevitable fact that there may no longer be a place for him in show business.

DALLAS International Film Festival hit SKATELAND opens this weekend at the Angelika Dallas – director Anthony Burns, actor Heath Freeman, writer/producer Brandon Freeman, and producer Justin Gilley will be in attendance at the 7:10PM show tomorrow evening, Saturday 5/21 for a Q&A following the show!

We sat down with Mr. Freeman last week to discuss the film – watch the interview below, then head over to Fandango to purchase tickets for the 7:10PM Saturday show before they sell out!

May 12, 2011

THE FIRST GRADER opens this Friday at the Angelika Film Center New York.  Q&As with Director Justin Chadwick will follow the Friday, 5/13 and Saturday 5/14 7:30pm shows. Director Justin Chadwick, producer Sam Feuer and star Naomie Harris stopped by earlier this week to sign our Wall of Fame!  Check out the pictures below.

 

 

 

Tickets for the Angelika are available online. THE FIRST GRADER will also be playing at the Beekman – check their website for showtimes, ticket, and Q&A info.

 

About THE FIRST GRADER:

One of the biggest crowd pleasers of this yearâ??s festival circuit, FIRST GRADER is the unlikely true story of Kimani Nâ??ganâ??ga Maruge, and 84-year-old Kenyan farmer and former Mau Mau tribesman who took advantage of his countryâ??s new free-education program to attend the first grade and learn to read.  Reluctant to admit an octogenarian alongside 6-year-olds, the school authorities also let tribal rivalries contribute to their suspicion of Maruge.  The film was the runner up to THE KINGâ??S SPEECH for the Peopleâ??s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, won the Audience Award at Doha Tribeca Film Festival and was embraced by audiences at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival, where it debuted.  Director Justin Chadwick (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, BBCâ??s BLEAK HOUSE) strikes a perfect balance between humor and tragic gravity, resulting in an uplifting story likely to stir the hearts of audiences worldwide.