Who Am I? (Kein System ist sicher) - Kino German Films 2015

This was my favorite film of the entire festival. An American remake is in the works, but this original German version will be hard to beat.

Who Am I? purveys time moving in such a way as the viewer sees it only as a signifier; The movement is only the representation time itself. “My name is Benjamin, and this is my story”—the protagonist takes the viewer through a series of frenetic episodes that have all already occurred; the entire film is told through flashbacks. The actual span of time unfolded is unidentifiable [...]

Check out the full review here: http://maglomaniac.com/kein-system-ist-sicher-kino-german-festival-2015/

Neckie Youth- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

By never staying still, dodging the inevitable becomes routine. Grief, movement, love, confusion are some of the elements that proliferate in this gorgeous film by Sibs Shongwe-La Mer, a first time filmmaker who also wrote, and stars in the film. People walk, drive, climb, and are always moving away from the position where it is most painful to be, in surrender [...]

Find the full review here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/tribeca-film-festival-2015-review-necktie-youth

Dream/Killer- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

Ryan Ferguson was 19 years old when he was arrested and charged with a murder he didn't commit. Ryan’s father Bill refused to accept this verdict, so from the moment Ryan was convicted, Bill fought tirelessly to prove his son's innocence. It all began when in 2001. Kent Heitholt, a sports editor at The Columbia Daily Tribune was found strangled to death next to his car in the newspaper’s office parking lot. The case went unsolved for two years until police got an anonymous call. The anonymous caller gave the police information that led them to a man named Charles Erickson, a friend of Ryan’s. At first Erickson claimed his memory from the night was totally blank, but after a botched police interrogation full of gerrymandering, Erickson ends up giving the police the misleading information [...]

Read my full review of this film here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/tribeca-film-festival-2015-review-dreamkiller

Toto and his Sisters- Tribeca Film Festval 2015

Toto (10), Andreea (14), and Ana (17) live in a filthy apartment with no appliances or running water. Their mother was arrested for drug offenses and the door is still damaged from when the police broke it down; the siblings talk endlessly about when their mother will come back. Officially the children are under the care of their uncles, but their uncles are drug addicts and not qualified to be parental guardians; they use the apartment to gather with friends and take heroine. Director Alexander Nanau never shies away from showing the reality of the children's lives—trying to sleep while a roomful of junkies shoot-up [...]

The full review shall be found here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/toto-and-his-sisters-review

Tour de Force (Hin und weg) Kino German Films 2015

First there was the ice-bucket challenge. Then there was the Theory of Everything (2014). Continuing to promote amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is Tour de Force, Christian Zübert’s film that powerfully portrays one man’s courageous decision to end his own life [...]

Read the full review of this film here: http://maglomaniac.com/tour-de-force-hin-und-weg-kino-german-films-2015/
 

A Courtship- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

In the film A Courtship, director Amy Kohn tells of the phenomenon called "courtship" through Kelly’s story. Kelly (33) had her heart broken in college and vowed never to go through such pain again. This is when she found out about courtship, a practice that exists in some conservative Christian communities. It bears some resemblance to arranged marriage in that a suitor must seek the permission of the woman’s father, but in courtship’s case, the couple has the final decision [...]
 
Check out the full review here: http://stagebuddy.com/?p=115507  

Coming soon: A one-on-one interview with director Amy Kohn where I'll talk to her about this super fun film.

Palio- Tribeca Film Fest 2015

In Palio director Cosima Spender highlights the unbreakable bond between the Palio and her home—Siena, Italy. The Palio is a horse race that was first run in 1238, and so the race is so steeped in history that it has become the city’s crowning tradition. The race is run twice a year, July 2nd and August 16th, in the Piazza del Campo where the residents, divided up into 17 ancient districts, each cheer for their horse to win. Each district has a committee that prepares all year long for the race, and will do anything to improve their district’s chances of winning [..]

Full review here: http://stagebuddy.com/?p=114363

Thank You For Playing- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

When Ryan and Amy Green found out their son Joel had a brain tumor they were devastated. But they decided to take an optimistic and proactive approach—to live everyday as if Joel was not sick. However it wasn’t quite as simple as simply “thinking positive.” A parent dealing with a terminally ill child cannot simply will away their grief, and so this is what makes this story inspiring [...]

Read the full review here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/tribeca-film-festival-2015-review-thank-playing

The Lies of the Victors (Die Lügen der Sieger)- Kino German Film Fest NY 2015

The film begins with a quote from Lawrence Ferlinghetti: “History is made by the lies of the victors.” Such is inspiration for this film by Christopher Hochhäusler’s. The Lies of the Victors tells a tale of deceit, corruption, and how we absolutely cannot believe everything we read in the media. The film looks at the power and behind-the-scenes meddling of lobbyists and how they will go to any length to make sure they control what the public knows about their clients [...]

The full review is here: http://maglomaniac.com/lies-victors-kino-german-film-fest-ny-2015/

Gored- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

Bullfighting is a dangerous affair, every time a matador gets into the ring with a bull he risks his life, and no one knows this better than Antonio Barrera. He holds the title as being “Most Gored Bullfighter in History” 23 times he has been gored, seriously facing death, and every time he has survived. Director Ido Mizrahy’s Gored follows Barrera as a now modern family man while investigating the psychology of the matador, and what drives these men to become so passionate about fighting the bulls [...]

The full review can be found here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/gored-review

Democrats- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

Filmed over three years, the filmmakers of Democrats were given unprecedented access into a unique governmental process in Zimbabwe. Following the leaders of two opposing parties as they crossed the country campaigning, listening to the voices of the people, and then struggling to write a new democratic constitution for the country that has been under the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe for more than 30 years [...]

Read the full review of the film here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/tribeca-film-festival-2015-review-democrats

Transfatty Lives- Tribeca Film Festival 2015

In 2005 at age thirty, filmmaker Patrick O’Brien’s leg started shaking and wouldn’t stop. Soon after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). When he was told he had between 2–5 years to live he decided to film his descent into the black hole of ALS. There is no cure or treatment, and every patient with the disease has a 100% chance of succumbing to it. TransFatty Lives is result of nearly ten years of footage documenting the heartbreaking story of a young man being robbed of his ability to talk, walk, and even breathe, and showing where he is now [...]

Full review here: http://stagebuddy.com/film-tv/transfatty-lives-review

Schmitke- Kino German Film Fest NY 2015

57-year old Schmitke’s (Peter Kurth) is on the precipice. He has always indentified with his career as a wind turbine engineer, but as he has aged and times have changed, he has become less and less useful to his employer. He has a daughter who practices earthy eastern spirituality that Schmitke doesn’t care for, and he has a loud-mouthed, slacker assistant Thomas (Petr Vrsek) that is so lazy he gets both Schmitke in trouble with the boss [...]

Read the Full review here: http://maglomaniac.com/schmitke-kino-german-film-fest-ny-2015/

The Kings Surrender (Wir waren Könige)- Kino German Film Fest NY 2015

The Kings Surrender does not refer to the surrender of a single king, but to all kings—the Special Unit police, the SWAT team, for an area surrounding Munich. An exciting opening scene where the SWAT team swoops in to bust a drug dealer sets up a film that is full of exciting police tactics. And while this scene is exciting Leinemann shows the cracks that have already begun to form in the SWAT unit. One officer points a shotgun out an open window and fires into a courtyard at a fleeing suspect. Two other officers are busted suspiciously handling rolls of the drug dealer’s cash [...} 


Check out he full review here:   http://maglomaniac.com/kings-surrender-kino-german-film-fest-ny-2015/

Impeccables (Kusursuzlar)- Turkish Film Fest NY 2015

 Impeccables (Kusursuzlar) is about two women who believe that impeccable is exactly what they are. They come from a privileged class, both of them are highly educated professionals, and they have the luxury of lounging around in a beach town while sorting out their issues and making judgments of the world. While they are both impeccably beautiful, they don’t necessarily conform to the standard of impreccablness that is expected of Turkish women [...}


To read the full review, click here: http://maglomaniac.com/impeccables-kusursuzlar/

Nobody’s Home (Köksüz) & Fish (Balık)- NY Turkish Film Fest 2015

A projection error partially derailed the screening of Nobody’s Home (Köksüz) when the film was cut off near the ending. The festival staff made the announcement: they would begin a screening of Fish (Balık), a film that had oringally been scheduled for the following night, but had been cancelled. People started to leave, not wanting to sit through an another entire film, but those that stayed got a double feature.

Check out the full review here: http://maglomaniac.com/nobodys-home-koksuz-fish-balik-ny-turkish-film-fest-2015/

24 Days

In The Atlantic’s April 2015 issue, the cover story by Jeffery Goldberg asks, “Is it Time for the Jews to Leave Europe?” the author discusses how the influx population of Muslims to France is largely sequestered to the suburbs, where they are unemployed in huge numbers, and this, among other things, is causing discontent. Goldberg somehow attributes this Muslim discontent to rising French anti-Semitism, saying Muslims are its “chief propagators.”

Check out the full review here: http://stagebuddy.com/?p=115560&preview=true

About a Girl- Kino German Film Fest NY 2015

One day Charleen (Jasna Fritzi Bauer) spontaneously decides that she no longer wants to live, and so, she tries to kill herself. But when a lucky phone call saves her, she instead falls and hits her head, living but injuring herself and then ends up having to spend the rest of the film dealing with the consequences of a failed suicide attempt. In About a Girl director Mark Monheim looks at teen suicide [...]

 Check out the review here: http://maglomaniac.com/girl-kino-german-film-fest-2015/

Song of My Mother (Annemin Şarkısı)- NY Turkish Film Festival 2015

This passionate debut project by Turkish director Erol Mintaş’s creates a beautiful dialogue about family that addresses universally how complicated familial relationships can get. Highlighting the difficulties of an older generation, struggling in an ever changing world, the love of a mother and son is woven into this a story about an ever-changing landscape [...]

Read the full review here: http://maglomaniac.com/song-mother-annemin-sarkisi-ny-turkish-film-festival-2015/

Consequences (Silsile)- NY Turkish Film Festival 2015

On night number two The New York Turkish Film Festival screened Silsile (Consequences 2014) directed by Ozan Aciktan. While the film’s flashy nightclub opening scene looks like an extravagant vodka commercial, this scene is a misleading introduction to the kind of film about to unfold. Intoned as a thriller of deceit, murder and elitism [...]

Read the pull review at: http://maglomaniac.com/consequences-silsile-ny-turkish-film-festival-2015/

I’m Not Him (Ben O Değilim )- NY Turkish Film Festival 2015

The opening night of the New York Turkish Film Festival was a subdued affair with a small audience, but everyone in attendance was enthralled with the festival’s opening piece Ben O Değilim (I’m Not Him, 2014), directed by the erudite Tayfun Pirselimoğlu. Pirselimoğlu is a veteran of the Turkish arts scene having directed many films and written many novels (sadly they only seem available in Turkish). He appeared on opening night for a post-screening Q & A where the audience pressed for solid answers [...]

Check out the full post here:  http://maglomaniac.com/im-not-ben-o-degilim-ny-turkish-film-festival-2015/