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American Film Festival 2014
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September 17-28
Formula Kino Horizon 
American Film Festival in Moscow was initiated in 2006 by a group of Americans and Russians in order to showcase new and classic American films, which otherwise would not be widely distributed in Russia. American Film Festival 2014 features 12 films by famous and critically acclaimed directors including a retrospective program of the director, writer, producer and actor Wes Anderson, Academy Award nominee for his "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox". The program of 2014 will present interesting male and female roles of outstanding artists and of course debutantes. The viewers will see original experiments, as well as proven authors' statements. The festival program will include feature films with the participations of such populas actors and actresses as Oscar laureate Colin Firth, Golden Globe Award nominee Emma Stone, Academy Award and BAFTA Award laureate Susan Sarandon, Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr., Academy Award, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild Award and Emmy Award laureate Robert Duvall and many others stars. The films will be shown in English with Russian subtitles.
Festival Feature Films
 Magic in the Moonlight. Comedy / Romance. USA, France 2014, 97 min. Directed by Woody Allen. Starring: Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Eileen Atkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Simon McBurney. A romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue. Set in the 1920s on the French Riviera, the film was released on July 25, 2014, by Sony Pictures Classics.
Ping Pong Summer. Comedy. USA 2014, 92 min. Directed by Michael Tully. Starring: Marcello Conte, Judah Friedlander, Amy Sedaris, Susan Sarandon, John Hanna. Awards and festivals: Sarasota International Film Festival - Best Film. The year is 1985. Rad Miracle is a shy 13-year-old white kid who's obsessed with two things: ping pong and hip hop. During his family's annual summer vacation to Ocean City, Maryland, Rad makes a new best friend, experiences his first real crush, becomes the target of rich, racist local bullies, and finds an unexpected mentor in his outcast next-door neighbor. Ping Pong Summer is about that time in your life when you're treated like an alien by everyone around you, even though you know deep down you're as funky fresh as it gets.
The Drop. Drama / Crime. USA 2014, 106 min. Directed by Michael R. Roskam. Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, Elizabeth Rodriguez. Follows lonely bartender Bob Saginowski through a covert scheme of funneling cash to local gangsters - "money drops" - in the underworld of Brooklyn bars. Under the heavy hand of his employer and cousin Marv, Bob finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost.
Whiplash. Drama. USA 2014, 106 min. Directed by Damien Chazelle. Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser, Austin Stowell. Awards and festivals: Cannes Film Festival - participation, Sundance Film Festival - Grand Prix, Audience Award. A young musician struggles to become a top jazz drummer under the tutelage of a ruthless band conductor. The film premiered in-competition in the US Dramatic Category at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2014, as the opening film of the festival.
A Many Splintered Thing. Comedy / Romance. USA 2014. Directed by Justin Reardon. Starring: Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Michelle Monaghan, Ashley Tisdale, Topher Grace. The story of a young man disillusioned by love who meets a breathtaking young woman at a charity dinner by pretending to be a philanthropist. Turns out that she's engaged to a guy who doesn't like her going on dates. Challenged by the chase, and egged on by his eclectic friends, he feigns a platonic relationship in order to keep seeing her as he tries to conquer her heart.
 The Judge. Drama. USA 2014, 141 min. Directed by David Dobkin. Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga, Vincent D'Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton. Big city lawyer Hank Palmer returns to his childhood home where his father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth and, along the way, reconnects with his estranged family.
Time Lapse. Sci-fi / Thriller. USA 2014, 104 min. Directed by Bradley King. Starring: Danielle Panabaker, Matt O'Leary, George Finn, John Rhys-Davies, Amin Joseph. Awards and festivals: London International Independent Film Festival - Best Foreign Film, Big Island Film Festival - Best Film, Fantaspoa International Fantastic Film Festival - Audience Award, Seattle International Film Festival - participation. Three friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures 24hrs into the future and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.
Big in Japan. Comedy / Musical. USA, Japan 2014, 100 min. Directed by John Jeffcoat. Starring: David Drury, John Jeffcoat, Sean Lowry, Phillip Peterson, Adam Powers. Awards and festivals: Seattle International Film Festival - participation. Big in Japan is a rock and roll road movie about a struggling Seattle band determined to not fade away. The film, which is based loosely on actual events, follows real life rockers, Tennis Pro, as they travel to Japan- a last ditch attempt to prevent their day jobs from becoming their careers. Director John Jeffcoat (Outsourced) utilizes a fresh narrative approach, guerrilla production style mixed with an international storyline to craft a dynamic and entertaining story where music and film intersect with two cultures to reveal simple, oftentimes hilarious, universal truths.
Arlo and Julie. Comedy. USA 2014, 76 min. Directed by Steve Mims. Starring: Alex Dobrenko, Ashley Spillers, Sam Eidson, Chris Doubek, Mallory Culbert. A neurotic couple's obsession with a mysterious puzzle comically unravels their world, disconnecting them from reality and jeopardizing their fragile relationship.
 Kelly & Cal. Comedy / Drama. USA 2014, 107 min. Directed by Jen McGowan. Starring: Juliette Lewis, Jonny Weston, Josh Hopkins, Cybill Shepherd, Lucy Owen. Awards and festivals: SXSW Film Festival - participation. Kelly, a punk-rocker turned suburban mom, is nostalgic for a life she can no longer have and uncertain of a future she doesn't yet fit in. Seventeen-year-old Cal is frustrated at his lack of control over the hand he's been dealt. When the two strike up an unlikely friendship, it's the perfect spark needed to thrust them both back to life.
The Better Angels. Drama / History. USA 2014, 95 min. Directed by A.J. Edwards. Starring: Jason Clarke, Diane Kruger, Brit Marling, Wes Bentley, Braydon Denney. Awards and festivals: Berlin Film Festival - Panorama participation, Sundance Film Festival - participation. The story of Abraham Lincoln's childhood in the harsh wilderness of Indiana and the hardships that shaped him, the tragedy that marked him for ever and the two women who guided him to immortality.
Night Moves. Drama / Thriller. USA 2013, 112 min. Directed by Kelly Reichardt. Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, Alia Shawkat, Logan Miller. Awards and festivals: Venice Film Festival - participation, Dauville Amrican Film Festival - Special Grand Prix, Valladolide International Film Festival - Best Cinematography. Three radical environmentalists look to execute the protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam.
Before I Disappear. Drama. USA, UK 2014, 93 min. Directed by Shawn Christensen. Starring: Shawn Christensen, Fatima Ptacek, Emmy Rossum, Paul Wesley, Ron Perlman. Awards and festivals: SXSW Film Festival - Audience Award, Ashland Independent Film Festival - Gerald Hirschfeld A.S.C. Cinematography Award, Hill Country Film Festival - Best Film, Nashville Film Festival - Grand Prix, Vail Film Festival - Best Feature Film. At the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister, asking him to look after his eleven-year old niece, Sophia, for a few hours.
Two Kinds of Roads: Short Film Program
Two Kinds of Roads introduces Russian audiences to a curated selection of short films from the 40th Seattle International Film Festival that reflect on themes of exploration and the unknown. The title is a line from Bob Dylan's tribute poem to Woody Guthrie, recited by the courageous young subject of The Lion's Mouth Opens before the decisive moment when she learns if she has a fatal, incurable disease. Films in this program consider our experiences at the brink of an uncertain future - from travelling to the moon to falling in love. A city on the furthermost edge of the United States, Seattle has retained an aura of the "wild west" throughout history. It is a city intrinsically linked to the undiscovered territory of the sea and perhaps it is this expansiveness that continues to provoke experimentation in the arts. The largest and most highly attended film festival in the country, SIFF is consistently cited as one of the best "audience festivals" in the world. Seattle's love for film (Seattleites see more movies per capita than any other city in the nation) makes the city the most appropriate setting for new films to be seen, tested, and celebrated by everyone - fan and filmmaker alike. SIFF 2014 marked the launch of Black Box, a program of films by contemporary artists presented in a unique partnership between SIFF, Aktionsart and the Seattle Art Museum.
Sea Folk. Short. USA 2014, 8 min. Directed by Morgan Henry, Josh Hayward. Seattle was built on sea shanties and the bones of mariners; it is impossible to fully grasp the city without spending time on the waters that surround her.
Afronauts. Short. USA 2014, 14 min. Directed by Frances Bodomo. Awards and festivals: Berlin Film Festival - participation, Sundance Film Festival - participation. Inspired by true events, Afronauts tells an alternative history of the 1960s Space Race. It's the night of July 16th 1969 and, as America prepares to send Apollo 11 to the moon, a group of exiles in the Zambian desert are rushing to launch their rocket first. They train by rolling their astronaut, 17-year-old Matha Mwamba, down hills in barrels to simulate weightlessness. As the clock counts down to blast off, as the Bantu-7 Rocket looks more and more lopsided, Matha must decide if she's willing to die to keep her family's myths alive. Afronauts follows the scientific zeitgeist from the perspective of those who do not have access to it.
The Lion's Mouth Opens. Short. USA 2014, 15 min. Directed by Lucy Walker. Awards and festivals: Sundance Film Festival - participation, Sheffield Documentary Film Festival - participation, Aspen International Short Film Festival - Special Jury Prize, Seattle International Film Festival - participation. A courageous young woman takes the boldest step imaginable to confront her risk of having inherited the fatal, incurable Huntington's Disease.
All Vows. Short. USA 2013, 10 min. Directed by Bill Morrison. Awards and festivals: Tribeca Film Festival - participation, San Francisco International Film Festival - participation, Hamburg International Short Film Festival. "All Vows" is an English translation of "Kol Nidre", the incantation that begins the Yom Kippur service and which pre-emptively nullifies any future vows made unintentionally. The film uses ancient archival films to depict an unknowable future, reflected through a dissolving historic document.
 Face in the Crowd. Short. USA 2013, 12 min. Directed by Alex Prager. For ten years, Prager has staged imaginary scenes for her camera - dream worlds in Technicolor, rife with tension and melodramatic fictions. Deftly blending archetypes from post-war America, her images have re-enacted and burlesqued media portrayals of women, drawing from classic Hollywood movies, fashion advertising and icons of documentary photography. Face in the Crowd expands on her tradition, but in her most ambitious and complex way to date. Blurring the line between fiction and reality, Prager directed the actions of hundreds of costumed actors on specially constructed sets creating congested public spaces including an airport terminal, a City Hall lobby, a beach and the Sunset 5 movie theatre. Densely detailed and shot from seemingly impossible vantage points, the work enacts psychological narratives of private and public revelation, repulsion, fear, personal safety and the desire for basic human interaction.
Dinosaurs and Sea Hawks. Short. USA 2014, 5 min. Directed by Linas Phillips. Sleeping under a bridge is a man and his dinosaur mask. Waking up, he walks in to the heart of the city and puts on his mask. A friend a stranger a kindred soul emerges and the mask is passed off and traded. The man watches then walks away with a Sea Hawks hat.
In Passing. Short. USA, Canada 2013, 5 min. Directed by Alan Miller. Awards and festivals: ATAS Foundation College Television Awards - First Place, First Film Award - Best Comedy, Hollywood International Student Film Festival - Jury Award. A short film about a man who jumps off a building to end his life, and the woman he falls in love with on the way down.
Marilyn Myller. Short. USA, UK 2013, 6 min. Directed by Michael Please. Awards and festivals: Sundance Film Festival - participation, Edinbourgh International Film Festival - Best New British Film, SXSW Film Festival - participation. Marilyn maketh. Marilyn taketh awayeth. Marilyn is trying really hard to create something good. For once, her expectation and reality are going to align. It will be epic. It will be tear jerkingly profound. It will be perfect. Nothing can go wrong.
Wes Anderson: Retrospective Program
 Rushmore. Comedy / Drama. USA 1998, 93 min. Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox. Awards and festivals: Golden Globe Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture; American Comedy Award - Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture; British Independent Film Award Nomination - Best Foreign Independent Film (English Language); Chicago Film Critics Association Award Nomination - Best Supporting Actor, Most Promising Actor; Chlotrudis Award Nomination - Best Actor, Best Movie, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor; Independent Spirit Award - Best Director, Best Supporting Male; Lone Star Film & Television Award - Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award - Best Supporting Actor, New Generation Award to Wes Anderson; National Society of Film Critics Award - Best Supporting Actor; New York Film Critics Circle Award - Best Supporting Actor etc. The extracurricular king of Rushmore preparatory school is put on academic probation.
Bottle Rocket. Comedy / Crime / Drama. USA 1996, 91 min. Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler. Awards and festivals: Lone Star Film & Television Awards - Debut of the Year, MTV Movie Awards - Best New Filmmaker. Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hare-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry. With the help of their pathetic neighbor and pal Bob, Anthony and Dignan pull a job and hit the road, where Anthony finds love with motel maid Inez. When our boys finally hook up with Mr. Henry, the ensuing escapade turns out to be far from what anyone expected.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Adventure / Comedy / Drama. USA 2004, 119 min. Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe. Awards and festivals: Berlin International Film Festival - participation, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Nomination - Best Acting Ensemble, Central Ohio Film Critics Association Nomination - Actor of the Year, Golden Trailer Award Nomination - Best Comedy, Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award - Best Supporting Actress, Satellite Award - Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), Best Screenplay (Original) etc. With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.
 The Royal Tenenbaums. Comedy / Drama. USA 2001, 110 min. Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring: Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Anjelica Huston, Luke Wilson. Awards and festivals: Golden Globe Award - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), USA Academy Award Nomination - Best Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), Berlin International Film Festival - participation, BAFTA Award Nomination - Best Screenplay (Original), AFI Award - Featured Actor of the Year (Male), Bodil Award - Best American Film, Chicago Film Critics Association Award - Best Actor, Golden Trailer Award - Best of Show, Best Comedy, Best Music etc. An estranged family of former child prodigies reunites when their father announces he is terminally ill.
Festival Schedule
September 24, Wednesday
18:45 - The Drop
21:00 - Kelly & Cal
September 25, Thursday
19:00 - Bottle Rocket
21:00 - Arlo and Julie
September 26, Friday
19:00 - Rushmore
21:00 - Two Kinds of Roads: Short Film Program
September 27, Saturday
16:30 - The Royal Tenenbaums
19:00 - The Judge
September 28, Sunday
16:30 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
19:00 - The Judge
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