Forums

Photo Gallery

Site map
Search
0The virtual community for English speaking expats and Russians
  Main page   Make it home    Expat list   Our partners     About the site   FAQ
Please log in:
login:
password:
To register  Forgotten your password?   
  Survival Guide   Calendars
  Phone Directory   Dining Out
  Employment   Going Out
  Real Estate   Children
     Friday
     March 29
Arts Calendar
Culture Reviews
Win Free Tickets
TV Listings
 Culture Picks
Culture Picks
AmFest 2016
September 20 - October 2, 2016
Formula Kino Horizon Formula Kino Horizon

Amfest is a yearly parade of all things fresh and original made across the pond, a festival celebrating independent and auteur cinema of America. The 2016 edition of the festival can easily pride itself on the diversity of the wide-ranging program. New films by auteur titans like Todd Solondz or Kelly Reichardt proudly stand alongside strong works of talented first-timers like Matthew Ross or Christopher Avedisian. A daringly jazzy improvisation of a biopic, paying tribute to the restless ground-breaking spirit of its main character with audacity of its own, sits nicely next to family-friendly stories of female protagonists bravely retaining a taste for eventful lives well into advancing age. An adaptation of a work by American literary titan, a tragic real-life story that shocked the nation and unorthodox auteur love story are also among the things offered by Amfest 2016.

Another thing of note that’s spontaneously found itself on offer this year is a mini-retrospective of recent work by actor Ethan Hawke, a veteran of both independent and mainstream American cinema. That among those works are a fictionalized biopic of a jazz heavyweight, a gleefully smart romantic comedy set among New York intellectual elite and a darkly funny and violent revisionist western by an up-and-coming horror auteur speaks to the true range of both the actor and the strong cinematographic culture he and the festival both represent. A great meeting point between independent and mainstream cinema of America could be found in another film featuring Hawke, a new remake of the legendary western The Magnificent Seven. An Antoine Fuqua directed picture was chosen as the opening film of the festival; Russian Amfest audience will be the first to enjoy the film after its international premieres on high-profile festivals in Toronto and Venice.

The films will be shown in English with Russian subtitles.

Festival Feature Films

Gala:

Certain Women. Drama. USA 2016, 107 min. Directed by Kelly Reichardt. Starring: Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, Laura Dern. Certain Women drops us into a handful of intersecting lives across Montana. A lawyer tries to diffuse a hostage situation and calm her disgruntled client, who feels slighted by a workers' compensation settlement. A married couple breaks ground on a new home but exposes marital fissures when they try to persuade an elderly man to sell his stockpile of sandstone. A ranch hand forms an attachment to a young lawyer, who inadvertently finds herself teaching a twice-weekly adult education class, four hours from her home. Awards and festivals: Sydney International Film Festival - participation; Jerusalem International Film Festival - participation.

Green Room. Thriller. USA 2015, 95 min. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Starring: Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Alia Shawkat, Patrick Stewart, Joe Cole, Callum Turner, Mark Webber, Macon Blair. A band straying into a secluded part of the Pacific Northwest stumbles onto a horrific act of violence. Because they are the only witnesses, they become the targets of a terrifying gang of skinheads who want to make sure all the evidence is eliminated. Awards and festivals: Cannes Festival - Directors Fortnight Participation; Sundance Film Festival - participation; Austin Fantastic Fest - Audience Award; Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival - Audience Award, Denis-de-Rougemont Youth Award, Narcisse Award; Montreal International Film Festival - Audience Award; Festival du nouveau cinéma - Best Film; Toronto International Film Festival - participation; Dauville American Film Festival - participation.

The Magnificent Seven. Western/Action. USA 2016, 132 min. Directed by Antoine Fuqua. Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. Awards and festivals: Venice Film Festival - Closing Film; Toronto International Film Festival - Opening Film.

Imperium. Drama/Thriller. USA 2016, 109 min. Directed by Daniel Ragussis. Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Tracy Letts. Idealistic FBI agent Nate Foster goes undercover to take down a radical white supremacy terrorist group. The up-and-coming analyst must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy.

Indignation. Drama. USA 2016, 110 min. Directed by James Schamus. Starring: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon, Tracy Letts. Set in 1951, the story follows Marcus Messner, the idealistic son of a humble kosher butcher from Newark, N.J. Marcus leaves for Ohio to study at a small, conservative college, where he finds himself at odds with the administration, grapples with anti-Semitism and sexual repression and pines after a troubled girl.

Biographies:

Christine. Drama/Biography. USA 2016, 115 min. Directed by Antonio Campos. Starring: Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts. The story of 1970s TV reporter Christine Chubbuck who commited suicide live on the air. Christine is an unblinking yet also understated character study of an unstable woman with a consuming professional drive, who hits a wall as her 30th birthday approaches and sees no way around it. Played out against the unfolding of Richard Nixon's fall from grace on the national political stage, the film juxtaposes that dramatic news fodder with the mind-numbing items Christine is forced to cover on her community-interest beat — strawberry festivals, egg production, zoning disputes. Even when she tries to get her teeth into a story, micromanaging every segment with backup from her supportive cameraperson, Jean, her irascible producer, Mike, yawns. With ratings in the toilet and advertising down, Mike delivers a new mandate calling for juicier stories: "If it bleeds, it leads." But Christine fights him every step of the way, refusing to sensationalize work that she approaches with integrity. Her eventual attempts to compromise, by uncovering some grit in sunshiny Sarasota, are unimpressive. But when word trickles down that station owner Bob Anderson is looking to poach talent for a new network in Baltimore, a top-30 market, Christine's bids to play the game become more manic.

For The Love Of Spock. Documentary. USA 2016, 111 min. Directed by Adam Nimoy. An examination of the enduring appeal of Leonard Nimoy and his portrayal of Spock in Star Trek. Awards and festivals: Fantasia Film Festival - Best Documentary.

Miles Ahead. Drama/Biography. USA 2016, 100 min. Directed by Don Cheadle. Starring: Don Cheadle, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor. In the midst of a prolific career, Miles Davis disappears from public view for a period of five years in the late 1970s. He lives in isolation while dealing with chronic pain from a deteriorating hip, a musical voice inhibited and numbed by drugs and painkillers, and traumatic memories of his past. A music reporter, Dave Braden, forces his way into Davis' house and, over the next couple of days, the two men unwittingly embark on an adventure to recover a stolen tape recording of the musician's most recent compositions. Davis' mercurial behavior is fueled by memories of his failed marriage to the talented and beautiful dancer Frances Taylor. During their romance and subsequent marriage, Frances served as Davis' muse. It was during this period that he released several of his signature recordings, including Sketches of Spain (1960) and "Someday My Prince Will Come" (1961). The eight-year marriage was marked by infidelity and abuse, however, and Frances was forced to flee for her own safety as Miles' mental and physical health deteriorated. By the late 1970s, plagued by years of regret and loss, Davis flirts with self-destruction until he once again finds redemption in his music.. Awards and festivals: Palm Springs Internarional Film Festival - A Director to Watch Award; Cleveland International Film Festival - participation; Glasgow International Film Festival - participation.

Love & Friendship:

Hello, My Name Is Doris. Comedy/Drama/Romance. USA 2015, 95 min. Directed by Michael Showalter. Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly. After a lifetime of being overlooked and ignored, a woman of a certain age finds her world turned upside down by a handsome new co-worker and a self-help seminar that inspires her to take a chance on love in Hello, My Name is Doris, a witty and compassionate late-life coming-of-age-story. Awards and festivals: SXSW Film Festival - Audience Award.

Maggie's Plan. Comedy. USA 2015, 98 min. Directed by Rebecca Miller. Starring: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Kathleen Hanna. Maggie 's plan to have a baby on her own is derailed when she falls in love with John, a married man, destroying his volatile marriage to the brilliant and impossible Georgette. But one daughter and three years later, Maggie is out of love and in a quandary: what do you do when you suspect your man and his ex wife are actually perfect for each other? Maggie's Plan is a sweet, sophisticated and funny exploration of the unexpected complexities of modern romance, mixing heart and humor in a story of the delightful variability of relationships over the course of time.

The Hollars. Comedy/Drama. USA 2016, 105 min. Directed by John Krasinski. Starring: John Krasinski, Anna Kendrick, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sharlto Copley, Margo Martindale, Charlie Day, Richard Jenkins. Aspiring NYC artist John Hollar returns to his middle America hometown on the eve of his mother's brain surgery. Joined by his girlfriend, eight months pregnant with their first child, John is forced to navigate the crazy world he left behind as his dysfunctional family, high school pals, and over-eager ex flood back into his life ahead of his mother's operation.

The Meddler. Comedy/Drama. USA 2015, 100 min. Directed by Lorene Scafaria. Starring: Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, J.K. Simmons. An aging widow from New York City follows her daughter to Los Angeles in hopes of starting a new life after her husband passes away.

Horizons:

Donald Cried. Comedy/Drama. USA 2016, 85 min. Directed by Kristopher Avedisian. Starring: Kristopher Avedisian, Jesse Wakeman, Louisa Krause, Tyrone Alcorn. With sudden passing of his grandmother, Peter Latang returns to his hometown and encounters his long lost, childhood friend, Donald Treebeck. What begins as a simple favor, turns into a long day's journey into the past. Awards and festivals: SXSW Film Festival - participation; Florida International Film Festival - Special Prize for Direction; Montclaire International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize for Lead Acting.

El Ganzo. Drama/Romance/Thriller. USA, Mexico 2015, 89 min. Directed by Steve Balderson. Starring: Mark Booker, Magdalena del Rio, Anslem Richardson. Identity and self-discovery evolve in an epic journey through the majesty of a Mexico rarely seen. El Ganzo chronicles a brief and intense connection between two lonely travelers: a struggling artist on the verge of a creative breakthrough and a mysterious woman with a hidden and unknown past. Awards and festivals: Salento International Film Festival - Best Film, Best Actor, Best Cinematography.

Frank & Lola. Drama/Mystery. USA 2016, 88 min. Directed by Matthew Ross. Starring: Imogen Poots, Michael Shannon, Justin Long, Rosanna Arquette, Michael Nyquist. A psychosexual noir love story, set in Las Vegas and Paris, about love, obsession, sex, betrayal, revenge and, ultimately, the search for redemption.

In a Valley of Violence Western/Action. USA 2016, 104 min. Directed by Ti West. Starring: Karen Gillan, John Travolta, Ethan Hawke. A mysterious stranger and a random act of violence drag a town of misfits and nitwits into the bloody crosshairs of revenge.

Wiener-Dog Comedy/Drama. USA 2016, 88 min. Directed by Todd Solondz. Starring: Greta Gerwig, Keaton Nigel Cooke, Tracy Letts, Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, Ellen Burstyn. A dachshund passes from oddball owner to oddball owner, whose radically dysfunctional lives are all impacted by the pooch.

AmFest Schedule at Formula Kino Horizont:

20 September, Tuesday
20:00 The Magnificent Seven
20:30 The Magnificent Seven

21 September, Wednesday
19:30 The Magnificent Seven
22:00 Wiener-Dog

22 September, Thursday
19:30 Maggie's Plan

23 September, Friday
19:30 For The Love Of Spock
21:40 The Meddler

24 September, Saturday
15:00 Miles Ahead
17:00 Donald Cried
19:00 The Hollars

25 September, Sunday
15:00 Wiener-Dog
17:00 El Ganzo
19:00 Certain Women

26 September, Monday
19:30 Imperium
21:40 Frank & Lola

27 September, Tuesday
19:30 Indignation
21:40 The Meddler

28 September, Wednesday
19:30 Hello, My Name Is Doris
21:30 Christine

29 September, Thursday
19:30 Miles Ahead
21:30 Certain Women

30 September, Friday
19:30 The Hollars
21:30 Maggie's Plan

1 October, Saturday
15:00 Indignation
17:30 Wiener-Dog
19:30 Christine

2 October, Sunday
15:00 Imperium
17:00 Hello, My Name Is Doris
19:00 Frank & Lola

More info


Copyright © The Moscow Expat Site, 1999-2024Editor  Sales  Webmaster +7 (495) 722-3802