CHOICE Film Showcase March 8, 2009

Paul Cannon is the co-writer/co-director of the feature film Natural Causes, which premiered at SXSW 2008. As he made his way from festival to festival last year, he saw a lot of great films. Now he'd like to share some of them with you. For free. And we will also have FREE cupcakes from our delicious sponsor, Kumquat Cupcakery!

Schedule:
Monday - 3/9 - DOORS 6PM
6:35PM
We Saw Such Things - Directors: Amy Seimetz and James Ponsoldt – 2008 (Director Amy Seimetz in attendance) RT: 22 minutes
• A love letter to a dying Florida that proves that the mermaids of Weeki Wachee still got it going on.

Thing With No Name - Director: Sarah Friedland – 2008 (Director in attendance) RT: 83 minutes
• In South Africa, the disease goes by many names, including "the finisher of the nation". Friedland and Director of Photography Esy Casey follow two women diagnosed with AIDS - 32-year-old Danisile and 40-year-old Ntombeleni - as they begin their antiretroviral drug therapy. Even as they struggle with the disease, weakened immune systems, and the side effects of the drugs, they continue with their every day lives and helping their families. They never give up hope. A truly important film.

8:50PM
Die Hardererer - Director/Editor - Nicholas Chatfield-Taylor – 2007 (Director/Editor in attendance) RT: 17 minutes
• 4 films. Every frame of fire. That's right - just the important stuff.

Nerdcore Rising - Director - Negin Farsad – 2008 (Director in attendance) RT: 80 minutes
• Follow MC Frontalot, G Minor 7, Blak Lotus and Sturgis from the streets of New York into the clubs of America, and watch as they drop hip-hop bombs on the nerds, geeks, dweebs, and dorks who will one day be your bosses. This is how they get down. Then start wondering why you don't know about this yet.

Tuesday - 3/10
6:45PM
EGG - Director: Benh Zeitlin – 2005 RT: 9 minutes
• What happens in Egg Vegas stays in Egg Vegas. A terrible joke, but an amazing animated short that finally answers that age old question: who would win in a fight - a pirate or a yolk? Epic.

Finally, Liillian and Dan - Director: Mike Gibisser – 2008 RT: 97 minutes
• Perhaps the most underrated film on the circuit last year. Every frame is filled with longing as we watch two introverted people desperately try to connect with each other on their own terms. A sparse and stripped down film that's all the richer for its plain, realistic dialogue and long, ruminating takes. Gibisser spent months working with each of the actors separately (Gretchen Akers and Jason Kean - both credited as co-writers with Gibisser) to create real, believable characters before bringing them together to improvise in front of the camera. The result is an intimate portrayal of the slow, painful, and finally rewarding birth of love.

9:00PM
Night People - Directors: Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson – 2008 (Directors in attendance) RT: 3 minutes
• Legendary NYC radio host Bob Fass talks with a longtime listener.

Yeast - Director: Mary Bronstein – 2008 RT: 78 minutes
• With a constant undercurrent of violence, Bronstein crafts a tale that tells us what happens when friendships have run their course, but have yet to end. Hilarious and frightening at the same time, Yeast is easily one of the most divisive films from festivals last year. Love it or hate it, you can't ignore it. A must see.

Wednesday - 3/11
6:50PM
Glory At Sea - Director: Benh Zeitlin – 2008 RT: 20 minutes
• Mourners build a boat from the debris of New Orleans and bend it towards rescuing their loved ones lost beneath the waves.

My Effortless Brilliance - Director: Lynn Shelton – 2008 RT: 79 minutes
• Within the first ten minutes, one of the two main characters tells the other: "You're an asshole. You've always been a total asshole." Two years later, that asshole shows up on his friend's doorstep in an attempt to reconnect. Beautifully shot and solidly paced, we can look forward to such gems as "What would Dracula do?" and "...a telepathic conversation with her butthole.". Establishing Shelton as a definitive voice in independent cinema, she followed up My Effortless Brilliance with Humpday, which took home Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2009.

8:50PM
Irish Twins - Directors: Rider and Shiloh Strong – 2008 RT: 20 minutes
• "A man walks into a bar with an urn under his arm..." - with that, the Strong brothers start a story that teaches an invaluable lesson: don't mess with a man's family. This film is no joke.

Murder Party - Director: Jeremy Saulnier - 2007 (Director in attendance) RT: 80 minutes
• "Everybody Dies..." - with a tag line like that, how could you not want to see this film? Jeremy Saulnier and The Lab of Madness give hipsters their horror film. Bloody. Hilarious. Bloody hilarious.

Official Website: http://www.303grandnyc.com/