Film Review: “Séraphine” A Self Taught Primitive Painter

Séraphine is the story of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things. Séraphine Louis was a housecleaner in a tiny provincial town in France called Senlis. She was in her forties already when she first took up the paint brush, following the instruction of her “guardian angel.” Her work was a joke amongst the other townspeople, [...]

Second-Annual DWIFF Highlights

I admit that this year’s Detroit Windsor International Film Festival seemed a little less grand in scope, with screenings and opening/closing ceremonies being held almost solely on the Wayne State University campus (compared to last year when the opening ceremony was in the center of the RenCen, the opening night film premiere was at the [...]

DWIFF Discovery: The Rain World Premiere

Rain Trailer 2 (SD) from Doug Schulze on Vimeo.
Rain, rain, go away…
No, really, please, do.
This eerie children’s chant is the opening theme for the film The Rain, directed by Michigan filmmaker Douglas Schulze, which had its world premiere last week at the second-annual Detroit Windsor International Film Festival.
And all I have to say about it [...]

DWIFF Discovery: Breaking Upwards

The Detroit Windsor International Film Festival is here, and already there have been some truly top-notch discoveries.  First, Breaking Upwards:

Breaking Upwards Movie Trailer from Breaking Upwards on Vimeo.
We’ve all been through it before—the long-term relationship gone stale, the inability to let go, the struggle of the fear of being alone versus the continued misery of [...]

Film Review: Big Man Japan

Imagine a Japan in which Godzilla and Gomera still exist…the catch is, people no longer care. Imagine also that to fight these oversized beasts, select men are chosen by the Monster Defense Bureau to be electrocuted into a larger-than-life size (don’t ask for the scientifics behind that). Imagine still that these fights are filmed and [...]

O’Horten: A Quiet Comedy At The DFT

One word that I have seen repeatedly used to describe Bent Hamer’s dramedy on the Golden Years is “quiet.” Yes, this is a quiet film—long, lingering scenes dwelling on protagonist Odd Horten’s deeply-lined expressive face; meandering moments when the camera wanders away from Odd’s adventures and just kind of moseys along streetscapes with a tinkling, [...]

After Innocence Screening at the ACLU of Michigan

[ June 19, 2009; 7:00 pm; ] Walter Smith spent close to 26 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. Hear from him directly and learn what you can do to ensure every Michigan resident accused of a crime receives a fair and competent hearing.

“After Innocence”

A documentary film that tells the dramatic and compelling story of the exonerated

June [...]

O’Horten at the DFT

[ June 19, 2009 12:00 am to June 28, 2009 12:00 am. ] O’HORTEN

June 19-20-21 and June 26-27-28, 2009 

 (Norway/2008 – directed by Bent Hamer)

 This unpredictable, elegantly deadpan comedy from Norway’s Bent Hamer (Kitchen Stories) tells the story of one Odd Horten (played by the amazing Bård Owe) who, after a forty year career and a perfect work record, prepares to retire from his job as a train engineer [...]

International Festival Offers More Than Great Films

One of the best vacations I ever took was to the Toronto International Film Festival. I had never done anything quite like it before, but I was a total independent film junkie and at that time a student of film theory and criticism, so it seemed to me like nothing short of a rightful pilgrimage [...]

50¢ Films at the DFT

[ June 12, 2009 12:00 am to June 14, 2009 12:00 am. ] Four Charlie Chaplin comedies for only 50¢ each for some much-needed comic relief!
 
Where: The Detroit Film Theatre, Detroit
When: See schedule for details
Tix: 50¢
www.dia.org/dft