2011 Festival Film List

Myth of the American Sleepover

Michigan, 2011, Drama/Comedy, 93 min, Not Rated

Synopsis: Four young people (all newcomers in their feature film debuts) living in an idyllic Michigan suburb celebrate the last night of summer before the new school year starts.

Played Cannes, winner at South by Southwest Film Festival.

Website / Movie Trailer

“A poignant, impressionistically sweet coming-of-age drama.”

–Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate

Of Gods and Men

Sponsored by Absolute! Building Maintenance
France, 2010, Drama, 120 min., R

Synopsis: Eight French Christian monks in a North African monastery live in harmony with their Muslim brothers. When a crew of foreign workers is massacred by an Islamic fundamentalist group, fear sweeps though the region. Should the monks stay or leave.

Based on a true 1990s story. Winner at Cannes.

Website / Movie Trailer

“It is a thoughtful film, a serious one, and one that is sneakily affecting.”

–Mike Scott, The Times Picayune

Red Hill

Australia, 2010, Crime, 95 min, R

Synopsis: A young police officer {Ryan Kwanten) relocates to the small town of Red Hill with his pregnant wife. When news of a prison break sends the local law enforcement officers into a panic, his first day on duty rapidly turns into a nightmare.

Website / Movie Trailer

“A serving of True Blood's Ryan Kwanten in his native accent is the chief selling point of this picturesque, contentedly imitative Coen-brothers homage.”

–Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

13 Assassins

Japan/UK 2011, Action/Adventure, 126 min, R

Synopsis: Cult director Takeshi Miike sets his film at the end of Japan's feudal era, with unemployed samurai enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord to prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future. Played Cannes.

Website / Movie Trailer

“Epic. Unforgettable. Relentless. Magnificently entertaining ”

–Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Win, Win

Sponsored by Verdoni Productions
USA, 2011, Comedy/ Drama, 106 min., R

Synopsis: A beleaguered attorney/part-time wrestling coach (Paul Giamatti) schemes to keep his practice from going under by acting as the legal caretaker of an elderly client. Then the client's troubled grandson shows up.

Website / Movie Trailer

“It's smart, it's funny, it's tough and it's a complete delight to watch.”

–Tom Long, Detroit News

The Way Back

Sponsored by Delta Public Broadcasting
USA, 2010, Drama, 133 min, PG-13

Synopsis: A contingent of prisoners (among them Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell) in a 1941 Soviet Union labor camp flee their Siberian Gulag and begin a treacherous journey across 4,000 miles of hostile terrain. Peter Weir wrote and directs. Nominated for an Oscar.

Website / Movie Trailer

“Weir has always loved atmospheric locales and group dynamics, and here he makes the most of both.”

–Rafer Guzman, Newsday