Posted by ERIC WILSON – This week marks the beginning of the third annual Little Rock Film Festival, and the Clinton School is a proud sponsor. Starting Wednesday and going through Sunday, over 75 films will be screened, the majority of them accompanied by their directors, cast and crew. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reviewed the lineup in the Sunday edition. You can read it HERE (sorry, subscription required).
Award-winning documentarians and festival co-founders Brent and Craig Renaud recently released their list of “Ten Don’t-Miss Films.” The DG listed 5 of them in its review, but we have the complete list right here. For screening times and locations go to www.littlerockfilmfestival.org.
1. Open Night Film: That Evening Sun
It’s a huge honor for us to open the 2009 LRFF with That Evening Sun, starring Little Rock resident Ray McKinnon and Oscar-nominated actor Hal Holbrook. Holbrook plays an aging Tennessee farmer who escapes from the nursing home he has been committed to in hopes of returning to his farm to live out his final days in peace.
2. Body of War with Phil Donahue
As a part of our hugely popular film series with the Clinton School of Public Service, we are thrilled to host Phil Donahue, producer and director of Body of War, a naked and honest portrayal of what it’s like inside the body, heart and soul of a seriously injured Iraq War Veteran named Tomas Young.
3. (500) Days of Summer
A huge hit at Sundance in January, critically acclaimed (500) Days of Summer is being called the Juno, of 2009. The premise is basic enough. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t. This is your chance to see a popular film before it hits the big theaters.
4. Goodbye Solo
We are big fans of Ramin Bahrani, the Iranian American director behind Man Push Cart and Chop Shop. They continue to impress us with this year’s Goodbye Solo, a film about an improbable friendship between an African cab driver, and an aging good old boy from North Carolina with a lifetime of regrets.
5. CrudeJoe Berlinger, the director behind the Paradise Lost films on HBO brings us Crude, the inside story of the “Amazon Chernobyl” case in the rainforest of Ecuador, the largest oil-related environmental lawsuit in the world.
6. Valerie
From Germany, comes the Hamptons Film Festival winner Valerie, an understated and emotional film about an aging supermodel struggling to get work and resigned to sleeping in her Jaguar in Berlin once she can no longer pay the bill at the fancy hotel where she lives.
7. Kassim the Dream
Kassim “The Dream” Ouma was born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. Twenty-three years later he fought Jermaine Taylor in Little Rock, Arkansas for the middleweight championship of the World. Kassim will be on hand to discuss his incredible journey.
8. Touching Home
The Miller Brothers will be at the LRFF to discuss how with no film experience, no money and no contacts, they managed to make a feature film based on the life of their father, with a cast and crew made up of 11 Academy Award winners. The Miller Brothers will also sign copies of their new book.
9. The Way We Get By
Continuing our commitment to films about veterans and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have The Way We Get By. In a small airport in central Maine a group of senior citizens are making history by using handshakes and hugs to play a critical role in the Iraq War.
10. Field of Dreams at Dickey Stephens Park
This is another great closing night event with our partners Movies in the Park. Come see the classic Kevin Costner film at Dickey Stephens Park, home of the Arkansas Travelers, Minor league baseball team. You can sit in the stands or bring a blanket and sit right on the field.
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