Tag Archives: Little Rock Film Festival

Twelve Hours of Film Viewing Possible in Day 5 of Little Rock Film Festival

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LRFF2015posterIf you have the stamina, you can watch films from 10 in the morning until 10:30 tonight today with the Little Rock Film Festival.

At 10am at The Joint – Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 6 with “Go to the Ball with Me, Jenny” (Cole Borgstadt), “Simple” (Scott McEntire), “Stay a While” (Michael Kelley), “Sassy & the Private Eye” (Tanner Smith), “The Whisperers” (Jason Miller) and “Perfect Machine” (Jarrod Paul Beck).  At 10:30am – 7 Chinese Brothers (Ron Robinson Theater), I Am the People (Butler Center) and “Made in Arkansas: The Hanging of David O. Dodd – Bill and Margaret Clark Room.

Those four locations will again be busy at 12:30 with:

  • Western – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Tired Moonlight – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” Block 3 – The Joint
    • “Undefeated” (Nathan Willis), “Little Brother” (Eric White), “Spoonin’ the Devil” (Michael Carpenter), “Meredith” (Scott Eggleston), and “The Town Where Nobody Lives” (Al Topich)
  • “Adventure” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Twelve Traditions” (Jonathan Cuartas), “Dust” (Mike Grier), “The Answers” (Michael Goode), “Spearhunter” (Adam Roffman), “The Other Side” (Scott Brown), “Big Boy” (Bryan Campbell) and “September Sketch Book” (Ronnie Cramer)

There will be a panel at 2:15 “Making Million Dollar Films for Thousands” in the Filmmakers Lounge.

At 3pm the films are:

  • God Bless the Child – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Sweaty Betty – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 5 – The Joint
    • “Not Interested” (Matt Foss), “The Making of ‘Sensitivity Training’” (Tanner Smith), “’Twas the Night of the Krampus” (Donovan Thompson), “Vampire-Killing Prostitute” (Jordan Mears), “Southern Pride” (Nick Lane), “The Paper Boy” (Thien Ngo) and “I Hate Alphaman” (Hunter West)
  • “Some Lives” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “The Resort (Shadae Lamar Smith), “Tom in America” (Flavio Alves), “Elgin Park” (Danny Yourd), “Write with Me…” (Hannah Leshaw), “Chute Fighter” (Laurel Parmet), “Lay in Wait” (Jonathan Ade), “The Murder Ballad of James Jones” (Jesse Kreitzer)

The 5:30 screenings are:

  • Applesauce – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Crocodile Gennadiy – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” The Grace of Jake – The Joint
  • “One, Two” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Biscayne World” (Ahol Sniffs Glue, Michael Arcos, Ellen Hertzler), “one hitta quitta” (Ya’Ke Smith), “Boxeadora” (Meg Smaker), “Day One” (Henry Hughes), “Hunter’s Fall” (Peter J. McCarthey) and “Bookin’” (John Kirkscey)
  • (T)ERROR – Clinton School

 

The final round of films tonight start at 8.  They are:

  • Breaking a Monster which will also feature a performance by Unlocking the Truth – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Uncle Kent 2 – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” The Phone in the Attic – The Joint
  • “Comes and Goes” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Tough” (Alfonso Johnson), “Marathon” (Lauren Smitelli), “The Art of Richard Thompson” (Bob Burnett), “Papa Machete” (Jonathan David Kane), “How to Stand Up for Yourself” (Sarah Hanssen), “La Reina” (Manual Abramovich) and “Mr. Gold” (Brian Carlson).
  • Peace Officer – Clinton School

At 9pm, the Tale of Two Cities Party takes place on the Junction Bridge.

Day 2 of 2015 LR Film Festival offers Features, Shorts, Student Films and Trivia

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lrff_logo-backgroundAt 1:30 today the documentary How to Dance in Ohio starts the second day of the Little Rock Film Festival.  It will be shown at the Ron Robinson Theater.

From 3:30 to 5 the LRFFYouth! Screening of AETN Student Selects will take place, also at the Ron Robinson Theater.

At 5:30, films will start in two different venues.  The Ron Robinson Theater will play host to Made in Arkansas Shorts (Block 2) from 5:30 to 7:30pm.  The films being shown are “MatchMaker” by Robin Sparks, “Hush” by Kenn Woodard, “Dim the Lights” by Dwight Chalmers, “The Pop N’ Lock” by Jadon Barnes, “Rapture Us” by Levi Agee, “The Ask” by Edmund Lowry and “Contact” by Alexander Jeffery.  Following the films, Gerry Bruno will moderate a discussion with the filmmakers.

Also at 5:30, the Clinton School will be the site for the screening of Laurent Bécue-Renard’s Of Men and War.  This film is a staggering, masterful portrait of a California treatment center for PTSD-afflicted veterans of the Iraq war.   Writer and Journalist Jay Jennings will sit down with Director Laurent Bécue-Renard for a Q and A following the screening.

Punk takes over the Ron Robinson at 8pm as Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington DC (1980-90) is shown.  Prior to the film, local punk band Headcold will play.

At 9pm at Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, Matt DeCample will host a movie trivia challenge.

 

The 2015 Little Rock Film Festival kicks off tonight

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LRFF2015posterThe 9th annual Little Rock Film Festival gets underway tonight!

At 7:30, the film King Jack will be shown in the Ron Robinson Theater.

Jack is a scrappy fifteen year-old kid stuck in a run-down small town. Trapped in a violent feud with a cruel older bully and facing another bout of summer school, Jack’s got all the problems he can handle. So when Jack’s aunt falls ill and his runty younger cousin must stay with him for the weekend the last thing Jack wants to do is look after him. Unfortunately no one really cares what Jack wants. Set over a hazy summer weekend, King Jack is a tough and tender coming of age story about friendship and finding happiness in tough surroundings.

King Jack won the Audience Award at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Director Felix Thompson, and the break-out young star Charlie Plummer will be in attendance.  LRFF Programmer Levi Agee will moderate.

Following the film, Little Rock Film Festival Presenting Sponsor Cache Restaurant and Bar will be hosting the opening night party.   Music Provided by Rodney Block & The Real Music Lovers. This event is open to the following pass holders: Sponsor, Filmmaker, Press, Gold and Silver.

Films from creators of “Beasts of the Southern Wild” are featured at Arkansas Times Film Series

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As part of the Arkansas Times monthly film series at the Ron Robinson Theater, tonight they will be showing a series of shorts from the creators of Beasts of the Southern Wild. The series is produced in partnership with the Little Rock Film Festival.

This will be a special presentation of short films and music videos from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Benh Zeitlen and others in Court 13–a New Orleans film and arts collective.

Following the screenings, Court 13 members Casey Coleman and Nathan Harrison will participate in a panel discussion.

The films being screened are:

  • “Glory at Sea”
  • “Death of a Tin Man”
  • Music videos from MGMT and Big Freedia

Tickets are $5. The screening starts at 7pm.

NATIONAL GALLERY film shown tonight through Clinton School/LR Film Festival partnership

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Frederick Wiseman’s “National Gallery” takes the audience behind the scenes of a London institution, on a journey to the heart of a museum inhabited by masterpieces of Western art from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century. 

The documentary is the portrait of a place, its way of working and relations with the world, its staff and public, and its paintings. In a perpetual and dizzying game of mirrors, film watches painting watches film. 

Fred Wiseman is one of today’s greatest living documentary filmmakers. For close to thirty years, he has created an exceptional body of work consisting of thirty full-length films devoted primarily to exploring American institutions.

The film will be shown tonight at the Ron Robinson Theater at 6pm. It is sponsored by the Clinton School for Public Service and the Little Rock Film Festival. 

CHINATOWN screened tonight at Ron Robinson Theater as part of Arkansas Times Film Series

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chinatownRoman Polanski’s 1974 film classic Chinatown will be shown tonight at the Ron Robinson Theater as part of the Arkansas Times Film Series. This is presented in conjunction with the Little Rock Film Festival.

Here is how the Arkansas Times describes the film:

The quintessential L.A. noir and the best role of Jack Nicholson’s career, the movie was named the greatest film of all time in a 2010 critics poll by The Guardian. Roger Ebert called it a “tour de force” and “not only a great entertainment, but something more, something I would have thought almost impossible.” An atmospheric, totally engrossing mystery involving water and sexual dysfunction, this is rare opportunity to see the classic on the big screen.

The screening will begin at 7pm (January 15). Tickets are $5.

In addition to a starring turn by Nicholson, the film features searing performances by Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez, John Hillerman, Darrell Zwerling and Diane Ladd. Nominated for eleven Oscars, it won the Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne’s haunting tale.

14ish Cultural Highlights of 2014

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2014 was a busy year.  Here are 14 cultural highlights. In no particular order. Except maybe once in while.

The Rep's Bob Hupp and Catherine Hughes flank NEA Chair Jane Chu

The Rep’s Bob Hupp and Catherine Hughes flank NEA Chair Jane Chu

Dr. Jane Chu visits Arkansas. Former Arkadelphia resident Dr. Jane Chu was appointed as the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. In October, she paid a visit to Little Rock and northwest Arkansas. While in the Rock, she participated in a discussion at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre and toured the new Creative Corridor spaces under construction for the Rep, Ballet Arkansas and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Chu was also the guest of honor at a reception hosted by the Arkansas Arts Council. While here, she had the chance to renew old friendships as well as make new ones.

Carroll Cloar exhibit at Arkansas Arts Center. The Arkansas Arts Center featured the works of Arkansas native Carroll Cloar. Much as the Biblical prophet who is ignored in his homeland, Cloar has long been better recognized outside of his native state.  The Cloar exhibit (which included a painting of future Little Rock mayor J. V. Satterfield playing football, a personal favorite of the LRCV) and the outreach by the AAC staff made great strides towards raising Arkansas’ consciousness about the works by the American treasure.

DSCF0011Robinson Center Music Hall closes for renovation. Opening in February 1940 as the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium, the City’s prime venue for performances and civic gatherings needed an external and internal facelift at 74. The building closed in July 2014 for a two year renovation which will see the reconfiguration of the performance and audience space in the music hall, the creation of a new special events venue overlooking the Arkansas River, and the restoration of this historic main lobby and front façade to 1940 appearance. During this closure tenants such as Ballet Arkansas, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Celebrity Attractions have temporarily relocated to other venues including the Pulaski Academy Connor Performing Arts Center and the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.

Ron Robinson Theater opens. Shortly before one Robinson closed, another opened.  The Central Arkansas Library System’s new Ron Robinson Theater opened. This multi-purpose venue has quickly become home to lectures (by the library, the Clinton School and others), films (in partnership with Arkansas Times, Little Rock Film Festival and others) and music (including the Arkansas Sounds series).  Named for famed Little Rock adman Ron Robinson, the public spaces pay tribute to his love of movies and music about Arkansas.

Music Music Music

  • As noted above, Arkansas Sounds has switched from a concentrated music festival to instead offering a variety of music styles and genres throughout the year at the new Ron Robinson Theatre. The music has ranged from Big Band to Klezmer to Country to Rock to Rap.  This is only one of the new music offerings in Little Rock.
  • South on Main completed its first full year of the weekly Local Live free music series sponsored by the Oxford American and Landers Fiat. South on Main also started a Jazz on Main series as well as increased their bookings of other musicians ranging from Rodney Block to Rodney Crowell.
  • Meanwhile, The Undercroft completed its first full year of (mainly) acoustic music offerings at the corner of Capitol and Scott Streets.

New Works of Art.

  • New sculptures were added to the Vogel-Schwartz Sculpture Garden and Riverfront Park as well as the Bernice Gardens.
  • In what may be the first for any symphony in the US, the musicians of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra commissioned a new piece in honor of the ASO board of directors. The work, composed by Christopher Theofanidis, was entitled The Wind and Petit Jean.  It was well-received by audience and musicians alike.
  • Ballet Arkansas sponsored a choreography competition “Visions” which featured five choreographers competing to be selected for a full-scale commission.  The winner was Hilary Wolfley whose work will be seen at the spring Ballet Arkansas presentation.
  • Finally, in conjunction with the 175th anniversary of Christ Episcopal Church (the oldest church in Little Rock to be at its original location), a new choral piece was commissioned. Daniel E. Gawthrop’s “Haste the Day” premiered on December 7.

mod delaneyThe Tonight Show with Kevin Delaney. Because Jimmy Fallon is really just a big kid at heart, he wanted to include periodic “cool” science experiments when he took over the “Tonight Show.”  After being contacted by a producer of Fallon’s show and an audition process, the Museum of Discovery’s Kevin Delaney was booked to appear.  He debuted on May 5 performing experiment with Fallon and returned on November 7. When not a guest of NBC, Delaney performs the same types of “Awesome Science” experiments for tens of thousands of children and adults at the Museum of Discovery.

New Festival of Arts. Acansa, a new multi-discplinary, multi-venue arts festival, debuted this year in September.  Over a five day period, ACANSA Arts Festival brought together audiences and cultural resources to present unique and exciting visual and performing works which celebrate the unique influence of the south and champion excellence and innovation in artistry.  There was theatre, dance, instrumental music, choral music, puppetry and visual art.

14 14 4Gridiron Returns. The talk of the return of the Star Wars movie franchise was not the only welcome news of returns. Gridiron, the biennial attorney fundraiser which spoofs politics, current events, sports and everything that is “sacred” to the general populace, returned after a hiatus.  Once again this effort was under the watchful eye of producer Judge Mary McGowan, the creative leadership of Jana Beard, and the writing prowess of the anonymous committee.  As has been the case in the past, many of the targets of the show good-naturedly showed up and laughed along in the audience.

Sculptures Returned.  Gridiron was not the only welcome return. Earlier this year several sculptures were stolen from the Vogel-Schwartz Sculpture Garden in Riverfront Park. After a media blitz about the theft, some people strolling through the park stumbled across a bag containing the missing sculptures. The pieces are in the process of being restored and will be reinstalled soon.

14 14 3Clinton Center turned 10.  Proving that you can come home again, quite a few of the people who were present for the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center in 2004 showed up again in 2014 to take part in celebratory festivities.  Among events included several lectures; a day of service benefiting the Arkansas Food Bank; a barbecue picnic; and a concert featuring Nick Jonas, Kool & the Gang and others which was hosted by Kevin Spacey.  The Clinton School also celebrated 10 years of lectures and innovative programs.

Preservation Concentration – The Quapaw Quarter Association marked the 50th Spring Tour this year. The event was co-chaired by First Lady Ginger Beebe and lifestyle expert P. Allen Smith.  Later in the year, the QQA hosted its first Mid-Century architecture tour highlighting some of Little Rock’s buildings from this style. They ended the year with the news that they had purchased the William E. Woodruff House in east Little Rock. One of Little Rock’s oldest houses, it was built by the founder of the Arkansas Gazette.  They will shore up the building to try to ensure no further decay as the building is readied for its next phase.

Huzzahs

  • 14 14 2Reese Rowland, architect and principal at Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock, was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, awarded to fewer than 4 percent of AIA members.
  • Little Rock native Will Trice earned his third Tony Award in three years, this time for producing All The Way, the Best Play of 2014. His previous Tonys were for Porgy and Bess (Musical Revival-2012) and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Play Revival-2013).
  • Arkansas native and frequent Little Rock performer Al Green was one of the 2014 Kennedy Center Honorees.
  • Little Rock’s Creative Corridor continued to rack up honors. The UA’s Community Design Center, which includes faculty and staff members from the school, won a 2014 Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects for its work on the Creative Corridor, on which it collaborated with Marlon Blackwell Architect of Fayetteville. The project also received the American Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award for Analysis and Planning.

Transitions.

  • 14 14Sharon Priest, a longtime cultural advocate as a City Beautiful Commission member, Little Rock City Director, Little Rock Mayor and Arkansas Secretary of State announced her retirement after 12 years as Executive Director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership.  Over the past dozen years, she has continued her cultural advocacy.
  • One of Priest’s successors as a member of the Little Rock City Board, Stacy Hurst, was named by Gov.-Elect Asa Hutchinson to be his choice to lead the Department of Arkansas Heritage. She will oversee seven agencies including three Little Rock museums: Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Old State House Museum and Historic Arkansas Museum.
  • Following the closure of Starving Artists Cafe, the weekly Tales from the South program (which originated from there) had to scramble to find a place.  After several weeks of a completely nomadic existence, it is now settling into a rotating list of locations. The Arkansas Arts Center’s Best Impressions restaurant has been designated a “permanent” site for the first Tuesday of each month.
  • The free outdoor Movies in the Park celebrated its 10th season this year. Founders Blake Rutherford, Heather Allmendinger and Ben Beaumont were honored at the start of the season.  A few weeks into the season, the series screened the film Frozen and set a new record for attendance by logging over 7,000 attendees.
  • After the closure of the Riverdale cinema in 2013, the space sat vacant.  In June 2014, Matt Smith moved the Market Street Cinema operations into the Riverdale space. He upgraded the equipment at Riverdale (which was also a vast improvement over the equipment at Market Street).  The new Riverdale 10 shows a mix of first-run blockbusters as well as the independent films for which Market Street had been beloved.
  • The Studio Theatre was launched adjacent to the new Lobby Bar in downtown Little Rock.  In addition to producing its own performances, it is also the new home of the Community Theatre of Little Rock and Precipice Theatre.
  • Weekend Theatre founder Ralph Hyman retired as the Artistic Director of that group. He will continue to direct productions from time to time.