Shannon:
Thanks for getting back to us. At this rate I don't know if we will ever
know whether our winter weekend morning audience would follow us and/or
whether we could attract new filmgoers to an evening timeslot. I would be
interested in seeing the numbers for each of our films. Some films do have a
higher attendance ceiling than others. If we do show films in the evening we
will certainly need to find ways to enhance the film experience and I did
have some potential candidates on a couple of the films. A different choice
in film would need someone with expertise more appropriate to that film.
While I considered suggesting that we try only a single film or deferring a
final answer until the series has ended which might give a truer reading of
our baseline audience and help clarify whether some of the films would find
their way into the regular schedule or not, I accept that "pulling the plug"
now does simplify things for everybody.
As far as doing post-film discussions, I did suggest that we could do this
for films in the regular schedule. However, it did not seem workable to do
this if, as was the counter-offer, we needed to move the discussion to
another location such as a local restaurant. I don't know how some of your
new activities would be set up and how we might be involved, but the Science
on Screen and the Monday Night Movies already have had discussions so I
don't think we can add much to those programs. Let me know how the new
programs are conceived and perhaps we can help.
Joel
From: cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Shannon Haines
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2016 2:59 PM
To: cinemaexp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: 'Ken Eisen'
Subject: [cinemaexp] Re: Candidates for Spring Screenings
Dear Joel and the rest of the CinEx team,
I have spoken with Ken about the possibility of a spring screening(s) and
the films that you have suggested. He feels there are sufficient issues with
the films you've proposed - from film quality issues to availability to
ability to draw an audience to possible theater booking conflicts, all of
which are reasons that factored into him not booking these same films or not
booking them yet for the theater - to make pursuit of such an evening series
at this moment inadvisable, and I am in agreement with him on this at this
point.
In addition to the issues with the films themselves, we are concerned with
the ability to draw an audience for one-off screenings. You will recall that
I wanted to wait and see how Cinema Explorations went this year before
moving forward with the spring screening concept. Unfortunately, attendance
has been lower this year despite the fact that - in addition to our regular
e-news and print newsletters - we printed and distributed more flyers, did
more paid advertising on Facebook, and had a kick-off story in the Sentinel,
so it doesn't feel like we have built an audience that will transfer to an
evening event.
It is hard to justify knocking out a regular evening screening and taking on
additional expenses when we don't have a solid audience to count on, and we
do already have several other special programs this spring that we will be
trying to build audience for - Science on Screen events, Monday Night
Movies, and. though not publicly posted or announced yet, a FREE Wim Wenders
series in April and a special MFC event in May.
I know that this is disappointing news, and I apologize for being the
bearer. We certainly appreciate all of the hard work that goes into CinEx
and the value that it adds to the community. The two events I have attended
have been great. I hope we can put all of our efforts into promoting the
next two shows and finishing strong with good, solid audiences. And I know
that I have floated this idea in the past, but if CinEx wants to organize a
post-film discussion group or activity for any of the special programs
listed above, that might be another way for CinEx to be visible throughout
the year while supporting our existing programming, and we would certainly
be willing to promote those kinds of opportunities to the audience.
Best,
Shannon
From: cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Joel Johnson
Sent: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 4:31 PM
To: cinemaexp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [cinemaexp] Re: Candidates for Spring Screenings
This is my follow-up from a couple of weeks ago when I first sent out
information about the 10 Foreign-language Oscar submissions that have US
distribution. I had indicated that I was leaning toward the Guatemalan
submission "IXCANUL" and the Romanian submission "AFERIM!" as they both had
good reviews, had been included in many high-profile film festivals, and had
won awards. Only Alice has responded with alternative candidates. With one
exception, no one else has either concurred with any of the suggested films
or made any other suggestions. Shannon and Sam suggested that having some
type of event or special guest in association with our film screening would
help maximize our success as we do not have a significant "captive" audience
that we know will come out to watch any of the films we are currently
considering. It would be helpful to know what would be break-even point for
attendance to know what our target should be for success with a one-time
screening. I have, however, done some research (see attachment) on faculty
at Colby whose interests coincide to some degree with "IXCANUL" (Prof. Ben
W. Fellaw) and "AFERIM!" (Asst. Prof. Arnout H.C. van der Meer and Associate
Prof. Maple J. Razsa). I have not contacted any of these individuals. I am
curious as to whether anyone on our team knows these people personally and
has any indication of their receptivity to helping us. It would appear Maple
may already be favorably inclined toward film and the Maine Film Center. If
they were favorably disposed toward participating in a post-film discussion
that could be helpful not only in making the film experience better for our
typical filmgoer, but for broadening our appeal to the Colby community.
Do you have any other suggestions or particular concerns about either my
suggestions or the ones put forth by Alice?
Do you have any information about the individuals I have identified or any
others to consider?
I don't want to muddy the water at all, but two of the Foreign-language film
nominees (the acknowledged favorite "SON OF SAUL" and "EMBRACE OF THE
SERPENT") are already booked for Railroad Square Cinema. The Jordanian entry
"THEEB" already screened here as part of MIFF. There is no indication yet
that the French entry set in Turkey "MUSTANG"
http://cohenmedia.net/films/mustang or the Danish entry "A WAR";
http://www.magpictures.com/awar/ will be coming. That certainly could change
and would very likely change if one of them pulls an upset and wins the
Oscar. Both "MUSTANG" and "A WAR" are currently in release and fairly likely
to be out on DVD or streaming in two or three months or so ("MUSTANG" DVDs
and Blu-Rays can pre-ordered from Amazon for release on 5/10/16). Ken may
know now or will very soon whether he wants to try to book either of them.
Do you want to pursue either of those in place of the other films suggested?
I look forward to your feedback. Hopefully, we can make a decision on the
films quite soon and be able to start promoting them with our audiences.
Joel
From: cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Alice Johnson
Sent: Friday, February 12, 2016 11:53 AM
To: cinemaexp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [cinemaexp] Re: Contact Information for Associate Professor John
Turner/Candidates for Spring Screenings
I looked at all the Trailers...
IRAQI ODYSSEY (Switzerland) Typecast Releasing 11/27/15
THE CLUB (Chile) Music Box Films
2/5/16 (Limited)
VIVA (Ireland) Magnolia Pictures
4/29/16
Alice
From: cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:cinemaexp-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Joel Johnson
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2016 9:00 PM
To: cinemaexp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [cinemaexp] Contact Information for Associate Professor John
Turner/Candidates for Spring Screenings
Shannon:
Could you give me the e-mail address for Professor Turner? Thanks!
Everyone:
We had some discussion of possible spring screenings-most recently in
e-mails under the heading of "Opening weekend and beyond; dates for spring
evenings." We had learned from Shannon that the schedule was very busy for
March, but that April and May were more open. In response, I had suggested
that we could have a one-night screening of a film during the second week of
April (Tuesday, April 12th; Wednesday, April 13th; or Thursday, April 14th)
and have another one-night screening the first week of May (Tuesday, May
3rd; Wednesday, May 4th; or Thursday, May 5th). Hopefully, these dates are
still available. We were hoping to broaden the exposure of foreign-language
films and needed to know which of the submitted films would be nominated.
The nominees are EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (Colombia); MUSTANG (France); SON OF
SAUL (Hungary); THEEB (Jordan); and A WAR (Denmark). In past years, all of
the nominees have eventually been shown by Railroad Square. So currently I
am assuming that none of the nominees are available. You may be aware that
SON OF SAUL (considered the favorite to win the Oscar) has a trailer running
now. I have once again sent out the listing of the submissions. This is
informational. There are only 10 of the submissions (other than the
nominees) that have US distribution and are not now or soon-to-be available
on DVD and/or streaming. I think there are some quite interesting films on
this list. The Internet Movie Database ( http://www.imdb.com/ ;) may be a
helpful resource to get additional information about these films, but I have
included links to distributor's webpages for each film which usually has a
trailer or directly to a subtitled trailer. There are a number of
interesting storylines. Which films seem particularly attractive to you? We
have a true crime story; a film that looks like a different perspective on
the SPOTLIGHT story of the transgressions of those with religious vocations;
drag performers in Havana; a coming-of-age story for a young indigenous
woman in Central America; two films with estranged brothers; a look at the
history of persecution of gypsies, etc. We can certainly go in a number of
different directions, but I am partial to IXCANUL and AFERIM! IXCANUL has
received some very favorable reviews and has shown at several high-profile
film festivals. AFERIM! has likewise received good reviews and portrays an
interesting piece of history. I guess I'm a bit of a sucker for history and
ethnography.
http://awardswatch.com/news/official-submissions-list-for-2016-foreign-langu
age-film-oscar-updating/
FILM US DISTRIBUTOR
US RELEASE DATE
THE CLAN (Argentina) Twentieth Century Fox 3/18/16
(Limited)
The true story of the Puccio Clan, a family who kidnapped and killed people
in the 80s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gnQab2Qq14 Trailer with English subtitles
THE CLUB (Chile) Music Box Films
2/5/16 (Limited)
http://www.musicboxfilms.com/the-club-movies-127.php
A crisis counselor is sent by the Catholic Church to a small Chilean beach
town where disgraced priests and nuns, suspected of crimes ranging from
child abuse to baby-snatching from unwed mothers, live secluded, after an
incident occurs.
IXCANUL (Guatemala) Kino Lorber
N/A
http://www.kinolorber.com/film.php?id=2266 ;
Maria, a 17 year old Mayan (Kaqchikel) woman, lives on the slopes of an
active volcano in Guatemala. An arranged marriage awaits her, but her suitor
must first spend months working in the city. It is a world Maria knows
nothing of, but is forced to encounter when problems arise.
RAMS (Iceland) Cohen Media Group
2/3/16 (Limited)
http://cohenmedia.net/films/rams ;
In a secluded valley in Iceland, Gummi and Kiddi live side by side, tending
to their sheep. Their ancestral sheep-stock is considered one of the
country's best and the two brothers are repeatedly awarded for their prized
rams who carry an ancient lineage. Although they share the land and a way of
life, Gummi and Kiddi have not spoken to each other in four decades. When a
lethal disease suddenly infects Kiddi's sheep, the entire valley comes under
threat. The authorities decide to cull all the animals in the area to
contain the outbreak. This is a near death sentence for the farmers, whose
sheep are their main source of income, and many abandon their land. But
Gummi and Kiddi don't give up so easily - and each brother tries to stave
off the disaster in his own fashion: Kiddi by using his rifle and Gummi by
using his wits. As the authorities close in the brothers will need to come
together to save the special breed passed down for generations, and
themselves, from extinction.
VIVA (Ireland) Magnolia Pictures
4/29/16
http://www.magpictures.com/profile.aspx?id=eba486dd-ffa7-4648-992e-de07ff66d
8e0
When everything is for sale, what's the value of love? Jesus does make up
for a troupe of drag performers in Havana, but dreams of being a performer.
When he finally gets his chance to be on stage, a stranger emerges from the
crowd and punches him in the face. The stranger is his father Angel, a
former boxer, who has been absent from his life for 15 years. As father and
son clash over their opposing expectations of each other, Viva becomes a
love story as the men struggle to understand one another and become a family
again.
600 MILES (Mexico) Pantelion
N/A
http://www.pantelionfilms.com/ ;(Currently not especially helpful)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBDMqB5VlTo Trailer with English subtitles
Arnulfo Rubio smuggles weapons for a deadly Mexican cartel. ATF agent Hank
Harris (Tim Roth) attempts to apprehend him, but gets kidnapped by Rubio,
instead. Rubio takes him to his bosses, but during the 600-miles-long drive,
they slowly befriend.
ARABIAN NIGHTS: VOLUME 2, THE DESOLATE ONE (Portugal) Kino Lorber
12/4/15
http://www.kinolorber.com/film.php?id=2215
This is part 2 of a trilogy. It is not based on the Arabian Nights stories,
but does borrow from their format. Check out the website for the synopsis.
AFERIM! (Romania) Big World Pictures
1/22/16
http://bigworldpictures.org/films/aferim/index.html
Set in early 19th century Wallachia, when a local policeman, Costandin, is
hired by Iordache, a boyar (local noble), to find Carfin, a Gypsy slave who
had run away from the boyar's estate after having an affair with his wife,
Sultana. Costandin sets out to find the fugitive, beginning a journey full
of adventures. Gypsy slavery lasted from the 14th century up until the
middle of the 19th century, a situation which is very little known and
almost nonexistent in the public debate today, although its impact continues
to influence Romania's social life.
IRAQI ODYSSEY (Switzerland) Typecast Releasing 11/27/15
https://typecastfilms.com/3563/iraqi-odyssey/ ;
Documentary tracing the emigrations of his family over more than half a
century, this riveting 3D documentary epic from acclaimed expatriate Iraqi
filmmaker Samir pays moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a
people successively plagued by the horrors of dictatorship, war, and foreign
occupation. NOTE: 163 minutes
BROTHERS: THE FINAL CONFESSION Intellect Pictures N/A
http://www.intellectpictures.com/Brothers_The_Final_Confession
The film is a psychological drama developing on the highlands of the
Carpathian Mountains. Two helpless old men, brothers, desperately keep
competing with each other in order to prolong their lives. Even though their
bodies are decaying and both are sick the one still wants to outlive the
other ... But one day a woman enters their remote dwelling...
Joel
