What to see at the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival

At nearly 40 years old (37, to be exact), the Atlanta Film Festival has earned the distinction of Georgia's foremost festival event. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival is a more sprawling, ticket-selling extravaganza. The Savannah Film Festival hosts bigger stars and showcases 'higher profile' films. The Macon Film Festival and Rome International Film Festival are famously friendly and tremendously resourceful. But the years have been kind and the decades of extra experience have paid off for the ATLFF. For a long time, the festival floundered to find its niche– not knowing whether to focus on Southern film, independent film, LGBT film or to just pick up scraps from other, more established festivals. Last year, under the leadership of new executive director, Chris Escobar, and recently crowned festival director, Charles Judson, the festival made great strides towards a unique, truly Atlantan voice. This year, that voice rings out with an uninhibited clarity.

Just as Georgia's film industry, both commercially and independently, has taken off and continues to move at a break-neck speed, the ATLFF has managed to become a destination film fest for international filmmakers while placing a huge emphasis on our locally-grown work. This year's lineup is the most solid, cohesive yet. While we see a few all-stars from this season's earlier festivals (Sundance, SXSW, Toronto); a slew of unique programming enters the race here, including dozens of Georgia-made features and shorts. Congratulations to Judson and company for all your hard work paying off!

Now, what should you see this year? The correct answer would be, 'as much as you can.' The ten day event features plenty for anyone and everyone. Saturdays and Sundays are jam-packed with programming, but you won't have to worry about leaving work to catch a film as weekday screenings are set in the evening. If you can get away during the weekdays, though, please do. The Cinformation seminar series is going to be well worth your time.

I simply can't wait for the big kickoff this Friday. After the jump, I've highlighted this year's most promising fare– including the big names, the buzzed titles and all the homegrown good stuff.

Complete 2013 Atlanta Film Festival line-up

The famed Plaza Theatre, home of this year's Atlanta Film Festival.
(Image from www.plazatlanta.com)

Only nine more days until Georgia's signature film festival kicks off it's 37th season with "Mud" at the Plaza Theatre. We'll be bringing you all sorts of coverage– reviews, photos, giveaways and more. Check back soon for our picks of what to see at the festival, with an emphasis on the Georgia-made films. But for now– check out the full slate of programming.

Opening Night
Mud

Closing Night
The Spectacular Now (GA)

Special Presentations
Rectify (GA)
Scarred but Smarter: Life n Times of Drivin n Cryin (GA)
Faces In The Mirror
The Whitest Kids U' Know
WonderRoot Generally Local, Mostly Independent

"La Source" to screen at Atlanta Film Festival

Last September, "La Source" struck a cord with me at the Rome International Film Festival. The impressive documentary, centered around Haitian janitor Josue Lajeunesse and his fight to make water accessible for the people of his hometown, has experienced a remarkable reception at festivals across the country. Continuing on its journey, filmmakers Patrick Shen and Brandon Vedder bring "La Source" back to Georgia next month for the Atlanta Film Festival. 

Read my review and get your tickets to see "La Source" at the Plaza Theatre on Saturday, March 16th at 11:45 AM. Check out the poster (above) and trailer (after the jump)– both of which quote yours truly!

My dream Oscar ballot, 2013

The 85th Academy Awards are this Sunday and though you've already seen my top 20 films of 2012, I also want to share what I would've nominated in other categories. While my ten Best Picture nominees are my top ten films; my other 'nominees' have shifted a lot in the past couple of months since I've been able to revisit certain films, catch some that I missed earlier and really get to see certain players make their case on the press circuit. This is probably similar to my personal Georgia Film Critics Association ballot from early January, but I'm sure there have been some shifts and substitutions. It's a fun time of year, but I'm looking forward to some resolution on Sunday.

Rome International Film Festival superlatives

The DeSoto Theatre in Rome. (Image from www.romeinternationalfilmfestival.com)

It has taken much longer to write about everything that went down at RIFF than it actually took for RIFF to happen. Here we are, 8 feature and 24 short reviews later, wrapping up with the best of the Rome International Film Festival. These are my personal picks and I include short films in the mix for the general categories.

RIFF: "La Source" (****)

Josue Lajeunesse is featured in "La Source"

A lot of visual contrast is prominent within "La Source." In Haiti, the white sands contrast with the seemingly ever-ominous skies; while in Princeton, we see the deep grays and browns of the brick and stone frosted with thick snow and ice. Then there is the cultural contrast between the affluent students of Princeton and an immigrated janitor, working hard and still having to double as a taxi driver. Even greater, we contrast these two places against each other. They are both home to Josue Lajeunesse, a Haitian national who moved to America in 1989 seeking better opportunities to provide for his family.

2012 Rome International Film Festival in review

The DeSoto Theatre marquee.

I had a great time up in Rome this weekend. Bookended with great films, the 9th Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) was filled to the brim with quality features, docs and shorts. Fourteen different countries were represented and several filmmakers, producers, actors and industry tradesmen were in attendance. Great venues situated among a vibrant downtown scene really gave the fest a cosmopolitan, but cozy vibe. It is easy to see why RIFF has a great reputation, even among the older and larger festivals.

You've already seen the reviews I posted for "American Songwriter" and "Born & Raised." Starting this week, I'll be posting reviews for more features from the fest, including "Lessons in Forgetting," "Out on a Limb," "Hombre y Tierra," "La Source," "The Red Machine" and "Heathens & Thieves." In addition to these features, I'll share brief reviews for over two dozen of the short films I screened.

Keep checking back for more RIFF coverage. I've posted some photos from around town after the jump.