"Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong" Review (****)

Brian Greenberg and Jamie Chung star in "Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong."

Last week I attended the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival for the very first time, catching a screening of first-time writer/director Emily Ting’s “Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong” as a part of Access Night. Starring real-life couple Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg, Ting’s walk-and-talk romantic comedy shines under the brightly-lit streets of nighttime Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the film occasionally falls victim to Hollywood’s many romantic comedy tropes. The city as the third character? Check. Flirtatious meet-cute? Double check. However, the film is able to differentiate itself from being just another 'rom-com' thanks largely in part to Ting’s unique perspective paired with Chung and Greenberg’s natural flow on screen.

ATLFF Review & Interview: "Janey Makes A Play" (****)

To know Janey is to love Janey. A dancing, chuckling, playwriting 90-year-old great-grandmother, Janey Callahan-Chin is the essence of youth. Her unwavering positivity and bulletproof work ethic have shaped an indispensable role in the small town community of Rio Vista, California: she's been writing, directing, and producing local stage plays for thirteen years. "Janey Makes A Play" documents Janey's non-profit troop No Small Thing Productions as they prepare for their eighteenth play—an original story about a mortgage banker, his daughter, and the quest to save their town from The Great Depression. Director Jared Callahan (AD on "I Am Not A Hipster" and the short that inspired "Short Term 12") delivers his feature-length debut with graceful command and charming purpose. This Atlanta Film Festival World Premiere is a tender, joyous must-see.

Happy 75th birthday to Atlanta's Plaza Theatre!

With many ups-and-downs, The Plaza has had an interesting 75 years.

Atlanta's oldest continually operating movie theater, The Plaza, is now synonymous with quality programing, the local indie film scene and the Atlanta Film Festival. However, three-quarters-of-a-century ago, it was one of many movie houses in a city full of beautiful marquees. Having outlasted all the others—going through many different transformations in the process—The Plaza turns 75 years-old this coming week and we couldn't be more excited to celebrate!

Recently named one of the 20 best movie theaters in the world by Men's Journal, The Plaza is celebrating in style with a 10-day film series. Kicking off the festivities is an extremely rare presentation of "Star Wars" on Friday, July 18th at 8:00 PM. Other classic films playing throughout the week include "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Ninotchka," "Stagecoach" and more.

Don't miss your chance to celebrate! Check out the full schedule after the jump.

Atlanta's Homespun Series— Striking local docs to screen at The Plaza tonight

Back in November, Atlanta filmmakers Jon Watts and Brantly Watts launched Homespun Series—a curated local documentary collection that focuses on the most interesting individuals in Metro Atlanta. The first crop of films highlighted a local artist, a local father-son clockmaking duo and a local female boxer.

In March, Lucy had a conversation with co-founder Brantly Watts, breaking down the basics about Homespun—from its conception, to the first response and their future goals. Homespun aims to be not only of artistic value to the city, but also a resource for local filmmaking talent.

Tonight, the series returns to The Plaza with three new films from local filmmakers. One of the films, Nathan Honnold's "Thomas Bennett," won the Documentary Short Jury Prize at this year's Atlanta Film Festival. The other two films, "Adrian" and "Tommy," were directed by John Merizalde and focus on people on the outskirts of Atlanta's mainstream society.

Get passes to a free screening of "I Origins" in Atlanta!

The Atlanta Film Festival is giving away first come, first serve passes to a free screening of Sundance hit "I Origins" on Tuesday, July 15th at 7:30 PM at Atlanta's famed Plaza Theatre. You better have fast fingers! Click here to learn more and RSVP!

"I Origins,"  the second feature film from writer and director Mike Cahill, tells the story of Dr. Ian Gray (Michael Pitt), a molecular biologist studying the evolution of the eye. He finds his work permeating his life after a brief encounter with an exotic young woman (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) who slips away from him. As his research continues years later with his lab partner Karen (Brit Marling), they make a stunning scientific discovery that has far reaching implications and complicates both his scientific and spiritual beliefs. Traveling half way around the world, he risks everything he has every known to validate his theory.

Cahill and Marling's last outing, "Another Earth," went on to receive several Georgia Film Critics nominations.

Get passes to a free screening of "Draft Day" in Atlanta

Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner star in "Draft Day"

How about a free night out at the movies this Thursday, March 6th? The Atlanta Film Festival is giving away free passes to see "Draft Day" at The Plaza Theatre, along with special previews of 2014 ATLFF films, pass giveaways and more!

The film starts at 7:30 PM, but come early to see trailers, win MovieHopper cards for this year's festival and hear from festival programmers about what to look forward to.

Directed by Ivan Reitman, "Draft Day" stars an all-star cast of Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Frank Langella, Tom Welling, Joe Manganiello, Chadwick Boseman, Rosanna Arquette, Sam Elliott, Terry Crews, Denis Leary, Chi McBride, Sean Combs, Josh Pence and Ellen Burstyn. The film follows the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns as he struggles to acquire the number one draft pick for his team.

The film opens April 11th nationwide, just in time for audiences to get amped up for the NFL's real draft day which begins on May 8th. See the Gofobo code and get your passes after the jump!

Atlanta's Homespun Series— Local docs to screen at The Plaza this Friday

This Friday night, November 15th, the Homespun Series kicks off with its first ever screening event at The Plaza Theatre in Atlanta. Launched by "AKA Blondie" filmmakers Jon and Brantly Watts, Homespun is a documentary series spotlighting 'local characters, resonating stories' in and around Metro Atlanta.

Atlanta's film boom can be credited to the Georgia's geographic diversity, ease of production resources and tax credits—but also the fact that Atlanta can easily be masked to double as wherever filmmakers need it to. In an effort to showcase Atlanta's unique citizens and distinctive culture, Homespun will allow audiences to get closer to some of the city's most compelling individuals and eccentric neighborhoods. As more films and filmmakers become involved in this series, more and more of Atlanta's true character will be revealed.

10 Days of Woody Allen at Atlanta's Plaza Theatre

Starting today, September 1st, at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta, you can catch twelve different films from Woody Allen over the next ten days. Playing chronologically (except for "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986) playing right after "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989) on the same day), the program starts with 1971's "Bananas" and runs through 2011's "Midnight in Paris" on September 10th.

Tickets are $12 per film, but you can purchase an all access pass for only $45—a good deal since tickets to all twelve films would run you $144 otherwise.

Later this month, similar programs honoring Steven Spielberg, the Coen Brothers and François Truffaut will also run at The Plaza. Check out more on those in the coming weeks and check out the Woody Allen schedule after the jump.

Win free passes to see "Submit the Documentary" at the Atlanta Film Festival!

This promotion has ended. Thanks for participating!

Georgia films "Congratulations!" and "A Band of Rogues" earn encore screenings at Atlanta Film Festival

More of a showcase for Georgia cinema than ever before, this year's Atlanta Film Festival is filled to the brim with strong examples of local film at its best. Encore screenings for two sell-out films from Georgian filmmakers have been booked for this coming Sunday, March 24th. "Congratulations!" from director Mike Brune was filmed locally in Johns Creek and "A Band of Rogues" from director T Jara Morgan was filmed in Argentina.

Having caught both films Sunday, I'll be reviewing them in the coming days. "Congratulations!" will be screening upstairs at the Plaza at 9:00 PM, "A Band of Rogues" will be on the main screen at the Plaza at 9:15 PM. It is unfortunate that both are screening at the same time and mark the last slots of programming in the 2013 festival, but here you have another good chance to support the local film industry. Get your tickets here!

Georgia indie "The Mansion" to screen twice at the Atlanta Film Festival

Writer-director Andrew Robertson's feature narrative debut is "The Mansion," a post-apocalyptic thriller in the same vein as "The Road." Zombies or no zombies, fans of "The Walking Dead" (and we all know that there are a lot of us) will eat this up. The film's first screening at the 7 Stages Theatre on Friday, March 22nd at 9:30 PM has had more tickets released after a quick sell-out and a second screening at the Plaza Theatre on Sunday, March 24th at 2:15 PM has been added to accommodate all the buzz.

While a rash of dystopian films and television shows has popped up lately, "The Mansion" definitely looks to have its finger on the pulse of the movement. It's a win-win– getting to support local cinema and getting to enjoy a stylish, well-crafted thriller at the same time. Gleb Osatinski's short film "The House at the Edge of the Galaxy" will play before "The Mansion" at both screenings.

Check out the nail-biter of a trailer after the jump.

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!

Show off YOUR Atlanta in the ATL Short Cuts Film Contest!

The Atlanta Film Festival is right around the corner (next month!) and this year, Creative Loafing is partnering with ATLFF again to put on the ATL Short Cuts Film Contest.

You have two weeks to make a 3-5 minute film that captures the essence of Atlanta in five vignettes (one of which has to be centered around Atlanta's music scene). This is something anyone can do, but only those who display a little creativity will excel! The top 16 will be showcased at the Plaza Theatre on March 4th. An audience pick and a critics' pick will both be selected and each awarded $250 as well as being featured at the ATLFF in March.

Deadline for entries is Friday, February 15 at 5 PM. No exceptions! The fine print is posted after the jump.

Atlanta-filmed "No Soliciting" showing at the Plaza Theatre

"No Soliciting" is a new comedy from writer-director-actor Will Dove. Filmed in Atlanta in 2012, the movie earned a one-week run at the famed Plaza Theatre last week. Due to a great turnout, the run has been extended another week. Make sure you check the film out and support the local independent cinema scene. Trailer after the jump.

"Sahkanaga" coming to Atlanta on December 7th!

John Henry Summerour's "Sahkanaga" is an electric retelling of the Tri-State Crematory incident that jolted Northwest Georgia in 2002. After playing at film festivals across the globe, taking home a bevy of prizes, including the Audience Award at the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival, "Sahkanaga" comes back to Atlanta for a long-awaited theatrical run.

Following its world premiere in Atlanta, the film showed at the Rome International Film Festival, won the Oglethorpe Award for Excellence in Georgia Cinema from the Georgia Film Critics Association and toured the Southeast as part of the Southern Circuit - Tour of Independent Filmmakers, which included stops in Savannah, Thomasville and Winder. In October, "Sahkanaga" played a one-week run in Chattanooga.

The film starts at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta next Friday, December 7th and runs for one week only. Make sure you go see it! Reel Georgia wasn't around yet during the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival, but you can bet I will soon be posting a proper review of "Sahkanaga." After all, it did rank as my #13 film of 2011.