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

Around town for the 2013 Macon Film Festival

The Cox Capitol Theatre marquee.

The 8th annual Macon Film Festival wrapped up a couple of weeks ago and while I have a few more reviews to go before I wrap up my coverage, I did manage to snap a few iPhone pics. As always, I need to state that I am no photographer, but I hope my photos give you a good sense of the festival and the town during the four-day event. A lot of great eateries and hangouts get pretty lively with the extra folks in town. Check out my pictures after the jump!

Macon Review: "The Suicide Kid" (****)

Dean Tardioli stars in "The Suicide Kid"

I haven't embarked on my filmmaking journey yet, but I can imagine one of the brightest highlights will be news of acceptance into my first film festival. I'm sure there was much rejoicing to be had when the filmmaking trio of Adrian Murray, Marcus Sullivan and Dean Tardioli received news that their film, "The Suicide Kid," had been accepted into the Macon Film Festival. A few weeks later, the film was selected by the Atlanta Film Festival. I'm thrilled that these Canadian film students have received such a warm welcome into the industry from Georgia's festival circuit first.

"The Suicide Kid" is an innovative, meticulously pieced-together feature that tells the story of an insecure college freshman entirely through his video blogs. A tough lesson in self-awareness that everyone must learn at some point (and usually in college), the film captures the emotional significance of the first year experience and winds up being more poignant than the filmmakers even intended.

2013 Macon Film Festival award winners

Pamela Bowen stars in "Shoot the Moon," a big winner in Macon

There's still one day to go here at the 2013 Macon Film Festival, but Jury Award winners were announced last night. "Shoot the Moon" was the big winner, taking home awards for Best Directing and Best Sound Design as well as the Melvyn Douglas Award for Best in Show. Having been a fan of "Shoot the Moon" since RIFF, I couldn't be happier with its awards haul. "Sal," having also screened at last year's Atlanta Film Festival, took home the Best Narrative Feature prize. Other winners included "Address is Approximate," "Child 31," "A House, A Home," "The Silk" and "The Sweatshop." Filmmakers premiering their films at MaGa were also recognized. Audience Award winners will be announced tonight, as well as awards for Southern Documentary and Music Documentary.

See the full list after the jump.

James Ponsoldt's "The Spectacular Now" to close Atlanta Film Festival

Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller star in "The Spectacular Now"

The Atlanta Film Festival will officially announce its lineup any moment now. Earlier this week, news broke that on March 15th, Jeff Nichols' "Mud" will kick off the festival. Now, it has been confirmed that Georgia-filmed "The Spectacular Now" will close out the fest on March 23rd.

Director James Ponsoldt's film was shot in Athens last summer and stars Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bob Odenkirk. The film was a huge success at Sundance last month, with Teller and Woodley taking home acting awards. Adapted from a Tim Tharp novel by Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter, A24 picked up distribution rights for the film at Sundance and aims to get "The Spectacular Now" in cinemas sometime this summer. Personally, I am thrilled to see this as an ATLFF selection, but not surprised!

In addition to "Mud" and "The Spectacular Now," we do know a few other movies to look forward to. Documentary titles include "As Goes Janesville," "Blood Brother," "Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp," "The Institute," "La Source," "Losing Lebron," "Magic Camp," "Mohammed to Maya," "Scarred but Smarter: Life n Times of Drivin n Cryin," "Submit the Documentary" and "Zipper: Coney Island's Last Wild Ride." Narrative titles include "A Band of Rogues," "Cinema Six," "Claire's Cambodia," "Congratulations!" "euphonia," "Faces in the Mirror," "Hank and Asha," "Moral Sleaze" and "The Suicide Kid."

What to see at the 2013 Macon Film Festival

The first leg of Georgia's film festival circuit is about to kick off with the always robust Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. But after the AJFF begins and before it ends, another Georgia gem will take place. The 8th annual Macon Film Festival (MaGa) will run from February 14th through the 17th, just three weeks away! I saw some good films, met some fun people, ate some delicious food and took many great walks around town last February and look forward to getting to do it all over again this year.

The Macon Film Festival is similar to the Rome International Film Festival (RIFF) in both age and size, although I can see the big dreams and ambitions of the MaGa board propelling the fest into the reach of a broader audience within the next few years. This year, several documentaries and features look promising and the festival always offers a wide variety of short films worth looking into. The special gala presentations (one each night) are still being announced, but they usually bring one or two stars into town. Last year, veteran character actress Beth Grant ("The Artist," "Donnie Darko," "No Country for Old Men") and Macon native Carrie Preston ("Duplicity," "That's What She Said," "True Blood") showcased some of their work.

After the jump, I've highlighted several films worth checking out. A few films have played at other festivals, including both RIFF and the Atlanta Film Festival, while others are fresh out of the editing room.