Feature

Running time: N/A

Emily (Meredith Bishop) is a bored young temp, smoothly neurotic, who likes to spend her free time browsing through department stores. The problem is that she canÕt help sampling products like watches, CDs, and clothes without paying, just to see if she can get away with it. She meets her match in Nick (Jsu Garcia, Traffic, When We Were Soldiers), a surveillance expert with shady appetites of his own. Knee-deep in financial trouble with his ex-wife and under constant threat from a powerful drug kingpin, he hatches an audacious plan to rob his companyÕs safe.

Running time: N/A

Featuring an all-star cast, Vanessa Parise's wonderful Kiss the Bride is an insightful and humorous look into the lives of a passionate but disparate Italian-American family and their individual struggles for love and validation. Danni is about to marry her true love, and the last thing her three sisters thought they'd be doing is returning home to Westerly, Rhode Island for Danni's wedding. Niki, the golden child, now lives in L.A., where her dreams of becoming a star have instead landed her a role on a Baywatch-type television show, much to her parents' chagrin.

Running time: N/A

Witty, stylish, weird, sexy, and disturbing, It All Happens Incredibly Fast blends comedy with psychological horror in an intense study of people drinking, talking, and coming face to face with their darkest demons. It is a strange, dark journey after hours; where the air is thick with cigarette smoke, the liquor flows free, and the lies are exposed as the walls close in. Just another friendly bar on a night that ends like so many, with a brawl. Seven regulars trapped one of them beaten half to death waiting for help to arrive. Amogst them, A STRANGER...he may or may not be what he seems.

Running time: N/A

Director Holly Mosher chronicles the workings of the Women's Life Collective, a Brazilian community organization aimed at helping women of all ages battle the cycles of mental and physical violence. These women have their moment in the sun as they convene to explore how to stand up for themselves, defend themselves, and show inner strength. By sorting through the painful realities of domestic violence and sexual exploitation, they discover that the first step to finding a way out of their troubles is to simply talk to each other.

Running time: N/A

Marco is leading the good life, climbing the ladder of success, and doing plenty of heavy partying. He just canÕt seem to find the time for his patient wife, Melanie, and their 6-year-old son, Benny. Unable to wait for Marco to be a part of the family, Melanie decides she wants out, and takes Benny with her. Frustrated by the lack of time he gets to spend with his son-a concern that never fazed him when they were together-Marco becomes more and more agitated, finally taking matters into his own hands.

Running time: N/A

A man paces nervously around a police station. The rain pounds outside. Finally, he sits down, lights a cigarette, and talks to the officer. "This all started 15 years agoÉ when my brother, Simon, first learned to kill." And so Pete recalls the events leading up to the fateful night that brought together his volatile brother with his former pal, Omar, now a vicious loan shark. Brought up on rifles and hunting, Simon has developed a taste for guns to go along with his short temper.

Running time: N/A

Director Gy?rgy P?lfi's debut film is a masterpiece of intricacies that is part murder mystery, part nature documentary, and part experimental film. The theme may be difficult to define, but it is exactly the unconventional nature of the narrative that makes this film so spellbinding. Perhaps the most peculiar, yet fascinating, aspect of Hukkle is that it is dialogue free, but it is far from a silent film.

Running time: N/A

If someone stole your daughter, would you steal her back? In a moment of rage and despair, Harald does what he has long dreamt of but never dared: He kidnaps Lisa, the daughter he is banned from seeing. Suddenly, Harald has his hands full. Not only are the police and a terrified ex on his tail, but also seven-year-old Lisa turns out to be his toughest opponent. She doesnÕt understand why her parents have divorced or why she cannot see her mother anymore. She also has no desire for HaraldÕs dream of a new life abroad.

Running time: N/A

Brad Gottfred's The Movie Hero is a heartwarming and hilarious paean to movies, setting the perfect tone to kick off Cinequest 2003. The Movie Hero tells the story of a slightly off-kilter guy named Blake, who really believes his life is a movie, complete with a love-interest, sidekick, bad guy and, naturally, an audience, who he continuously talks to throughout the film.

Running time: N/A

Closing out this year's Cinequest 2003 will be Brent Huff's raucous dark comedy, 100 Mile Rule, starring Michael McKean (Best in Show, This is Spinal Tap) and Maria Bello (Auto Focus). Exposing the dark side of life as a traveling salesman, 100 Mile Rule provides a twisted yet hilarious peek at a day in the life of a trio of conventioneers.