Feature
Running time: N/A
Nicol?s was born into a modest Mexican family headed by two women, his exuberant mother, Gaviota, and his grandmother, Dolores. The family's harmony is shattered by the arrival of the mysterious boarder, Adela Hache, a young woman who will dance with you as a best friend one moment yet will jump down your throat the next with a wrong glance her way. For Nicol?s, Adela is heaven sent, and perhaps he is the only one who sees her true beauty. Gaviota questions her judgment about the new boarder, and tensions mount when Adela's shoplifting habits infringe upon the normal serenity of their home.
Running time: N/A
New York City is a symbol for many contrasting notions: from power, affluence, and togetherness to greed, crime, poverty, and loneliness. With the largest homeless population in the country, no trip is complete without seeing figures lying in doorways or mumbling to themselves. Regardless of the location, one statistic remains the same: the majority of homeless suffer from mental illness. Located in the Hell's Kitchen area of NYC, Fountain House is a mecca for people recovering from serious mental illness.
Running time: N/A
War Live is an impressive tour de force from one of Yugoslavia's top filmmakers and is certainly one of the highlights in Cinequest's New Visions program, as it reigns as an astonishing voice in cinema. Poor Sergei! He's in Belgrade; Milosevic is in power; NATO bombing is expected at any moment - and he's trying to make an independent film! On top of all of this, Sergei's money has run out, his wife is about to leave him, and the secret service is on the set, looking for the co-producer, Sergei's suspect American friend, Harvey! What to do?
Running time: N/A
Heartbreaking and profoundly moving, Maryse Sistach's Violet Perfume (Nobody Hears You) captures both the pain of its characters as well as their beauty and unyielding spirit-in a world where these qualities should, seemingly, not exist. Setting her sights on the mounting problem of sexual assault in Mexico City, Sistach fictionalizes the true story of a friendship between two adolescent girls, torn apart when one of them is viciously raped. Rebellious tomboy, Yessica, is frequently in trouble.
Running time: N/A
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Or is it "Do unto others before they do unto you"? Edward Barkin's Unforeseen poses this question in a modern-day film noir/psychological drama about a tangled love triangle filled with betrayal and painful obsession. It delivers a stark look into the eyes of despair through a badly injured young man, Derek, in a dark and lonely hospital room in New York City. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn Derek was rich, had a beautiful girlfriend, and believed himself to be happy.
Running time: N/A
Tolin is the biggest television variety show in Mexico, and its host, famous comedian and conductor, Salvador, is one of the most beloved people in the country. It's lucky then that Pancho and Emilio, two brothers who lead a small gang of thieves, choose Salvador's taxi to rob. Recognizing the star, Pancho immediately sees an opportunity for lots of cash. For Emilio, it's the opportunity for his dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian to come to fruition. The once simple mugging soon turns into a more complicated case of kidnapping.
Running time: N/A
The lights dim and a shaggy haired man clad in tight jeans, striped shirt, white tuxedo jacket, and vintage Nike sneakers steps up to the microphone...and croons. His name may be Paul or Jim, and he could be an accountant or mechanic by day, but tonight, and for his audience, he is Steve Perry. And the band IS Journey. Welcome to the land of Tribute Bands, an almost surreal sub-culture where musicians become actors in an attempt to capture the look, sound, and very essence of the bands they pay tribute to -- rock supergroups like KISS, Journey, Judas Priest and Queen.
Running time: N/A
The Sea That Thinks is amazing, yet almost impossible to describe, for it is truly a mind bending experience that plays with our expectations as an audience. Over ten years in the planning, then three more years in the shooting, it is the definition of a personal, independent, and, of course, maverick film. From the very first scene, the viewer is presented with an astounding array of illusions and mind games, all intent on forcing a confrontation with the impossible ambiguities of reality.
Running time: N/A
Reminiscent of Serial Mom, Jon Scheide's dark, offbeat, and hilarious debut feature (from a script by producer Ray Stroeber), The Rose Technique, is a sinister comedy. Jo Beth Williams (The Big Chill, Poltergeist) stars as Dr. Lillian Rose, a tough-love, "Dr. Laura-like" therapist with her own self-help method. Mixing Freud with Martha Stewart, Dr. Rose encourages her loyal followers to employ the basic tenets of the unorthodox Rose Technique: 1) getting to the Root of the problem, 2) Owning it, 3) Separating out what's healthy, and 4) Eliminating the dead wood. Dr.
Running time: N/A
Using astounding Sony digital technologies, director Dwayne Beaver's The Rhino Brothers is an absorbing drama about the sport of ice hockey and the powerful effects it has on the souls of the Kanachowski family. Brothers Sasha and Victor play with The Rhinos, each filling his respective role as the failed pro-leaguer and coach. Their younger brother, Stefan, returns home ready to let the family know that he is planning the ultimate sin-give up hockey. Unable to say he has quit, he tells his family that he has been cut. Their overbearing and fanatical hockey-mom forces him to join The Rhinos.