Independent film series returning to Wallace State Community College
HANCEVILLE, Ala. —Wallace State Community College will once again host the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, presented by South Arts, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The six-film series will kick off in September and continue through November, before resuming in February and ending in April. The six films planned for viewing at Wallace State’s Burrow Center Recital Hall include both documentaries and fictional feature films encompassing a wide range of subjects. The filmmakers will be on hand for question and answer sessions after the viewings.
All of the films are free and open to the public, said Kristen Holmes, director of Communication and Marketing at Wallace State.
“I’m really impressed with the lineup of films we have coming to Wallace State this year, and hope many area residents take advantage of the opportunity to see these free films,” Holmes said.
“There really is, I think, something for everyone to enjoy this season — from a sophisticated, entertaining documentary about the theft of the Mona Lisa to inspirational ones about helping others, making music, and reimagining education — to narrative, fictional selections about the chaos that comes with weddings and a lighthearted European love story,” she said.
“Speak Now” — 6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11
Directed by Noah Harald and written by Erin Cardillo, “Speak Now” is described as a “romantic dramedy.” The film was shot over a three-day period, with the actors improvising their dialogue based on general outline. The plot of the film surrounds a group of high school friends reuniting for a wedding and the secrets that come out, unleashing chaos for the bride and groom and alter the lives of all in attendance.
The film received an Audience Award at the 2013 Austin Film Festival and Conference.
Visit the film’s website at www.speaknowfilm.com or see the movie trailer at https://vimeo.com/76202162.
“Mona Lisa is Missing” — 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9
A documentary about the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting, “Mona Lisa is Missing” will be viewed twice, with the 9:30 a.m. showing acting as part of the college’s Learning Communities courses. These courses offer WSCC students a learning experience outside of the classroom.
“Mona Lisa is Missing” by Joe and Justine Mestichelli Mederios shares the story of how an unassuming house painter from Italy shook the art world when he stole the painting out of the Louvre in Paris. It follows the story of a daughter mourning the father she never knew and a country recovering from old wounds and helps solve mysteries surrounding the theft more than 100 years ago.
The film has received numerous awards at film festivals around the United States, including Historical Best Documentary at the San Antonio Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Amelia Island Film Festival and Audience Choice Award at the RSSM Underground Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Visit the film’s website at www.monalisamissing.com or see the trailer at https://vimeo.com/81444814.
“Go with Le Flo” — 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 13
“Go with Le Flo,” a romantic comedy by Michael Glover and Robyn Rosenkrantz, was shot in Berlin and is a foreign language film using German and French, with English subtitles. It follows the fictional story a French deli owner who falls in love with one woman, while his best friend’s love for him is unrequited.
The film earned the Best Foreign Film award at the Myrtle Beach international Film Festival.
Visit the film’s website at www.gowithleflo.com or see the trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v+jEjDKg7snBs.
“Brothers Hypnotic” — 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 12
February’s film is a documentary about the eight sons of jazz legend Phil Cohran who reluctantly performed with their father as youngsters, but are now trying to make it as the band Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.
Cohran’s “boys” are now young men in their 20s and 30s, and when they raise their horns, they make transcendent music that ties currents from jazz and funk to soul and hip-hop. But although working together as their father had hoped — whether playing in Times Square, negotiating with managers and record labels, or jamming with Mos Def and Prince — they find the unwavering ideals bred into them by their father repeatedly tested.
Visit the film’s website at www. www.HypnoticBrassFilm.com or see the trailer at www.pgs.bor/indepdentlens/brothers-hypnotic/film.html.
“The Starfish Throwers” — 6 p.m., Thursday, March 19
“The Starfish Throwers” is a documentary about three very different people working toward the same goal – feeding the hungry in their communities.
Filmmaker Jesse Roesler follows the three — a five-star chef in India, a 12-year girl in South Carolina and a retired teacher in Minneapolis — as they grow, make and distribute food to people in need.
The film has earned many awards, include Best Overall Film and Best Documentary at the 2014 Myrtle Beach Film Festival, Jury and Audience awards for Best Documentary at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, Human Spirit Award at the Nashville Film Festival and the Audience Award in the Global Health Competition at the Cleveland International Film Festival.
Visit the film’s website at www.thestarfishthrowers.com or see the trailer at http://vimeo.com/44292667.
“If You Build It” — 6 p.m., Thursday, April 9
No, it’s not a film about a baseball field in an Iowa cornfield. This documentary by Patrick Creadon follows designer-activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller as they work with high school students in Bertie County, NC, to help transform both their communities through a building project.
Living on credit and grant money and fighting a change-resistant school board, Pilloton and Miller lead their students through a year-long, full-scale design and build project that doesmuch more than just teach basic construction skills: it shows ten teenagers the power to re-invent not just their town, but their own sense of what’s possible.
Visit the film’s website at www.IfYouBuildItMovie.com or see the trailer at http://vimeo.com/79902240.
For more information about the film series at Wallace State, visit www.wallacestate.edu or call 256.352.8457. For more information about South Arts, visit www.southarts.org.
Gail Crutchfield
Communications and Marketing
Wallace State Community College
(256) 352-8064
gail.crutchfield@wallacestate.edu