Phil Donahue brings us Body of War

Emmy award winning media personality and writer, Phil Donahue, serves as Executive Producer and co-Director with filmmaker Ellen Spiro of the intimate portrayal of a paralyzed Iraq War veteran. The documentary focuses on the postwar life and condition of an "extraordinary and heroic young man" 25 year old Tomas Young is now paralyzed from the chest down from a bullet injury to his spine (the T-4 spot). The film shows Mr. Young in his struggle adjusting to a barrage of medications he has to take, having his bladder manually drained , sexual handicaps, and ultimately his new voice in the anti-war campaign.

The film sidesteps the usual anti-Bush, anti-War films by utilizing the testimony and images of the real aftermath of war. The film puts a face and a story to what and who is coming home from Iraq. It is also important to note that the documentary doesn't feature Donahue in one frame as he is quoted in the New York Observer as saying “I didn’t want to upstage Tomas,” said Mr. Donahue. “And I don’t want to look like a guy out there tap-dancing his feet when we have 3,500 guys dead.”

co-directors Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro

Phil Donahue will be present for the screening and talk afterwards for the festival at the Clinton Public School. The film, which features two new original songs by Eddie Vedder, will play at 6:00 pm on Friday May 15th. Check out our site for the schedule, trailer, photos and more here.

Blurb from the Arkansas Times Blog

Arkansas Times Arts and Entertainment writer Lindsey Millar gives a top 9 "worth anticipating" films and events at the Fest this year. Humorously, The Room ends up at number eight and Eileen Yaghoobian's film about rock posters Died Young, Stayed Pretty hits at number two.  I'll let you check out the list to find out what the most anticipated film is. 

Keep checking our blog for updates and descriptions on films and panels. 

Opening Night: Award-Winning That Evening Sun

Little Rock Film Festival's opening film That Evening Sun has just come out of South by Southwest winning the Special Jury Award for BEST ENSEMBLE CAST and AUDIENCE CHOICE NARRATIVE FEATURE as well as BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE at the Atlanta Film Festival. The film is described by Variety as "an exceptionally fine example of regional indie filmmaking." 

The film is based on a short story by author William Gay and written and directed by Georgia-born Scott Teems. Oscar nominated Hal Holbrook stars as an elderly farmer who leaves his nursing home to take back his homestead but is surprised to find that his land has been sold to the "white trash" Lonzo Choate played by Little Rock's Ray McKinnon (The Accountant). Walton Goggins (The Sheild) produces and stars in the film along with McKinnon. Filmmakers Teems, McKinnon and Goggins will be present at the screening. Their production company Ginny Mule Pictures produced the hilarious Oscar-award-winning short The Accountant*, Chrystal, and Randy and the Mob. 

 

That Evening Sun will open the fest Wednesday May 13th at 7:00 pm at the Riverdale 10 Cinema theater. Buy your tickets now and join us and the cast and crew of the film for a Southern-themed after-party at Cajun's Wharf. 

*screened at the 2008 Little Rock Film Festival

Smashing Good Time at the Press Release

Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service, Skip Rutherford, introducing Brent Renaud
Check out that Golden Rock!

Well for those of you who missed it we had a fantastic Press Release at the Clinton School last night (Tuesday). Skip Rutherford (Dean) gave a great preface to the festival as well as introducing co-founder Brent Renaud who announced the highlights from the lineup in front of an excited crowd that nearly busted out the doors. I think this is LRFF's most ambitious year. The shear amount, quality, and diversity of films this year is spellbinding. If you haven't already purchase your passes here as soon as possible. Native screenwriter Graham Gordy and Little Rock resident, actor Ray McKinnon were both in attendance.

I think I see Film Commisioner Chris Crane right out front.

Look at all the people! This is crazy.

Our wonderful Staff.

Me trying to explain to the great Ray McKinnon why I should be in his next movie.

Photos by Jennifer Agee and Adam Hogg

On a side note:

I had a great chat with my new friend Julie Hendrix who is heading up the Sustainable Alternatives film competition. We thought it would be great to extend the deadline for the competition an extra week until May 1st instead of this Friday (April 24th). This gives you an extra week to make a short film about Sustainability and what it means to you in Arkansas. Top prize is a whopping 750 bucks and $250 honorable mention! That's some crazy cheddar for a short film and not to mention the bonus of helping a program encouraging a greener and more sustainable Arkansas. Also the winners will screen at our Festival so please get out there and film something, or edit together old footage and create something that says what "Sustainability" means to you and submit it. See our post.

For more info, contact Julie Hendrix at:
Phone:
5016606639
Email:
julie@sustainablealternatives.org

Lineup Posted, Festival Passes On Sale Now!!

First, check out the lineup. 5 days, Over 70 films, and more that 140 screenings...

Second, purchase your festival pass! At only $30 for priority access to all screenings, panels, workshops, and afterparties, we dare you to find a better deal.

Purchase Festival Pass Now!!

Famous film critic at Ark. Literary Fest

The Oxford American magazine would like to invite you to an awesome Arkansas Literary Festival panel featuring film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum! 

On Saturday, April 18, 2009, 4:00 p.m. at the new Arkansas Studies Institute (directly across from the main library in downtown Little Rock) film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum discusses the importance of great films with Oxford American Editor Marc Smirnoff. 

An excerpt from Oxford's description of the event follows:

The Alabama-born Rosenbaum, who recently retired as head critic for the Chicago Reader, is beloved by hardcore movie buffs. They appreciate, among many other qualities, his monumental curiosity and his willingness to challenge fellow movie critics for neglecting crucial foreign films.

In addition to various volumes of collected essays, he has also written or edited books about Orson Welles (whom he interviewed), Jacques Rivette, Joe Dante, Roger Corman, Jim Jarmusch, and the Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. He will be discussing ESSENTIAL CINEMA: ON THE NECESSITY OF FILM CANONS—which is insightful, accessible, and deeply controversial.

Jean-Luc Godard says, “I think there is a very good film critic in the United States today, a successor of James Agee, and that is Jonathan Rosenbaum. He’s one of the best. We don’t have writers like him in France today.”

OA Editor Smirnoff says, “No other movie critic except Pauline Kael has turned me on to so many great movies that I wouldn’t have otherwise found. Jonathan Rosenbaum is a colossal, though vastly underrated, talent.”

Hope to see you there!!

Rosenbaum doesn't write the slick, DVD package-reviews that contemporary critics like Peter Travers or Aint it Cool fanboys do. Rosenbaum writes about films like Thoreau wrote about ponds. His reviews are insightful, challenging, poetic, and personal. He offers a fantastic alternative top 100 film list that favors rare, artsy or cult films that the AFI list seems to neglect. This guy knows his films and it would be a shame to pass up an opportunity to meet a critic whose interviewed Orson-freakin-Welles. 

We hope to see everyone at the Arkansas Literary Festival.

LR Film Festival passes go on sale

Film lineup to be announced next week

Little Rock, Arkansas – Passes go on sale April 14th for the Third Annual Little Rock Film Festival (LRFF) scheduled for May 13 – 17, 2009.  The festival will announce its official 2009 film lineup and schedule at the Clinton School of Public Service on April 21^st at 5:30 pm. 

The passes are $30 and available for purchase at www.littlerockfilmfestival.org. They will also be available for purchase at the Clinton School on April 21^st. Festival passes grant priority access to all screenings, workshops and film panels.

In just its third year, the festival is expanding to five days, including more than 70 films and 150 screenings in addition to educational workshops, film panels and parties.  Filmmakers from 15 different countries will attend the festival and compete for prizes.  The festival will also have strong local representation and celebrate the achievements of Arkansas filmmakers.

In conjunction with the film lineup announcement at the Clinton School, the festival plans to unveil its most prestigious award, the Golden Rock, which will be awarded to the best narrative and documentary feature films.

Some of the highlights of this year’s festival include:

That Evening Sun (Narrative Feature): Starring Little Rock resident Ray McKinnon (Deadwood), Hal Holbrook, and Walt Goggins (The Sheild), “That Evening Sun” is about an aging Tennessee farmer who returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm.  Having just won best narrative feature and best ensemble cast at South By Southwest, filmmaker Scott Teems and actors McKinnon and Goggins will be in attendance.  Co-hosted by the Oxford American Magazine, a southern themed after party at Cajun’s Warf will follow the screening.

 

Body of War (Documentary Feature): Produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, “Body of War” follows Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran paralyzed from a bullet to the spine, on a physical and emotional journey as he adapts to his new body and begins to question the decision to go to war in Iraq.  Filmmaker and talk show host, Phil Donahue will be in attendance.

Kassim the Dream (Documentary Feature): The story of World Champion Boxer, Kassim "The Dream" Ouma, born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6.  He soon discovered the army's boxing team and realized the sport was his ticket to freedom.  As Kassim trains for his next world title fight against Jermain Taylor in Little Rock Arkansas, keeping his demons out of the ring becomes increasingly difficult. “Kassim the Dream” won prizes at Silverdocs, and AFI and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Kassim Ouma and Jermaine Taylor will be in attendance.

Field of Dreams (Special Feature): Co-hosted by Movies in the Park and the Argenta Community Theater, the LRFF will treat festival goers to a special one-of-a-kind screening of the classic baseball film “Field of Dreams,” starring Kevin Costner, at Dickey Stephens Ballpark.

If you would like more information about the LRFF, please contact Jack Lofton via cell at 501.352.5687 or email jack@littlerockfilmfestival.org.

Friend The Fest!

We are trying to get the fest on blowup on Facebook. We are encouraging members to change your Facebook status to "Friend the Fest" and use the link option to add the loink to the LRFF Facebook Fan page (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Little-Rock-Film-Festival/10716628314?ref=mf) 

Jack wants to get 1000 people by next week so hurry and add your friends. Tell everyone! Be a friend to the Fest and the Fest will be a friend to you!

Thanks for your help!

Sustainable Alternatives/LRFF Short Film Competition

$750 Cash Prize 1st Place
$250 Cash Honorable Mention
PLUS
Winners & top submissions featured at
Little Rock Film Festival on May 16, 2009

What:

Submit your short film (5 minutes or less) that highlights sustainability in central Arkansas.

When:

Deadline for submission: Friday, April 24, 2009, 5:00 p.m.

Rules:

Well, we aren’t too fond of rules, but here are some guidelines.
1. All ages welcome – kids, amateurs, as long as you’ve got access to a camera, go for it!
2. Teams or individuals are fine
3. Send your entry on a DVD to (or deliver it in person):
Sustainable Alternatives
101 North Woodrow Street
Little Rock, AR 72205

MAKE SURE and include your contact info!

What is sustainability?
Basically, it means you consider your actions and choices today have an effect on the world tomorrow.

What makes a winning entry?
1. Stick to the topic – what does sustainability mean to you?
2. Creative, technical skill (or potential new talent), sincere, inclusive, diverse
3. LOCAL, LOCAL, LOCAL
4. Did we mention LOCAL?

For more info, contact Julie Hendrix at:

Phone:	5016606639
Email:	julie@sustainablealternatives.org

Good luck and get to filming!!