Film45 - Filmmaking In The North

MSPIFF 2015: If you’ve got some pre-teens or teens in your house, they might enjoy this mild thriller about a young boy who discovers a camera with a usb stick attached to it. Upon loading of the usb stick onto his computer, a 3d/VR game appears that lures him into a hard bargain: if he […]

MSPIFF 2015: The audience just sat very quietly after the credits rolled. My mouth was slightly agape. So, yeah, this is a pretty damn good documentary. The subject, a wild-eyed free spirit theater artist with radiation in his veins, wants to find one person responsible for Chernobyl. He is not a journalist nor a detective, […]

MSPIFF 2015: This Russian movie about a lowly caretaker/plumber takes a darkly comedic premise about the levels of corruption in small-town Soviet politics and the quite-literally crumbling infrastructure of poverty-stricken people and plays it pretty straight. You’d laugh if you didn’t feel so bad. Despite everything going against him, he’s determined to make a difference. […]

MPSIFF 2015: Two street-wise teens wander the low-income parts of their Columbian city, practicing their art and graffiti against the background of tense political elections and police actions. Great stuff about boys wandering around, forming their own thoughts, growing up. I really loved the grandmother, her weathered and wrinkled face was so beautiful to watch. […]

MSPIFF 2015: This is a whimsical version of Amelie set in Japan starring a young woman named Amelie (based on the story written by Amelie Nothumb). It isn’t a remake, but more a feel-alike with innocence and quirkiness abound. Amelie is obsessed with actually being Japanese (she’s a Japan-born Belgian) and meets a young man who […]

MPSIFF 2015: This is Jeremy’s pick as the Best of the Fest already. Shot in a single-take over two hours (truly, no editing trickery ala Rope or Birdman), this story about a young woman innocently falling in with a group of low-level street thugs is taut, compelling, and really works. It really builds and I’m […]

MSPIFF 2015: This doc from first-timer Julia Huffman was filmed in northern Minnesota and features a lot of great visuals, including the beloved work of photographer Jim Brandenburg. Following the delisting of the wolf from the endangered species list and the subsequent wolf hunts, this movie posed some good questions but it could use a […]

MPSIFF 2015: This charming adaptation of the novel by Cécile Aubry takes place in the French Alps during WW II while local townsfolk are helping the Jews escape the Germans. Young kids won’t, of course, feel the weight of that history, but will get the tension of the chase and all the secrets, even within Sebastian’s […]

MSPIFF 2015: Hey, Kristen Stewart can act! I had written her off after seeing the Twilight movies, but I think she does have some potential and she holds her own with Juliette Binoche. I also really like seeing Chloe Grace Moretz as a Hollywood starlet. And none of the women needed a man to rescue […]

MSPIFF 2015: A noir-ish washed-up detective on the hunt of a possible serial killer story from northern China. Some great scenes, including a very realistic shoot-out (no big hero Hollywood moments), and some nice suspense, but it felt like it went on 20 minutes after the climax, which rather ruined the previous 75% of the movie.

This episode we sit down and chat with John Zdechlik, owner of Z Systems in St. Louis Park and the host of the ongoing short film festival (with nice prizes), Z-Fest. We chat about the biz, gear, the festival, and more. Z Systems Z-Fest – Best of Fest, March 19, 2015, Theaters at MOA, 7pm MSP Film […]

In this episode we visit with filmmaker/graphic artist and host of the monthly short-film Cinema Lounge screening series, Joshua Carlon. We talk about the history and future of CL, what he does when he’s not making films, and his take on the state of the biz. Cinema Lounge IFPMN Z-Fest Leave your reviews on iTunes and […]

Filmmaker Kevin Obsatz sits down for a chat with Jeremy Wilker about filmmaking in the Midwest… or should it be The North? Kevin’s recent essay about The Cinema of The North raises a lot of valid ideas about our scene and place in the film world. Do we need to call ourselves something else? Do […]

Rick and Jeremy spent the past week out in Park City, Utah, at the 2015 Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. There were only a few Minnesota/Wisconsin connections this year (listen to our episode with Britni West), but some great films to add to your must-see list. What film was our favorite? And what did we […]

Did James Ponsoldt just premiere the best film at Sundance once again? How could a film about an author on a book tour be that compelling? When you’ve got Jason Segel delivering an incredible performance as David Foster Wallace along side Jesse Eisenberg as David Lipsky, it can be. If you haven’t seen any of […]

Writer/director Britni West premiered “Tired Moonlight” to a sold-out show at Slamdance 2015. This film really captures a slice of small-town American life and comes together beautifully in the final 20 minutes. Shot of 16mm film. Britni was the recipient of a Jerome grant and a MN State Arts Board grant. Next week it is […]

Ok, do y’all want to see these 45-second film reviews as a separate item or as part of the regular podcasts? Let us know! The Bronze is a raunchy comedy written by and starring Melissa Rauch (Big Bang Theory) which premiered at Sundance 2015 last night. A lot of critics seemed to dislike it, but […]

Coming to you live from Park City, Utah for Sundance and Slamdance 2015, we chat with writer/director Britni West about her feature “Tired Moonlight,” which premieres at 3:35pm Friday January 23rd at Slamdance and then goes across the pond to play the Rotterdam film festival the following week. This is live and unedited stuff, so […]

In our very first podcast episode, we chat with Andrew Peterson, the executive director of IFP MN. In 2015 IFP MN moves to a brand new space, hosts the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards screenings at the Walker Art Center, and heads out to Sundance. And don’t miss the long-running Cinema Lounge nights or Docuclub. www.ifpmn.org […]