Don’t Miss Indies: What to Watch in August
It’s time to get real in the August edition of Don’t Miss Indies, with three of our selections featuring non-professional actors in pursuit of authenticity. Whether it’s the New Zealand choir kids in Tinā, the Guinean cyclist delivering lunch to Parisians in Souleymane’s Story or badass Badlands ranchers in East of Wall, these films wrap a story around the humans onscreen, touching on everything they embody in life. Let’s watch it.
SOULEYMANE’S STORY
When You Can Watch: August 1
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Director: Boris Lojkine
Stars: Abou Sangare, Alpha Oumar Sow, Nina Meurisse
Why We’re Excited: As a Guinean immigrant (first-timer Abou Sangare) cycles frantically through the streets of Paris on various food delivery jobs, he prepares for a crucial immigration asylum interview. The challenges he encounters along the way are inspired by interviews that French filmmaker Boris Lojkine (Camille, Hope) and casting director Aline Dalbis (Camille) conducted with Paris food delivery workers. Their experiences with scams, finding places to stay, and navigating the asylum process all help shape “a political fable with all the grit and urgency of a thriller,” according to Rory O’Connor, The Film Stage. To heighten the authenticity of these real-life experiences, Lojkine cast non-professional actors, tailoring the script around their natural movements and speech patterns.
SKETCH
When You Can Watch: August 6
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Director: Seth Worley
Stars: Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden, Bianca Belle
Why We’re Excited: What do you do when your kid’s drawings come to life – and not in a sweet, charming way? This is the plight of single dad Taylor (Emmy winner Tony Hale, Veep) when his daughter Amber (Bianca Belle, Lady in the Lake) exorcises her painful feelings via monster sketches that then begin terrorizing the whole town. In an ambitious swing for his first feature, Seth Worley mixes kids, stunts and animation for a whimsical approach to grief that blends “the wide-eyed wonder of a Steven Spielberg, the impish mischief of a Joe Dante, plus the vibrant visuals of prime Pixar,” as Michael Rechtschaffen puts it in his THR review.
EAST OF WALL
When You Can Watch: August 6
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Kate Beecroft
Stars: Porshia Zimiga, Tabatha Zimiga, Scoot McNairy
Why We’re Excited: In Kate Beecroft’s first feature, newcomers Tabatha and Porshia Zimiga star in a fictionalized version of their own lives, lending a sense of realism to the South Dakota ranch film. The story follows new widow Tabatha through financial problems as she rescues horses in the Badlands while also offering shelter to teenagers looking for a fresh start. East of Wall won the Audience Award in the Next section at Sundance, and promises to be a completely fresh take on the spirit of the American west. Beecroft met Zimiga while driving through Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota in search of fascinating faces and compelling people. Looks like she got what she came for. Executive Produced by Film Independent members Alex Engemann and Ryan Hawkins.
MY MOTHER’S WEDDING
When You Can Watch: August 8
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Director: Kristin Scott Thomas
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham
Why We’re Excited: In her directorial debut, BAFTA Award winner Kristin Scott Thomas (Four Weddings and a Funeral) plays the titular “mother” – in a story she created to explore her own childhood loss of two fathers. This film follows the aftermath of widowhood and orphanhood as Diana (Thomas) prepares for her third wedding, instigating a family reunion and some unwelcome trips down memory lane. Thomas explains the compound losses that inspired the screenplay in an interview with Lee Cowan, CBSNews. “I know that a lot of the time when I was a younger woman, I had this feeling of something missing, this piece of my puzzle missing having grown up with only one parent.” Exploring how that puzzle shapes her three fictional daughters (which include Spirit nominees Scarlett Johansson and Sienna Miller) offers an opportunity for all four women to face the future with fresh eyes.Edited by Film Independent member Joan Sobel.
SPLITSVILLE
When You Can Watch: August 18
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Michael Angelo Covino
Stars: Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Kyle Marvin
Why We’re Excited: In this second collaboration by Spirit Award nominated writing team Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin (The Climb), the two star as friends Paul and Carey. Carey’s wife Ashley (Adria Arjona, Father of the Bride) has just asked for a divorce, while Paul’s wife Julie (Dakota Johnson, Spirit Award-winning Suspiria) comes on to Carey because Paul and Carey have an open marriage – the secret to true happiness. Except that it isn’t, apparently. At least not in this movie. “The goal was to make something wildly entertaining and emotionally honest,” says Covino in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Something that feels familiar in the setup but constantly surprises in the execution.” As Carey tries to adopt the “anything goes” philosophy he thinks Paul is advocating, it cracks open the pretense for both friends to face reality.Produced by Film Independent members Jason Wald (EP), Jennifer Westin (EP), and Jeff Deutchman (Producer).
RELAY
When You Can Watch: August 22
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: David Mackenzie
Stars: Riz Ahmed, Lily James, Sam Worthington
Why We’re Excited: Communication is the theme of this psychological thriller that plays with the medium of message relay through third party services, connecting strangers Sarah (Lily James, Cinderella) and a nameless world-class fixer (Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal) in a way that is equally protective and disconcerting. Ahmed’s character breaks his own rules to help this new client, a whistleblower seeking protection, but the blowback from her powerful enemies knocks everyone off their game. A far cry from any of his previous films in theme and genre, David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) explains to IndieWire, “I’m always interested in outsider characters, and Riz’s character is a pretty extreme outsider character.”
THE TOXIC AVENGER
When You Can Watch: August 29
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Director: Macon Blair
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige
Why We’re Excited: Spirit Award nominee Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) leads this crowd-pleaser remake of the 1984 toxic accident comedy directed by Macon Blair (I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore), except instead of a nerdy kid trying to get dates, Winston is having a hard time connecting with his son (Jacob Tremblay, Room). As a janitor for an evil corporation, his toxic transformation equips him with superhuman strength and a glowing mop. To save his son, Winston has to go up against the gloriously power-hungry Bob Garbinger (Spirit Award nominee Kevin Bacon, The Woodsman) and all that corporate greed represents. “I think the best way to approach certain serious topics is through satire and comedy,” says Dinklage in SuperHeroHype, “and [Macon] nails it every time.”
TINĀ
When You Can Watch: August 29
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Miki Magasiva
Stars: Anapela Polataivao, Antonia Robinson, Beulah Koale
Why We’re Excited: New Zealand choir teacher Mareta (Anapela Polataivao, Our Flag Means Death) is grieving the sudden loss of her daughter while contending with uppity attitudes from students and leadership at her new school. But the music sees her through. Director Miki Magasiva explains to Dale Husband at E-Tangata, “All the kids that we used in the film are choir kids. None of them were actors … What I had to do was connect the story to what they were doing, and tell them how we were connecting the songs to the story that I was trying to tell. And once I did that, I had full buy-in emotionally from them.”
TWINLESS
When You Can Watch: August 27
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: James Sweeney
Stars: Dylan O’Brien, Lauren Graham, Arkira Chantaratananond
Why We’re Excited: This is a dark comedy about two men whose twin brothers have died, which played at Tribeca and premiered at Sundance. As Roman (Dylan O’Brien, Teen Wolf) forms an earnest bromance with Dennis (writer and director James Sweeney, who also wrote, directed and starred in Spirit Award nominee Straight Up), it seems their friendship could be headed for something more, but secrets emerge – early reviews are hush-hush to avoid spoiling the details, but apparently it’s all very bold, surprising and twisty. Though IndieWire’s David Ehrlich is kind enough to hint, “that story makes a sharp and shrewdly executed swerve away from Apatow and towards Almodóvar or De Palma.” Sounds like fun.
PROGRAMMER’S PICK: IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
When You Can Watch: August 8
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Director: Amy Berg
Stars: Jeff Buckley Mary Guibert, Ben Harper
Why We’re Excited:From Senior Programmer Jenn Wilson: For die-hard Jeff Buckley fans, Amy Berg’s documentary on the enigmatic young musician has been a long-time coming. That’s because the musician died in a drowning accident at only age 30 in between making his first and second albums and never got the chance to reach the zenith of his career. As such, fans never got to know much about Buckley’s life. Known for his show-stopping vocals and live performances, the movie blesses us with footage from several live performances including ones from Sin-é Café where Buckley worked and first started to take the stage and make his name as a singer. The movie also finally fills out the missing details of his life, his estrangement from his dad (folk singer Tim Buckley) and his extremely close relationship with his mom whom he cherished. Blessed with a vocal range that spanned four octaves, Buckley literally had the voice of an angel, and this film matches the sweet and gentle tones of his voice and too-short life.Produced by Film Independent members Jennifer Westin (Executive Producer), Jenna Cedicci (Co-Producer) and filmed by Jenna Rosher, Cinematographer.
KEY
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Film Independent Presents Screening, Q&A
Microbudget
Filmmaker or Lead Characters of Color
Film Independent Spirit Award Winner or Nominee
Female Filmmaker
LGBT Filmmaker or Lead LGBT Characters
First-time Filmmaker
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