Cinematalk

Ben Reiser talks with Nick Libbey and Zach Tomasovic, the filmmakers behind Sawyer County, 2020, which screened at the 2022 Wisconsin Film Festival. This survey of a cross-section of Sawyer County, Wisconsin residents in the immediate runup to the 2020 presidential election reveals a lot about the state of the state and the ever-increasing divide between neighbors.

On Saturday, November 13th, the Cinematheque will present a 35mm print of Sean Baker's THE FLORIDA PROJECT. Our free screening coincides with the publication of J.J. Murphy's revelatory new monograph on the film's production from University of Texas press. Our guest on this episode is, J.J. Murphy, professor emeritus at here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he taught film production and studies courses for many years. His films include the avant-garde classics Print Generation and Sky Blue Water Light Sign, which have been restored by the Academy Film Archive. His previous books include Rewriting Indie Cinema: Improvisation, Psychodrama and the Screenplay, and The Black Hole of the Camera: The Films of Andy Warhol.

On October 30th 2021, UW Cinematheque presents a screening of a 4K restoration of the 1974 film THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE, directed by Tobe Hooper. Five hippies on a road trip through rural Texas wind up in the clutches of a murderous, cannibalistic family in this profoundly unsettling modern horror classic. Nerve-rattling from start to finish, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre can be as hard to look away from as it is hard to look at. Pry your fingers from in front of your eyes long enough, and you will discover an exceedingly stylish, intelligently crafted creepshow that reveals the mark of true cinephiles behind the lens. Loaded with committed performances, graceful, fluid camera movement, and an immersive, hallucinatory sound design, Hooper's directorial debut is the perfect Halloween treat especially in the 4K restoration that will be screened. On the latest episode of 70 Movies We Saw in the 70s, a podcast co-hosted by UW Cinematheque's own Ben Reiser with Scott Lucas, singer-songwriter for the band Local H and serious cinephile, Scott and Ben discuss their love for the film, and try to figure out what makes it one of the scariest and most relentless horror movies ever made.

On this episode of Cinematalk, Mike King welcomes filmmaker and film teacher Brandon Colvin, whose first two features screened at UW - Madison's annual Wisconsin Film Festival. A Dim Valley is the writer/director's first foray into comedy. Mystical, sexy, and funny, this dreamlike indie casts you under its spell. Deep in the Appalachian wilderness, a pair of ecology grad students are collecting flora and fauna samples and getting high—anything to avoid spending more time in the cramped cabin with their grouchy, hard-drinking advisor. Out in the forest, they encounter a trio of nymph-like backpackers looking to “fulfill their purpose” who lure the men into a trance-like state of magical awakening and desire, with a pansexual charge between seemingly every character. The sextet's enigmatic bond is deepened over a late night that encompasses teary tarot readings and half-assed Scrabble games. Drawing inspiration from Twin Peaks and Hayao Miyazaki, UW PhD Brandon Colvin's third feature cultivates a surreal, sylvan atmosphere that still makes room for perfectly timed gags.

On a new episode of the Cinematheque's Cinematalk podcast, we are thrilled to welcome Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler, Roman J. Israel, Esq.) to talk about his father's movie From Noon Till Three. Spoilers abound in this discussion, so you might want to see the movie first before listening.

After a 16 month pause, we are back with in-person screenings at our home venue of 4070 Vilas Hall. Things kicked off this week with a trilogy of films: MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, TOKYO STORY, and WHERE'S POPPA, that each explore the relationships between elderly parents and their adult children. In conjunction with our screening of WHERE'S POPPA we thought we'd share an episode of a podcast hosted by Cinematheque's Ben Reiser called 70 Movies We Saw in the 70s. This episode was originally recorded and published in July 2020, shortly after the death of Carl Reiner. The co-host for this podcast was film historian, Mike McPadden, whom you may remember from an episode of Cinematalk that he guested on with Jim Healy where they discussed Demons 2. Mike died this past December, and we are happy for the opportunity to share some more of his wit and wisdom with you now. Also on this episode is film historian, Kat Ellinger.

Ben Reiser talks to Jonny Zeller and Tim Frazier about SCARS. In a world where every lie a person tells leaves a permanent mark on their body, the new boot camp instructor without a single scar is an anomaly… until one cadet discovers a single, massive sore across his back, leaving everyone on base to wonder what terrible lie could create something so gruesome. (JF)

Ben Reiser talks to Jack Duffy and Isaac Westberg about 04 Shot with an appropriately nostalgic Hi8 Camcorder, 04 employs extreme tonal shifts to tell a story about two teens spending an afternoon making a short film. (BS)

Louis Valray was born in 1896 and died in 1972. Beyond that, little is known of the man except what we can glean from his two marvelous feature films, La belle de nuit (1934) and Escale (aka Thirteen Days of Love, 1935), works that combine the visual invention of Jean Vigo and the humanism of Marcel Pagnol. Both movies, each clocking in at a neat 84 minutes, display a confident and expressive style that seems to take particular inspiration exploring the differences between the soulful rank and file of Marseilles and their more coldly urbane Parisian counterparts. Valray was, above all, a personal filmmaker and these two features evidence an enormous compassion for women, the underprivileged, and society’s outcasts. It seems likely that Valray considered himself a real outsider too, as there was very little printed about him in France when his movies were originally released to disappointing box office returns. Thanks to the heroic film preservation efforts of Serge Bromberg and his distribution company Lobster Films, Escale and La belle de nuit have been made available for the first time in nearly 80 years. The films are also being championed by some of America’s finest film critics like Imogen Sara Smith, who writes in Film Comment that “stylistically the films are startlingly original and rather odd, blending exhilaratingly fresh location shooting, lyrical images, heavy-handed melodrama, and idiosyncratic composition and editing.” Now you can discover these Louis Valray masterpieces for yourself in this special double feature program that allows you to see both Escale and La belle de nuit for one ticket price. (JH)

Terry Kerr and Ben Reiser talk to Johanne Helgeland about THE CROSSING. Ten-year-old Norwegian Gerda wants to be a musketeer, much to the dismay of her older brother Otto. He really hates her apron cape and her wooden dagger. After the sudden arrest of their parents, right before Christmas of 1942, the siblings discover two Jewish children, Sarah and Daniel, hidden in their basement and realize that their parents are part of the resistance movement. With the parents imprisoned, Gerda rises to the occasion and vows to defy the Nazis and help Sarah and Daniel escape into unoccupied Sweden. Otto sympathizes with the Nazis and only reluctantly joins his sister on her quest. The group begins a dangerous and suspenseful journey across the snowy Norwegian wilderness, frantically trying to stay ahead of the Germans who seem to have supporters everywhere. Johanne Helgeland’s feature film debut is an incredible story of friendship, courage, and doing what is right. The stunning cinematography and its talented young cast, makes The Crossing a compelling film for the whole family. Norway Amanda Award for Best Children’s Film winner. Atlanta Jewish Film Festival Emerging Filmmaker Jury Prize. (KK)

Mike King talks with Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley about STRAWBERRY MANSION. t’s 2035, and the government is taxing our dreams. Dream about a buffalo last night? That’ll run you 25 cents. Plus 17 cents for the violin. And that’s on top of all the ads and product placement interrupting your REM. James Preble is a mild-mannered government lackey, assigned to audit the dreams of an eccentric artist who’s been dodging her payments. The elderly Bella welcomes James into her remote farmhouse, where he sets about combing through decades of her recorded dreams, prepared to nickel and dime her. But as he wades into her unconscious, he meets and falls for her younger self. As James pursues the young Bella through a mind-melting fantasia of dreamscapes, he uncovers some unsettling conspiracies infiltrating our subconscious. A true psychedelic charmer, Strawberry Mansion boasts a dazzling handcrafted aesthetic, conjuring its unique universe through colorful props and costumes rather than lifeless CGI. The thrift-shop look is a supreme asset, creating a cinematic experience with more visual imagination and wit per frame than any generic blockbuster. 2021 Sundance Film Festival. “Enchanting, mind-bending and heartwarming… feels like walking through another’s dream. Simply put, Strawberry Mansion is sensational, strange, and sophisticatedly sweet” (Kristy Puchko, rogerebert.com). (MK)

Ben Reiser and Brody Coning talk to Lori Felker. Spontaneous Filmmaker Lori Felker employs a mixture of cinematic tools to convey her physical and emotional turmoil in this alternately humorous and harrowing first-person recounting of the time she had a miscarriage while attending the Slamdance Film Festival. Come for the well observed personal memoir, stay for the surprising celebrity cameos. (PL) Not You Lori Felker follows-up her essayistic short Spontaneous with this wonderfully discomforting examination of life with a toddler. Starting with a chronological series of vignettes before focus- ing on an awkward encounter with a neighbor babysitter, Not You is Felker’s funniest/eeriest short since Discontinuity (WFF 2014). (BR)

Ben Reiser and Terry Kerr talk to Elijah Edwards and Ben Fritz about MAKE A WISH High-Schooler Elijah Edwards’ fresh variation on the classic “genie in a bottle” story is remarkably self-assured, filled with charming performances and pleasingly cheesy special effects. (BR)

Ben Reiser talks to Yael Even Or and Sam Klein about SWING COUNTRY In this endearingly homespun documentary focusing on the run-up to the 2020 National Election, filmmakers follow Wisconsinites from the Fox Valley area who work to swing Wisconsin back to blue: Lee Snodgrass, a candidate for state assembly fights for her election as well as the top of the ticket. Brandon Yellow Bird Stevens, Vice Chairman of the Oneida Nation, pushes his community to vote in record numbers to showcase the power of the Native vote. Keith McGillivray hears that the local Democratic office is short on signs and launches his own sign making operation. (BC)

Ben Reiser and Pauline Lampert talk to Edith Rodriguez about ASHES. A tragic summer romance set against the backdrop of the beautiful Texas countryside, Ashes is a bittersweet meditation on how grief and regret can intertwine and how we can choose to move past these feelings, or live alongside them. (JF)

Ben Reiser talks to Gracie K Wallner and Espere Eckard-Lee about BLOOD RUNS OUT. UW-Madison student Wallner’s vampire story features a woman surviving off the menstrual blood of her friends who realizes her supply is dwindling. This is a surprisingly charming tale of selflessness that tackles its extreme subject with a light touch. (JF)

Ben Reiser talks to Jack Whaley and Eric Schabla about ONE FOOT IN.

Ben Reiser talks to Joe Brown and Rod Coronado about OPERATION WOLF PATROL. This urgent documentary highlights the efforts of a team of wolf conservationists, known as Wolf Patrol, who are attempting to monitor the activities of wolf hunters in Northern Wisconsin. These activists have no power or institutional support for their efforts, but are nonetheless dedicated to curtailing the unethical, often punitive practices of local hunters. The film uses hidden camera footage to reveal the use of trained dogs to chase down big game animals. These dogs are often killed in the process, which motivates hunters to exact revenge on local wildlife. The revenge hunting of wolves is illegal, yet there is little that these activists can do to curtail this behavior, beyond making themselves a presence in areas where hunters typically set-up camp. As these environmentalists keep a watchful eye on the hunters and their prey, they are in turn watched and threatened by angry hunters and local law enforcement who have been emboldened by “anti-harassment” laws put in place to protect hunters and their sport. The film also delves into the backstory of Wolf Patrol’s controversial founder Rod Coronado, including the act of eco-terrorism that landed him in prison, and his efforts to adopt more peaceful activist practices. This story has an added immediacy now that the grey wolf was removed from the endangered species list in October of 2020. This is tough but necessary viewing for those who wish to understand what is at stake with current Wisconsin hunting laws and practices. (PL)

Ben Reiser talks to Yael Bridge and Christie Herring about THE BIG SCARY "S" WORD. The Big Scary “S” Word, directed by Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, Yael Bridge, offers an in-depth explanation of the fundamentals of progressive politics and the current state of socialism in the United States. Yael weaves together historical lessons, verité footage, expert interviews, and lively animated sequences to tell the story of socialism. Apart from these highly entertaining and informative segments, the film also introduces us to two real life American socialists: Stephanie Price and Lee J. Carter. Price is a woman of color and single mom, who faces the harsh realities of being a public school teacher in Oklahoma. We see her participate in a teacher’s strike, go to Oklahoma City to attend a state legislative session, and eventually run for office in the hopes of becoming her local union’s vice president. The other protagonist of the film, Carter, is an ex-marine turned socialist lawmaker who ran against Virginia’s Republican house majority whip in 2017 and won a seat in the state’s House of Delegates. We get an insider’s view of his struggle against both Republicans and Democrats who find common ground by using Carter’s “socialist” label against him. The Big Scary “S” Word is refreshingly unapologetic about socialism, and when you are done watching it, you might be too. (BS)

Ben Reiser and Brody Coning talk to Dale Lindquist about BECOMING GEPPETTO. Surrounded by farmland in a small town in northern Wisconsin, father and son luthier duo, Bruce and Matt Petros make world-renowned acoustic guitars. These guitars have been played around the world by music giants like Paul Simon, and this documentary showcases the quiet lives that create some of the most skillfully handcrafted instruments available. Becoming Geppetto gives us an intimate and serenely meditative front-row seat to the Petros’s guitar making process, as well as a look into their family life and history (guitar making went from Bruce Petros’s hobby as an aimless college student to a successful and sustaining family business). As a bonus, the film is frequently and delightfully punctuated by wonderful musical performances on those ornate, resonant Petros guitars. (BC)

Ben Reiser talks to Megan Zabel Holmes about COCOONS. A three-year-old girl narrates her own story of how she navigates the pandemic and finds a bit of blissful respite raising butterflies during lockdown. (BR)

Ben Reiser, Pauline Lampert, Johnny Fruit and Bulat Schamiloglu talk to Nick Lyell and Max Puchalsky about FALSE ALARM The focus of this enlightening documentary is an event that many may remember: the ballistic missile alert that was mistakenly sent to the 1.4 million residents of Hawaii in January, 2018. But most are not aware of the impact it had on the people of Hawaii, nor the concerning and largely unaddressed implications of this blunder. Director Nick Lyell captures the diverse reactions to the surreal and traumatic morning when families, soldiers, and tourists were forced to confront an unthinkable reality—an incoming nuclear missile. Just as pressing are bigger issues concerning militarism and colonialism in a state that was once its own sovereign nation. False Alarm provides varying perspectives on the situation in Hawaii, including voices of both military members and Native Hawaiians. (JF)

Professor Lori Kido Lopez talks to Debi Lum about TRY HARDER. At Lowell High, the senior class is collectively freaking out. Finishing up their tenure at the top-ranked public high school in San Francisco, the most academically ambitious teens in the nation are knee-deep in the cutthroat college application process, with all eyes and essays trained on a handful of uber-elite universities. As they stack countless extracurriculars on top of demanding AP courses, prom is the last thing on these brainiacs’ minds. Documentarian Debbie Lum gets us rooting hard for a memorable batch of charming and energetic teens (and their comparatively maniacal parents) as they navigate this critical moment, the culmination of years and years of tireless effort. Along with this breathless tension, Lum takes a hard look at the mercurial standards of frequently opaque college admissions offices; Lowell High’s student body is majority Asian American, and its students are saddled with stereotypes that greatly affect their acceptance rate to choice Ivy League schools. For all the stress onscreen, Try Harder! maintains a spirited and often funny tone as it exposes a fundamentally broken system, thanks to the temperament of its indefatigable teens. 2021 Sundance Film Festival. (MK)

Ben Reiser & Pauline Lampert talk to Gretta Wing Miller & Sara Andrews about HOW TO FORM A UNION. Part instructional video, part call for reform, How to Form a Union walks us through the latest attempt to form a union at the Willy St. Co-op and details why such action was necessary. Of particular interest to Madisonians, the film shines a bright light on the power of community activism. (PL)

Ben Reiser and Pauline Lampert talk to Scott Homan & James Zimmerman about WITNESS UNDERGROUND. Punk rock, B-movies, and Jehovah’s Witnesses unite in this heartfelt documentary. As members of Jehovah’s Witness start to explore culture outside of their religion, they have to wrestle with the possibility of being excommunicated from friends and family. Featuring in-depth interviews and extensive home video footage, Witness Underground tells the story of punk rocker Witnesses pushing against the highly controlling Jehovah’s Witnesses religion as they build their own community through music and art. This prolific community of Witness musicians create their own record label (Nuclear Gopher), and become early adopters of promoting their music through the internet, including what may have been the first album to ever be livestreamed. This community’s history is well documented through archival footage of their home movies and self-produced music videos, all with a very charming energy. Featuring music from Witnesses and ex-Witnesses, Witness Underground is a heartfelt documentary about the families and communities we are born into, as well as the ones we choose while celebrating the healing power of punk rock. (BC)

Dr. Darshana Sreedhar Mini talks to Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh about WRITING WITH FIRE. Hailed as “the most inspiring journalism movie—maybe ever” by The Washington Post, this rousing documentary spotlights the only Indian newspaper run entirely by women. Founded nearly 20 years ago by a band of fearless Dalit women in rural Uttar Pradesh, the Khabar Lahariya paper has aggressively taken on India’s patriarchy and beaten the odds to have a real-world impact on local politics. But now, its reporters are facing the directive dreaded in newsrooms the world over throughout the 21st century: it’s time to “pivot to video.” As members of India’s lowest caste, many of the paper’s staff have never handled a smartphone before, and reconfiguring their reportage for YouTube is no small hurdle. But with an online presence comes a broader reach, and as their webpage’s clicks start climbing, the self-taught team behind Khabar Lahariya finds themselves taking on national issues and gaining global recognition. This real-world David and Goliath story of women standing up to speak truth to power won both an Audience Award and Special Jury Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. “A stirring and inspiring documentary about some very courageous women, who deftly articulate and defend the need for accurate, fearless journalism in the pursuit of justice” (Vox). (MK)

Ben Reiser talks to Julian Castronovo about HANNAH'S VIDEO. Told in one beautifully grainy take and featuring two wonderfully naturalistic performances from young actors, Hannah’s Video tells the story of two high school students creating a video in memory of their recently deceased music teacher. (BC)

Ben Reiser talks to Cecelia Condit about I'VE BEEN AFRAID. As fun and playful as it is harrowing, I’ve Been Afraid finds experimental auteur Cecelia Condit reimagining the horror genre by using images from the digital age. Condit casts a mixture of familiar forms as objects stalked by mysterious and amorphous forces of terror. (PL)

Ben Reiser talks to Young Min Choi & Kaylene Yong about IN DUE TIME. Movies, takeout dinners, loneliness, and more movies -- In Due Time is the sometimes surreal, all too relatable story of one young woman’s Madison-based pandemic experience in apartment sitting, isolated from friends and family. (BC)

Ben Reiser talks to David Van Auken about BID CALLER. About as Wisconsin as Wisconsin’s Own gets, Bid Caller follows Harold Betthauser, an auctioneer who has been overseeing auctions in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for over 50 years. Filled with the colorful personalities, nostalgia and collectibles that are the center of Betthauser and his wife Marilyn’s weekly estate auctions, this doc feels as lived in as the homes we visit as Betthauser peruses future estate sales. Alternately humorous and heartbreaking, Bid Caller explores the relationship between impermanent material goods and the important and emotional connections that people imbue them with. (BS)

Jim Healy talks to Achal Mishra about THE VILLAGE HOUSE. The astonishing debut feature from 23-year-old writer/director Achal Mishra, The Village House gently and lovingly captures a large extended Indian family over several decades as they gather at the matriarch’s rural home. As the movie follows the inevitable rhythms of change, such as children growing older and moving away to the city, it is the village house itself that emerges as the central character in this tale of the inexorable decay of traditional village life. Mishra keeps the film continually captivating on a visual level through gorgeous fixed-camera long takes and he has split this generational story into three separate chapters that take place years apart, employing a different screen aspect ratio for each segment. The narrative mostly avoids moments of tension to favor a flowing series of warm, nostalgic images: food cooking, old men playing (and cheating) at cards, a family gathered around a small television to watch a movie. As time slips away, and the house falls slowly into disrepair, Mishra’s storytelling technique builds to its devastating final moments, resulting in an intimate mini-epic that traces the intertwining of family and nature through the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The Village House provides a resounding emotional experience through quiet observation of the human condition. “Like master filmmakers Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, Mishra understands how cinematic aesthetics can beautifully mirror the invisible momentum of time” (Glenn Heath Jr., The Film Stage). (JH)

Mike King talks to Julien Faraut about THE WITCHES OF THE ORIENT. The most unbeatable team you’ve likely never heard of gets a revolutionary treatment in this stylish documentary, which breathes vital new life into the sports film. Our heroes are the Japanese women’s volleyball team, who utterly dominated the sport in the 1960s, winning the Olympic gold medal plus a whopping 258 consecutive matches along the way—a record that still stands to this day. The squad began as a workers’ team at a textile factory, with all-night practice sessions under the ruthless training of their notorious head coach. By the end of their run, they were national icons, credited with inspiring Japan in its post-WWII malaise. Now in their 70s, we meet the surviving teammates at a lunch get-together, the camera orbiting around these casually tough champions with a reverence that recalls the opening of Reservoir Dogs. As demonstrated in his visionary John McEnroe documentary In the Realm of Perfection, director Julien Faraut has a genius for repurposing archival footage in new ways. The Witches of the Orient brilliantly intercuts a wide array of source material: training films, transcontinental broadcasts, and most memorably, clips from vintage anime and manga fictionalizing the team’s journey. Music is the motor that ties together and propels Faurat’s gripping montage, including new original songs by Grandaddy mastermind Jason Lytle. 2021 Rotterdam Film Festival. (MK)

Ben Reiser talks to Drew Durepos about FORMER SINNERS OF THE FUTURE. Static images, Super-8 footage, and director Drew Durepos’ singularly matter-of-fact voiceover narration combine to tell a circuitous narrative that touches on themes of impostorism, aging, and addiction. (BR)

Terry Kerr and Ben Reiser talk to Pawo Choyning Dorji about LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM. Ugyen, a young teacher in the capitol of Bhutan, dreams of moving to Australia and launching his career as a singer. In order to earn money for the move, he reluctantly agrees to teach at the world’s most remote school in the Himalayas. The villagers treat him with respect, gratitude and love. Filmed at an actual Himalayan school at 5,000 meters altitude, the production used solar-powered batteries to shoot the film. Stunning scenery, traditional songs and customs, and a sweet-natured yak are among the many pleasures of this calm and beautiful film. Audience Award for Best narrative Feature at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. (TK)

Jim Healy talks to Evgeny Ruman about GOLDEN VOICES. In 1990, Victor and Raya Frankel arrive in Israel along with a mass of other Jewish immigrants from the crumbling Soviet Union. Back in the USSR, the couple were the most in-demand dubbers of international cinema, sometimes providing their voices to dozens of characters in a single movie. Now, the sixty-somethings are struggling to learn Hebrew and having equal difficulty in finding suitable work in their new homeland. While Victor secures them a low-paying gig dubbing bootleg videos for the exploding Russian-speaking immigrant market, Raya gets a more lucrative job using her native tongue as a phone sex worker, a job she keeps secret from her husband to protect their increasingly rocky marriage. Golden Voices is a rare find: a romantic comedy that finds a rich, warm supply of often absurd situational humor in the lives of two film workers who are not superstar performers or directors. Victor and Raya eventually use clout from their association with Federico Fellini to bring the maestro’s little-seen final feature, The Voice of the Moon, to Israeli audiences. The cinephile couple’s success in importing Fellini is shown to be more a personal triumph than a professional or financial one, reminding us that Golden Voices is an affectionate salute to the uplifting power of cinema and the countless number of working-class heroes who make the magic possible. (JH)

Ben Reiser talks to Nathan Clarke about THE PASSING ON. The Passing On takes us inside the world of Black-owned funeral homes, a profession that has been historically vital to the Black community but whose ranks are now dwindling in number. Focusing on 2016 Embalmer of the Year James Bryant and his San Antonio funeral home, we are flies on the wall as Bryant puts his faith in a new generation whom he hopes will pick up his mantle and carry on his legacy. He’s met with resistance from his young intern, Clarence Pierre, who himself is conflicted about his commitment to the profession due to the judgment he feels from the Black Christian community as a queer man. An in-depth and startlingly observant look into a profession many find grim, The Passing On is filled with characters worth rooting for, finding both the beauty and humanity in this under-told story. Winner of a 2021 Golden Badger Award. (JF)

Ben Reiser talks to Beah Travis & Justin Newhouse about WAY UPSTATE. A woman travels to her family’s cabin to find comfort in the familiar belongings held within. Way Upstate is an understated and beautifully realized exploration of grief and memory. (BC)

Mike King talks to Christian Petzold about UNDINE. “If you leave me, I’ll have to kill you.” So begins the latest film from leading auteur Christian Petzold (Phoenix, WFF 2015), a modern riff on an ancient myth about a water nymph. Undine reunites Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski, the two captivating leads of Petzold’s Transit (WFF 2018), as star-crossed lovers caught up in a whirlwind romance. Industrial diver Christophe meets Undine as she’s giving a museum tour, and their bond is sealed when an aquarium explodes over them at a café, showering them with water and shattered glass. This beautiful, dreamlike sequence is emblematic of the film’s ability to cast a spell through the magnetic pull of its imagery and actors. As the couple transforms one another, Undine proceeds with the eerie, enigmatic logic of an adult fairy tale. “Heartfelt and profound. Hans Fromm’s crystalline cinematography trusts the gorgeous faces of the actors enough to let a look or a gesture tell the story. Beer and Rogowski are so good, and have such amazing chemistry, that it’s hard to look away or not root for them to be together” (The Hollywood Reporter). Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actress and the FIPRESCI Award at the Berlin Film Festival. (MK)

Ben Reiser and Johnny Fruit talk to Kristin Peterson about RINGOLEVIO. In this captivating and incisive feature film debut by Milwaukee-based artist and poet, Kristin Peterson, amateur entomologist, Ada (Nicole Velasco Lockard), travels to a remote part of Wisconsin to meet her girlfriend Marissa’s (Meredith Johnston) three brothers. Although Marissa offers Ada some warning about the unusual familial dynamic between the siblings, Ada is still unprepared for the level of seeming disregard for courtesy or personal boundaries. A series of ill-fated attempts to ingratiate herself within the family expose some fissures in Ada and Marissa’s relationship. This humorous, well-observed drama has a Wisconsin Film Festival pedigree: Not only did Meredith Johnston star in the 2019 Wisconsin’s Own feature, Pet Names, it is also exquisitely lensed by Pet Names Director of Photography Dana Shihadah. (PL)

Ben Reiser talks to Kate Corby about WEST. Kate Corby masterfully fuses dance and film once again in this short piece that loosely plays off of the Western genre, offering a gendered perspective on the rugged individualism, archetypes, and violence of the “American West”. (BR)

Ben Reiser talks to Sofia Theodore - Pierce about HEAR ME SOMETIMES. The experimental Hear Me Sometimes is lush with beautifully textured images and sounds, addressing themes of motherhood, loss, expectation, care, and legacy. (BS)

Ben Reiser talks to Kym McDaniel about EXIT STRATEGY #5. Filmmaker Kym McDaniel uses a variety of artistic media to paint a strikingly honest and personal portrait of the search for identity while confronting emotional and physical traumas and reckoning with a complicated parental relationship. (JF)

Ben Reiser talks to Caleb Peavy about ORIN & KEPA. An animal trainer forms an unusual bond with a wolf. A unique story told through an eclectic array of home movies and other archival materials. (PL)

Ben Reiser talks to Bernard Friedman about N OF 1. An appliance repairman from Canada, an immunologist from Israel, and a transplant surgeon from England meet in a hospital in India. This might sound like the start of an elaborate joke, but it is actually a remarkable real-life collaboration established in an effort to save the life of 26-year-old Kayte, a young Florida woman dying of liver cancer. As this unlikely team invent and then carry out an experimental procedure, the stakes could not possibly be higher, both for Kayte, as well as the broad implications for currently untreatable cancers. An emotionally charged documentary equally notable for its vivid, unforgettable characters and for its thought-provoking twists and turns, Bernard Friedman’s Golden Badger-winning directorial debut takes the viewer on a journey that spans five countries, and elicits the widest possible gamut of emotions. A riveting tale and an eye-opening exploration on the front lines of western medicine, N of 1 is a potent inquiry into the nature of innovation. (BR) Winner of a 2020 Golden Badger Award

Kelley Conway talks to Chuko & Arie Esirie about THIS IS MY DESIRE. This stunning diptych brings us two street-level stories from contemporary Lagos, both featuring lead characters who hope to eventually emigrate to Europe. In practical terms, this means each must scrape by with multiple jobs and side hustles as they save up money and attempt to navigate Nigeria’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy in pursuit of their goal. But the goalposts keep moving, and both Mofe, a middle-aged electronics repairman, and Rosa, a twentysomething hairdresser and bartender, face obstacles that test just how far they’re willing to go to improve their lives. These situations may be difficult, but first-time twin directors Arie and Chuko Esiri imbue their portrayals with a generosity of spirit and dignified compassion. Rather than directly intersecting, the parallel halves of This Is My Desire rhyme and resonate off each other, creating a deeper overall experience. Adding to the film’s beauty is the vibrant 35mm photography, which shows off the colors and patterns of Lagosian life. "Gorgeous. A formally and stylistically impressive film that gives fascinating insights into the society of the sprawling conurbation of Lagos. This Is My Desire is a powerful film and well worth seeking out” (Kristin Thompson). (MK)

Ben Reiser talks to Maya Castronovo about RAH-RAH RILEY. A hapless freshman creates a video to explain why she deserves a spot on the women’s basketball team at Columbia University. (BS)

Kelley Conway talks to Jean Laurenz about DESCENDED. An abstract ghost story, based on the life and work of 19th century writer, Lafcadio Hearn, Descended is notable both for the uniquely committed lead performance by co-director Jean Laurenz as well as the intricate, trumpet-inflected score written by Maria Finkelmeier and performed in part by Laurenz, who is also a descendent of Hearns. (BR)

Mike King talks to James Vaughan about FRIENDS AND STRANGERS. A fresh and entrancing take on the timeless subject of young adulthood, Friends and Strangers introduces a clique of Australian twentysomethings who are looking for their direction, but keep getting distracted along the way. Ray and Alice are on an impromptu camping trip in the Australian countryside, ensconced in their tent but not really connecting with each other. Back home in Sydney, these rudderless millennials are on no more solid ground, particularly as wedding videographer James’s meeting with a wealthy client takes a series of increasingly surreal turns. Writer/director James Vaughan’s debut feature is brilliantly composed all around, from its crisp, lovely cinematography and precisely calibrated atmosphere to the striking paintings and vintage Jon Gibson music that serve as a counterpoint to its characters’ careful hesitancy. “What a saga!” one character exclaims towards the end of this beguiling series of casual detours and drifts, a quip that well sums up the film’s self-aware humor. “The funniest, best movie from Oz in several years. Movie audiences (whether they know it or not) seek fresh voices, attitudes. This is it, the real deal. Ten years from now, this’ll still be fresh” (Robert Koehler). “Masterful. There is great depth in these characters, and ultimately the paradoxical nature of their existence pays off superbly” (Flickering Myth). 2021 Rotterdam Film Festival. (MK)

Ben Reiser talks to Marissa & Sean Bode about YOU'RE ADORABLE. Marissa Bode stars in and directs this comedic short featuring an obsessive young woman who employs increasingly extreme methods to win over the man of her dreams. (BS)

Ben Reiser talks to Emma Chang about THE MESSENGER. A woman wanders through a variety of striking locations, seeking her inner identity while confronted with different versions of herself in this unique short film. Director Emma Chang combines a Maya Deren-influenced dreamlike narrative with notable architecture and an experimental use of calligraphy to create a unique cinematic world. (JF)

Ben Reiser and Christina Martin-Wright talk to Jazmine Faries, Patrick Longstreth and Chad Faries about IRON FAMILY. The life of playwright Jazmine Faries is appropriately fraught with drama and tension. So many decisions to be made. Who will produce her work? (Herself). Who will play the autobiographical lead role? (Herself). Who will play her love interest, Matthew McConaughey? (Her brother). This breathtakingly vivid documentary begins as a portrait of a young artist who happens to have Down syndrome but quickly expands its horizons as far as the eye can see, as it introduces us to Jazmine’s immediate and extended family, along with a rich cast of characters made up of her friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Delicately directed by Patrick Longstreth, Iron Family is a detailed, warm and funny story of an Upper Peninsula community. Winner of a 2021 Golden Badger Award. (BR)