In 1964, after spending a one year protracted legal battle, co-club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon were finally granted a 'unique' cabaret license and the Cafe Au Go Go opened its doors on February 7. Six weeks later with mounting legal bills and depleting funds the couple were quickly going out of business. With few options, Howard and Elly made a desperate, late minute attempt to keep the club open and reached out to popular comedian, Lenny Bruce. Two days into Lenny's performance he was arrested and booked for obscenity charges, alone with Howard and Elly. THat historic arrest, and the international press it garnered would put the Cafe Au Go Go on the tnertainment world map.
2011
Best Documentary Feature
Documentary Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
27 minutes
Director:
Jason M. Solomon
REIFF 2011
Best Experimental Film
Experimental
Germany
Runtime:
14 minutes
50 seconds
Director:
Florian Krautkramer
REIFF 2011
Everything seemed to go wrong from within and without. The never-ending official arbitrariness was oppressing, the examining glance outside. But lately, resistance has formed here. With excuses and blinders, the protagonist achieved in building his own world without reacting to the events taking place. But when fate tried to force him into making a decision, he chooses again a facade constructed of lies and spectacle. Breaking legs is a silent movie. It makes room for the linguistic incapability of the protagonist, but the inter-titles try to explore this format.
Narrative Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
5 minutes
Director:
Grayson Johnson
REIFF 2011
Franklin and Pierce spend yet another typical atypical weekend in the small town of Paducah, Kentucky. Renting out costumes and working at a coffee shop to get by, they drift through bizarre normalities and uncanny coincidences, until Lucy moves to the town for the Summer.
Experimental
United States
Runtime:
3 minutes
Director:
Jennifer Hardacker
REIFF 2011
Her horoscope quoted from the poet Federico Garcia Lorca: 'His heart was growing full of broken wings and artificial flowers. In his mouth, just one small word was left.' The horoscope assured her that her mouth would soon be full of vivid words. In this experimental short film, the filmmaker expresses her concern about her ability to protect her two young sons during a time of emotional upheaval.
Documentary Short
United States
Runtime:
18 minutes
18 seconds
Director:
Peter McBride
REIFF 2011
Follow the Colorado River, source to sea, with photographer Pete McBride who takes an intimate look at the watershed as he attempts to follow the irrigation water that sustains his family's Colorado ranch, down river to the sea. Traversing 1500 miles and draining seven states, the Colorado River supports over 30 million people across the southwest. It is not the longest or largest U.S. river, but it is one of the most loved and litigated in the world.
Today, this resource is depleted and stressed. Follow its path with an artistic, aerial view on a personal journey to understand this national treasure. McBride teamed up with his bush-pilot father to capture unique footage and also shadowed the adventure of Jon Waterman who became the first to paddle the entire length of the river.
Experimental
United States
Runtime:
13 minutes
41 seconds
Director:
Max Weinman
REIFF 2011
'North South' is a travel log of a two-month cross-country trip I took in the summer of 2009. The progression of the imagery reflects the subtle changes in my relationship with the unfamiliar landscape: at first overwhelmed by the magnitude of the space, I begin to feel a connection to the land, which results in a more personal lensing. All the footage was shot during the trip, on a bolex using 16mm reversal film. The footage was edited in 2011.
Narrative Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
32 minutes
Director:
Jeremiah Jones
REIFF 2011
RESTIVE (Director and screenwriter: Jeremiah Jones) - An intensely bizarre tale of a mother who inhabits her husband's suffocating behavior before falling into her own flawed maternal instincts. Cast: Michael Mosley, Marianna Palka, Christopher Denham, Ivan Sandomire, Connor Hill.
Documentary Feature
United States
Runtime:
2 hour(s)
41 minutes
Director:
Peter Joseph
REIFF 2011
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, by director Peter Joseph, is a feature length documentary work which presents a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter works to transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical 'life ground' attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a 'Resource-Based Economy'. On Jan 15th 2011, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward was released independently via volunteer groups in over 60 countries and in 30 languages making it the largest non-profit independent theatrical release in history. On Jan 26th 2011 it was release free online for public viewing and has achieved over 5 million views in 2.5 months.
Documentary Feature
United States
Runtime:
1 hour(s)
13 minutes
Director:
Lara Lee
REIFF 2011
In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promote change. This is their story.
Narrative Short
United States
Runtime:
18 minutes
Director:
Tim Chaffee
REIFF 2011
Ostrander, a lonely, awkward theatre critic, life is transformed when he sees a one woman show staring Anne Hathaway. Instead of being a cynical crusher of dreams, he sets on a path to become an artist himself. The art form: Screenwriter. The script: Bride Wars 2. Under the guise of 'writing an profile' he manages to snag a meeting with Anne Hathaway herself. Will she be wowed by his opus to her, or will she be creeped out?