North Carolina hosts another interesting film festival next weekend as the River Run Intl. Film Festival gets underway in Winston-Salem, a town I seldom seem to visit perhaps because Greensboro is 12 miles closer and with the price of gas these days......
Greensboro will actually be a host venue for River Run for the first time this year as the documentary "Greensboro: Closer to the Truth," which also screens at the Full Frame fest, will be shown on Apr. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Greensboro. The film, from documentarian Adam Zucker, profiles the infamous Nov. 3, 1979 incident in which five members of the Communist Workers Party were captured on camera as they were gunned down by members of the KKK during an anti-Klan rally in Greensboro. In his film, Zucker profiles the efforts of local citizens to get to the heart of what happened on that fateful day.
There are a number of interesting films which will be screened at the main venues in Winston-Salem. These include the Bulgarian film "Mila from Mars" about a young woman who ends up in a Bulgarian village to escape from her abusive boyfriend only to land in the company of eccentric old folks who indulge in marijuana!
Another Eastern European film of interest at River Run will be "Ode to Joy" about the new 'Polish diaspora.' The fictional film chronicles the lives of Polish ex-pats who live in European cities like London and find that paradise is an utopian entity regardless of where one is. The film brings to mind the brilliant Swedish film "Lilya Forever" which chronicled a Russian woman who turns to prostitution in Stockholm.
And, for those with very little time (well, I suppose that is most of us) the festival offers the latest film from master cult animator Bill Plympton, "Guide Dog," which clocks in at six minutes.
For those who missed it, PBS aired an exceptional documentary about the late Rev. Jim Jones, a maniac who became a mass-murderer. In the liberal magazine "Mother Jones," a publication I might slightly differ if Dick Cheney wasn't our 'president,' critic Elizabeht Gettelman calls Stanley Nelson's film a monumental achievement. Gettelman compliments the film for being able to capture the little things about Jones, including his 24-hour loudspeaker intercom system which could be heard throughout the jungles of Guyana. One really feels for the 909 people who died in Jonestown, and the accounts of the survivors are both startling and heart-breaking. In today's America, where evangelcials are gaining more political traction and power, the events of 1978 seem more relevant than ever.
Lastly, the second season of "The Henry Rollins Show," which is perhaps the first movie show hosted by a punk rocker, airs at 11 p.m. tonight on IFC. Rollins is also known for being a part-time actor and filmmaker. Alas, I'm not a big fan of his music!
Useful links:
http://www.carolinatheatre.com
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