High Falls Film Festival Announces 12th Season -- Films Include Three World and Two U.S. Premieres

Highlights of 2014

• This year's festival will feature three world premieres, two U.S. premieres, two NY premiere and several regional premieres.
• Emmy-winning poet, producer and playwright Elaine Madsen and her daughter, acclaimed actress Virginia Madsen (Sideways), will be in Rochester to discuss the opening night film;I Know a Woman Like That.  Elaine Madsen directed the film, which was produced by Virginia Madsen.
• Filmmakers will be in Rochester for Q&As following most of the films including Oscar nominee, Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, who is known for her films Running on Empty and Losing Isaiah. She is a prior winner of the HFFF 2005 Susan B. Anthony Failure is Impossible Award (2005)
• New this year is a free Children's Short Film program.
• Free Coffee Chats daily with the filmmakers.

"Our vision for this year's festival is to offer an engaging, provocative, and memorable experience by featuring the best work of female cinematic artists," said Mary Manard Reed, the festival's Executive Director. "We are delighted with the number and variety of submissions received from filmmakers all over the world.  With over 100 films received, deciding which films to program was challenging and required a team of reviewers."

"Celebrating the work of female filmmakers is imperative because many films lack a female voice.  A woman's experience of life differs from a man's - not because of biological differences-- but because of the personal and environmental differences that go hand-in-hand with gender.  It's a simple matter of filming what one knows.  We're on a mission to celebrate the achievements of women in all aspects of filmmaking, by bringing the best independent films created women to the big screen."

Tickets

Tickets for films, passes and parties go on sale Friday September 19 at 3:00 pm and can be purchased at highfallsfilmfestival.com. Tickets are also available at the door (if not sold out). All sales are final, no refunds or exchanges.

• Films - $12 plus service charge / Opening & Closing Night Films $20 plus service charge  ($2 discount for students and seniors 65+, ID required at door).
• Opening and Closing Night Parties - $25 plus service charge.
• All Access Pass - $125 plus service charge - provides admittance to all films, opening/closing night parties, and VIP Festival lounge.
• Film Only Pass - $85 plus service charge - provides admission to all films.

2014 Film Schedule

See website for trailers and film descriptions.  Schedule subject to change.

9:30 - 11:00 A.M. - Coffee Chat with filmmakers

Strathallan, 550 East Ave, FREE

6:15 - 8:15 P.M. - I Know A Woman Like That (Opening Night Film)

US ▪ Documentary ▪ Directed by: Elaine Madsen, Q&A to follow with Elaine and Virginia Madsen, East coast premiere, Little 1

One of the most joyous films you'll see, I Know a Woman Like That focuses on women whose motto is "I don't know what being old means.  I'm just living my life." That means writing books, leading movements, running businesses, and refusing to confine themselves to traditional notions of "women's roles." Among the glorious seniors director Elaine Madsen and her daughter, acclaimed actress Virginia Madsen (Sideways), talk with are author Maxine Hong Kingston, activist Gloria Steinem, and actress Lauren Hutton, as well as an 88 year-old mayor, and a 95 year-old champion water skier. 

U.S. Premiere -08:00 PM -- Un Amor

Argentina, Drama / Romance, Directed by Paula Hernandez, Little 5

Is first love really the strongest?  From Argentina and director Paula Hernandez comes the critically acclaimed Un Amor (A Love), a lushly romantic yet poignantly real tale of adolescent infatuation, adult passion, and the eternal triangle. As teenagers, Bruno and Lalo are inseparable best friends, until beautiful, free-spirited Lisa enters their world, turns both their heads, then disappears without a word.  Thirty years later, Bruno is married, Lalo divorced, and Argentina has suffered through a brutal dictatorship and its aftermath.  And when Lisa returns, the three are not quite surprised to find all their old feelings stirred up again.

8:15 P.M. - Opening Night Party - Location TBA

9:30 - 11:00 AM - Coffee Chat with filmmakers

Strathallan, 550 East Ave

10:30 AM -  I Know A Woman Like That

Q&A to follow with Elaine and Virginia Madsen, East coast premiere

Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

1:30M - Cyber-Seniors

Canada ▪ Documentary ▪ Directed by: Saffron Cassaday, Q&A with director to follow, regional premiere, Dryden Theatre

What happens when a group of seniors (77 to 93), guided by teenage (15-20) "mentors," learn how to roam the internet? New connections with friends and family are forged, new answers to old questions are discovered, and competitive spirits and hidden talents are unleashed when an 89 year-old's YouTube cooking video sparks a rivalry for the most "views." Inspired by director Saffron Cassaday's teen-age sisters who, after seeing their grandparents' lives expand when they got connected, recruited other teens to teach seniors internet skills, this humorous, heartwarming film proves you're never too old to surf (the web).

U.S. Premiere -- 4:00 PM  - U.S. Premiere -- Let Them Eat Cake

US, UK, India ▪ Documentary ▪ Directed by Alexis Krasilovsky, Q&A with director to follow, Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

Director Alexis Krasilovsky, who visited Rochester a few years ago with her multi-award winning Women Behind The Camera, returns with a poetic look at the pleasures, perils, and paradox of pastry.  On one hand, it's a temptingly sweet expression of love, professional skill, and cultural values. It's also an emblem of economic inequality, as farmers around the world who grow the ingredients can't afford the product. Let Them Eat Cake will seduce you with the lavish traditions and beauty of cake creating - and make you think about the dangers of overeating and obesity, and the tragedy of world-wide hunger.

6:15PM - The Homestretch

Imagine having to face all the usual adolescent angst plus the horrific trauma of being abandoned, alone, and homeless.  That's the shocking reality facing 1.6 million children - not in some war torn third world nation, but in America, the land of plenty.  In The Homestretch, we meet three of them:  Kasey, Anthony, and Roque.  They spend their nights couch hopping or roaming the streets, their days hiding their shame for what is not their fault. But each is smart, ambitious, and astoundingly resilient, determined to finish high school, build a future for themselves, and achieve their dreams.

World Premiere -- 6:30 PM - Crafting a Nation

US ▪ Documentary ▪ Produced by Courtney Cobb, Q&A to follow with Producer, Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

Let's have a beer, a "craft beer," that is, a local brew "handmade" by small scale entrepreneurs who like their customers - value quality over quantity. This hugely entertaining documentary follows Denver brothers Brandon and Chad Miller as they build the Black Shirt Brewery. Their enthusiasm bumps up against the realities of opening their own brewpub, from finding financing to unexpected. We also meet several more established brewers, who share a passion for craft beer and a willingness to sacrifice for the chance to brew professionally. Guaranteed to leave you smiling, and thirsty.

8:15 PM - Shorts Program #1: Short Cuts

Little 5, 240 East Ave

8:45 - 11:15 PM - Craft Brew Party, Century Club, 566 East Ave

9:00 PM - Little Accidents

US ▪ Drama ▪ Directed by Sara Colangelo, regional premiere (theatrical release 1/15), Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

A mining disaster tears apart an Appalachian coal-town, leaving three very different inhabitants inexplicably tangled in a web of secrets.  Amos, the sole survivor, faces unbearable pressure when he becomes the unwilling focal point of the investigation into who or what caused the tragedy. JT, teenage son of a wealthy mining executive and his wife, disappears. And JT's classmate, Owen, tries to deal with his father's death in the accident, and his own difficulties at school.  Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, and Chloë Sevigny lead the talented cast of this powerful drama about the intricacies of small-town social order and the search for solace in the unlikeliest of places.

9:30 - 11:00 AM - Coffee Chat with filmmakers

Strathallan, 550 East Ave - FREE

9:30 AM - Children's Shorts

Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave, FREE

This collection of 14 films curated by Ruth Cowing is from five countries and creatively illustrates life and imagination for children. Three films were made with children involved in the creative process. One was made in Rochester (at the School #8 afterschool program).Several have gentle social messages (sharing, being grateful, hard work, friends come in all shapes and colors) and films that stress diversity of race, income levels and gender.

11:40 AM - Fly Low Jack

US ▪ Comedy ▪ Q&A to follow with Mike Champlain from DeBergerac Productions, Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

This 30 minute film directed by Marion Gleason was the first amateur motion picture film and was made in 1927 at the request of George Eastman. It has been restored by Mike Champlin, co-owner of DeBergerac Productions, who will be present and will show another of Marion's films.

1:00 PM - Lies I Told My Little Sister

US ▪ Drama / Comedy ▪ Directed by Judy White, regional premiere, Q&A to follow with director, Little 1, 240 East Ave

A family trip.  Packing all the baggage. After the death of her older sister, a globe-trotting nature photographer is shamed into joining her dysfunctional family for a vacation, along with the younger sister she used to torment. Lies I told my little sister is the story of childhood baggage, death, life, love, and family relationships. With solid acting and complex characters, the story offers moments of humor, while leaving an emotional impact on the viewer.  Proving that even after great loss, life is still funny.

1:45 - 3:15 PM  - Panel - Lights, Camera Action - Tips for local Filmmakers

Italy ▪ Documentary ▪ Cinematographer Caroline Krugmann, Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

It's 1943. Germany now occupies their former ally, Italy.  And a young woman of 22 decides to become a partisan. Taking the code name Laila, Annita Malavasi spent over a year in the Apennines, traveling with and between fighting units, delivering information, transporting weapons, joining in combat - and dealing with the ancient sexism of the mountain villagers. By war's end, Laila had become one of the Italian resistance's few female commanders. As exciting and suspenseful as any Hollywood war thriller, but with a decidedly different perspective, this film tells the true story of a lifelong struggle for emancipation that only started with the war.  

2:50 PM Women of SoFA Shorts Program

RIT's School of Film and Animation, Little 5, 240 East Ave

4:15 PM - Valley Inn

US ▪ Comedy / Drama ▪ Directed by Kim Swink, Q&A with director to follow, NY Premiere, Little 1, 240 East Ave

What happens when a "misadventure in the book field" leaves a bright, big-city college student stuck in a dusty, small southern town, a thousand miles from home, selling Christian books door-to-door?  A warm, funny, utterly beguiling  romantic comedy is what happens. But in this case, the romance is between Emily, our hapless heroine, and the charmingly quirky, cranky characters she meets in her "assigned sales territory."  A tribute to a vanishing way of life and a love-letter to small town America, Valley Inn is a hugely entertaining trip to a corner of our country city slickers seldom see. 

World Premiere -- 4:30 PM - The Park Bench

US  ▪ Comedy / Romance ▪ Directed by:  Ann LeShander - (Brockport native, now living in LA), Q&A to follow with director, , Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

An unconventional romantic comedy, The Park Bench mixes live action with gorgeous animation to create a whimsical tale of  life, love, - and literature.  Emily, a neurotic graduate student studying to be a librarian, assigned to tutor Mateo, a puckish Latino undergrad, in American Lit. They meet three times a week on a park bench. At first they don't get along, but when their talk turns from the classics to confessions, they find   themselves drawn to each other. Of course she has a pharmacist fiancée, and he has a host of female admirers, but neither life nor good stories ever run smoothly.

6:05 PM - Shorts Program #2:  Short Cuts

Little 5, 240 East Ave

7:15 PM - Very Good Girls

US ▪ Drama ▪ Directed by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, Q&A to follow with director, regional premiere, Dryden Theatre, 900 East Ave

Dakota Fanning plays serious, Yale bound Lily and Elizabeth Olsen plays impulsive, flaky Gerry. The best friends are enjoying their last NY summer before college and decide to spend it trying to lose their virginity. They bump into a hunky young artist, they both fall for him, and when Lily starts seeing him in secret, and their lifelong friendship is tested. Supported by a powerhouse cast including Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin and Peter Sarsgaard, Very Good Girls tells a funny, poignant, and quite unexpected tale of growing up in all sorts of directions.

Gyllenhaal is known for The Electric Company and Losing Isaiah. She was nominated for an Oscar for Running on Empty and was the recipient of the High Falls Film Festival's Susan B. Anthony 'Failure is Impossible' Award in 2005.

8:15 PM - Little Accidents

(W/Q&A) - Little 1, 240 East Ave

9:30 - Midnight - Closing Night Party

Strathallan, 550 East Ave, $25

Best of the fest films, determined by audience votes, will be screened on Sunday.    

3:30 - 5:30 PM - Best Documentary - Little 1, 240 East Ave

6:00 - 8:00 PM - Best Narrative - Little 1, 240 East Ave

Volunteer - Applications are being accepted for volunteer jobs during the festival. Apply online athttp://highfallsfilmfestival.com/volunteerform.

Get the latest news  - sign up for news alerts at highfallsfilmfestival.com and follow the festival on Twitter and Facebook.

More Information - Call the Festival office at 585-279-8312 or emailorders@HighFallsFilmFestival.com with any ticket questions.