Cinejoy is Cinequest’s October virtual fest and it opens today. Some of the very best from the March festival return, along with some new indie gems that you can’t see anywhere else. I’ve updated my CINEQUEST page with reviews of nine Cinejoy films. Browse the films and buy tickets at CINEJOY.
MUST SEE
- Before the Fire: In this year’s Must See at Cinequest, the only escape from an apocalyptic flu pandemic is a woman’s long-estranged rural hometown – but the scary family who traumatized her childhood is there, too. Written by its female star Jenna Lyng Adams, and the first feature by its female director Charlie Buhler, this indie thriller rocks. World premiere at Cinequest.
INDIES
- Small Time: Rural America’s opioid crisis explored through its impact on one little girl; what is the shelf life of innocence? Shot over three years with insight and verisimilitude. World premiere at Cinequest.
WORLD CINEMA
- Willow: This triptych by Oscar-nominated master Macedonian filmmaker Milcho Manchevski plumbs the heartaches and joys of having children; there’s a scene in the final vignette with a mother and son in a car that is one of the most amazing scenes I’ve ever seen. North American premiere at Cinequest.
LAUGHS
- Travel Ban: Making America Laugh Again: a serious film about misunderstanding and bigotry with some hilarious comedy by American Muslim stand-up comics.
DOCUMENTARY
- The Quicksilver Chronicles: Two bohemians live in a ghost town close (yet far) from Silicon Valley, and life happens. World premiere.
AND TWO I HAVEN’T SEEN YET
- but they’ve got GREAT TITLES: The Return of Richard III on the 9:24 am Train and Erotic Fire of the Unattainable.
