SONOMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY

Sat, Apr 07, 2012 01:02 CET

Festival Highlights - April 11-15

Sonoma, CA (April 6, 2012) – Sonoma International Film Festival has announced its most ambitious, diverse and truly international program of independent cinema ever as it celebrates its landmark 15th anniversary April 11-15. Already considered one of the nation's top destination film festivals, this year the Festival offers an unprecedented 137 films – productions and co-productions from more than 30 countries – with screenings at seven venues on or near Sonoma's historic plaza in the heart of California Wine Country.

Opening and Closing Night Films

Opening and Closing Night Films this year are beautiful bookends by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, La Femme Nikita, The Transporter) and his French production company, EuropaCorp. Both are films about strong female characters, and Wednesday’s festival opener, The Lady, is especially timely. Starring Michelle Yeoh, The Lady is the story of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who only this week won a landslide election to the Myanmar Parliament. The program closes Sunday night with the U.S. premier of another acclaimed French film, "The Source (La Source des femmes)," a comedic drama of female empowerment in the Arab world directed by Radu Mihaileanu. The story focuses on a village of women who go on a sex strike until their men are willing to help fetch water from a nearby well.

La Quinceañera Film Fiesta

The lineup of foreign cinema is also highlighted by Sonoma’s first-ever La Quinceañera Film Fiesta, a festival-within-a-festival acknowledging the vibrant Latino community in Sonoma Valley. Inspired by the coming-of-age celebration for Latino girls on their 15th birthday, La Quinceañera celebrates the Sonoma festival’s own 15th anniversary while dramatically increasing its Spanish-language offerings. Generously sponsored by the Fred & June MacMurray Foundation, La Quinceañera presents award-winning films from Mexico, Cuba, Spain, Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries alongside films by American Latino directors to celebrate the best in current Latino cinema.

La Quinceañera Film Fiesta begins Friday evening April 13 at Sonoma Charter School in Agua Caliente and continues from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15. Films will be presented in Spanish with English subtitles. Tickets are $1 each (or more by donation) and free childcare is provided. Day passes are also available.

Sir Billi and Dame Shirley Bassey Come to Sonoma!

The first international screening of Sir Billi, a CGI-animated film produced entirely in Scotland by husband and wife duo Sascha and Tessa Hartmann, takes place Friday, April 13, at 5:30 p.m. at the Sebastiani Theatre. It stars Sir Sean Connery as the voice of Sir Billi, a skateboarding grandfather on a quest to save the last remaining beaver in Scotland. Academy Award®-nominated Scottish composer Patrick Doyle (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” “Sense and Sensibility”) created the film’s music score and also lends his voice as a key character in the film.

The film’s title track, “Guardian of the Highlands,” is sung by British singing legend Dame Shirley Bassey, who reunited with Connery for the first time since she sang the title song for Goldfinger back in the Bond days. Dame Bassey will arrive on the red carpet in the company of the Hartmanns and 13 year-old Scottish singing sensation Tallia Storm. Storm, who was recently invited by Sir Elton John to perform with him at Falkirk in June, will perform live on the Sebastiani stage after Friday’s screening.

John Waters and “This Filthy World”

Fans of legendary filmmaker John Waters will descend on Sonoma Veterans Memorial Hall on Saturday, April 14, to attend a divine live performance of "This Filthy World," his one-man vaudeville act tracing the origins of the trash genre. Transformed into a swanky supper club for the event, the Hall is also the venue of the Festival’s Saturday night after-party. Various ticket options are available, ranging from single seats to a full evening of entertainment including cocktails, dinner and the festival after-party from 9 pm to midnight. For ticket options and more details about the evening’s events, visit SonomaFilmFest.org or call the box office at (707) 206-4484.

Tribute to Christopher Lloyd

Iconic American film character actor Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, The Addams Family) will be honored Thursday, April 12, at 6 p.m. at the Sebastiani Theatre. Two of Lloyd’s current projects – Cadaver, a short animated film by Jonah D. Ansell, and Last Call, a feature film by Spence Jackson – will screen together preceding a film montage of Lloyd’s career and followed by a Q&A with Lloyd and a festival tribute.

Film Highlights

As it is in The Lady and The Source, female empowerment is a thread in other festival films: The Girls in the Band (Judy Chaiken), about the history of women in jazz; Derby, Baby! (Dave Wruck and Robin Bond), about modern female gladiators in fishnets; Bone, Wind, Fire (Jill Sharpe), an intimate look at three of the best-known female artists of the 20th Century – Georgia O'Keeffe, Emily Carr and Frida Kahlo; and the nine films of Luna Fest – films by, for and about women; and America. . . She Dared (Sonia Fritz), which follows a 30-year-old mother, America, from her remote Caribbean village to Manhattan, where she seeks refuge after her abusive lover daughter takes their daughter from her.

Music legends Bob Marley (Marley/Kevin MacDonald) and Lady Gaga (Lady Gaga’s Secret World/Brian Aabeck) are both subjects of new documentary films. And the virtuosity of renowned violinist Kenji Williams, performed live, provides the soundtrack for Bella Gaia: Beautiful Earth – a collection of footage taken by astronauts from space over the past 20 years – produced by the Baum Foundation.

A range of epicurean films cover everything from cigars (Cigars: The Heart and Soul of Cuba/James Orr and James Suckling) to chocolate (Nothing Like Chocolate/ Kum-Kum Bhavnani); burgers (The Great Hamburger Challenge/Jason Chau) to viticulture (Harvest/John Beck). This genre also includes a sobering selection about the profit-centered business of agriculture (Greening the Revolution/Katie Curran) as it wages war on the world's poor, especially farmers.

The digitally-remastered 50th anniversary edition of Ben Hur (William Wyler/1959), winner of an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards® including best actor for Charleton Heston, will be paired with a new documentary by Heston’s son Fraser, Charleton Heston and Ben Hur: A Personal Journey. Fraser Heston will be in attendance to discuss this behind-the-scenes look at Charlton Heston's life while filming Ben Hur, using never before seen 16 mm footage shot by Heston’s wife and Fraser’s mother, Lydia Clarke Heston.

Stephen Wampler, the first person with cerebral palsy to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan, comes to Sonoma to help present Wall: The Journey Up, documenting his heroic quest. Directed by Tommy Baynard, Wall captures the strife and triumph of Wampler’s amazing climb up a vertical face that is twice the height of the Empire State Building. Wampler will discuss the climb and take audience questions following the screening.

Judy Blume’s novel, Tiger Eyes, is translated to the big screen – directed by her son Lawrence. This is the story of 17-year-old Davey Wexler, who is coping with the sudden, violent death of her father and the emotional collapse of her mother. Set in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the family abruptly relocates to be with relatives, Davey meets Wolf, a young Native American with his own secret. This is a universal story of love and loss, of a family torn apart, which slowly, painfully finds the courage to face the future.

Starbuck (Ken Scott), starring Québécois superstar Patrick Huard, follows the life of an immature man who discovers he has unwittingly fathered over 500 children after donating sperm to a clinic 20 years earlier.

Huard is also the lead in another festival favorite, Daniel Roby's Funkytown, which depicts the lives of eight people during the disco-era fashion excesses of the '70s. Funkytown snagged the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design for renowned Cirque du Soleil costume designer Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.

Terra Firma is an Italian film by Emanuele Crialese about an uncontaminated Sicilian island inhabited mainly by fisherman. Although still barely touched by tourism, the islanders have begun to alter their mentality and behavior as they realize the economic potential of this new industry. Terra Firma is also a story about a family composed of a stubborn old fisherman, a young woman striving for a better life and a young man seeking his moral compass. All of them will have to make difficult decisions that will affect their lives forever.

With an unprecedented number of shorts submissions this year, there will be six shorts programs: “Sixth Sense,” “Believe It or Not,” “Cycle of Life,” “Spirited Sounds and Animation,” “Not What You Think,” and “Edgy.”

Beyond Films

Once again, the signature Backlot Tent returns as the Festival hub – a luxurious tent located in the middle of Sonoma’s historic town square where film-goers mingle with filmmakers while enjoying the best of food and wine from local chefs and winemakers. The Backlot is a place for passholders to relax, talk films, enjoy live music and immerse themselves in the Festival spirit. Picnic lunch boxes, breakfast burritos, and Fork in the Road Hot Links will be available for purchase, while samples from Sonoma Cheese Factory and tastings of local wines will be provided intermittently throughout the day.

As a Festival that celebrates the best in film, food and wine, patrons will have a plentiful selection of food and drink at each of the seven venues. Each venue is a unique, historic and personal space that has been transformed for film viewing and has been paired with vendors to round out the cinema experience. From a winery barrel room to a 1930s Italian-Renaissance style theatre, each venue has a personality that enhances the screening. And each venue will offer unique food and beverage selections -- from the sweet & savory crepe truck at the Vintage House, to Mia’s Italian Kitchen paired with The Other Guys Wines at the Community Center, to the New Belgium Beer Garden at the Women’s Club.

Tickets and Passes

This year, a new Festival Pass option has been added: A two-day Festival pass for $100 or $110 will provide access to all the films and panels, plus the Backlot Tent. Also, for the first time, individual tickets for specific movies can be purchased. Please see our Festival Box Office online: http://www.sonomacommunitycenter.org/Sonoma_Community_Center/film_fest_promo_2012.html