Inside the Arthouse: Bonjour Tristesse

Posted on by Team Sbarge

With a spectacular cast, stunning costumes and set design, beautiful cinematography and gorgeous locations— BONJOUR TRISTESSE shares all the hallmarks of the Merchant Ivory classics that delighted audiences for years.

Originally published in 1954, Francoise Sagan’s novel, BONJOUR TRISTESSE was an overnight sensation. But for every rave review, there were an equal number of critics shocked by a casual attitude toward a young woman’s sexual awakening.

In Otto Preminger’s 1958 film adaptation, the focus was on the sensational.

But thankfully, visionary producers pushing for a new adaptation, recognized the need for a woman’s voice and recruited Canadian writer Durga Chew-Bose to work on the screenplay. Having found someone with just the right approach to bring this new version to life, Chew-Bose was asked to stay on board and direct the film as well. 

The result is a debut film of remarkable depth and sensitivity that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is opening in theaters everywhere. 

Please join our conversation with first-time screenwriter and director Durga Chew-Bose, about her remarkable film, BONJOUR TRISTESSE, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now… 

Inside the Arthouse: Blue Sun Palace

Posted on by Team Sbarge

Immigration is at the top of the headlines these days.

But stepping back from the issues of policy and legality, it is helpful to remember that America has always been a country of immigrants– trying to make the best of their new lives in the US, and dealing with all the opportunities and challenges that come with living in a new and unfamiliar environment.

In her debut feature, BLUE SUN PALACE, filmmaker Constance Tsang, presents us with an intimate tale of Chinese immigrants, centered around a massage parlor in Flushing, New York.

Avoiding the sensationalism that one might expect from this setting, the film instead shows the joy, pain, guilt, and growth of a connected trio of characters.

The film is anchored by the sensitive performances of relative newcomers Ke-Xi Wu and Haipeng Xu, and the veteran actor Lee Kang Sheng, all of whom create characters that are incredibly real and memorable.

A prize winner at Cannes and a sensation at the Recent New Directors/New Films Festival in New York, BLUE SUN PALACE is opening at theatres in New York and Los Angeles before rolling out to the rest of the country.

You won’t want to miss this film. And you won’t want to miss our conversation with filmmaker Constance Tsang, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now…

Inside the Arthouse: History of Arthouses in New York

Posted on by Team Sbarge

If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere. 

That’s more than just a line from a song. Among art house distributors, it has been an article of faith for almost as long as anyone can remember. Get a film off to a strong start in Manhattan and the rest of the country will fall into place. But if you flop in New York, fuggedaboutit.

But how can you succeed in New York if there aren’t enough art house screens in the city to properly exhibit the films that want to open?

On today’s episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, we sit down with Ira Deutchman, a current professor of film at Columbia University and a veteran arthouse distributor to talk about the history of arthouses in New York, the current dearth of cinemas on the Upper West Side, the reasons behind the predicament, and most importantly, some hope for the future.

Join us for a fascinating conversation with the NY Indie Guy, Ira Deutchman, as he joins us INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now…

 

 

Inside the Arthouse: The Teacher

Posted on by Raphael Sbarge
The Teacher

After receiving an Oscar nomination for her short film, THE PRESENT, Palestinian British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi set out to take audiences on an intense, emotional journey into the Israeli occupied West Bank. Based on real life experiences of relatives, the story lifts the curtain on the hardships and difficult choices Palestinians have to make. 

Starring the renowned Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri in a moving performance, the film follows the character of Basem, a teacher with a buried personal tragedy. Throwing himself into his work, he forms a deep bond with his student, Adam.

Shot entirely in Palestine, told with humanity and empathy, Nabulsi brings these threads together, leaving us with a sense of compassion and hope for a future, even as the present reality seems to offer none.

THE TEACHER premiered at The Toronto Film Festival, received Best International Feature Award at Galway, Audience award at San Francisco International Film Festival, among many others; the film has received over a dozen awards!

Join us and our conversation with filmmaker Farah Nabulsi on her journey to make 

THE TEACHER  on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  

Inside the Arthouse: Nora

Posted on by Team Sbarge
NORA

In the words of Thomas Wolfe, “You can’t go home again.”  … But if you do–it’s not likely to be an easy landing.”

As told by writer and director Anna Campbell in her new film, NORA, balancing parenting, working, and a creative life can be an impossible task. This is a portrait of the physical and emotional pressures of modern motherhood and a woman in rediscovery. Campbell also stars in NORA, and this is her directorial debut, which includes her original music. 

The film asks the big question, “Can a woman have it all?” Can she dream and pursue her passions, even while focusing on what matters to her— family, and her children? Forced to choose, more often than not, mothers are left at the bottom of the list. But music is a form of release, and it’s the artists who encourage us to reimagine a world where passion and big dreams can be included.  

Join us while we sit down with the writer, director, and star of NORA, Anna Campbell, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.

 

Inside the Arthouse: Janis Ian

Posted on by Team Sbarge

As a teenage singer-songwriter from New Jersey in the mid-60’s, Janis Ian had one of the more remarkable debuts in modern music history. At 13 she scored a hit single– “Society’s Child,” about an interracial love relationship, which launched her career. She then began performing in New York City clubs with future legends, and her songwriting and singing was heralded by no less than Leonard Bernstein. 

She would follow this with her biggest hit, “At Seventeen,” and continued a career that has spanned five decades. Winning Grammys while overcoming significant personal obstacles and producing an indelible body of music that has earned her a devoted following and critical acclaim.

JANIS IAN: BREAKING THE SILENCE is a new movie about her extraordinary life, directed by Varda Bar-Kar and which lands in theaters this week. It includes interviews with Ian and her collaborators, along with Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, among others. This remarkable portrait uses Ian’s songbook and her turbulent life story to capture a portrait of an artist and her songs that personified a generation of American women.

Join us as we sit down with the director on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now… 

Inside the Arthouse: Holy Cow

Posted on by Team Sbarge

RENDEZVOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA is an annual festival organized by the programmers at the Film Society at Lincoln Center. And since French films are such an important part of the programming mix, we decided to spend some time in the Big Apple talking to filmmakers

We were able to sit down in the lobby of the fabled Film Forum theater with filmmaker Louise Courvoisier to talk about her new film HOLY COW, her Cesar-award winning debut feature.

After winning a prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival for her short film MANO A MANO, Courvoisier returned to the Jura region in France where she grew up, and started working on a story about the hardscrabble lives of the people who make the region’s renowned Comte cheese.

Using non-professional actors, Courvoisier’s film is a beautiful and moving look into the lives of those who work in close contact with nature to create the produce which ends up in fancy shops and restaurants around the world. 

You won’t want to miss HOLY COWwhen it comes to your local arthouse, and you don’t want to miss our conversation with the film’s creator, starting now, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.

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Inside the Arthouse: EEPHUS

Posted on by Team Sbarge
EEPHUS

When is a Baseball movie, more than a movie about Baseball? 

As told by director Carson Lund in his debut film EEPHUS, it’s a chance to explore themes of escape, of camaraderie, and of a deep sense of time passing.  

Named after a rarely deployed curve ball, the “Eephus Pitch,” EEPHUS is set in suburban New Hampshire, where that stubbornly independent New England mindset informs the players as they face change, and gentrification.  The film uses a mix of comedy and drama, for both the baseball connoisseur,  and for anyone who’s ever lamented their community slipping away.  

EEPHUS is a baseball story that uses a non-traditional narrative, and one that leaves you with the feeling of a lazy afternoon, tuned to the rhythms of America’s eternal pastime. 

Opening in theaters, having premiered at Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, please join us as we sit down with director Carson Lund on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  

Inside the Arthouse: Seven Veils

Posted on by Team Sbarge

A new Atom Egoyan film is cause for excitement among arthouse moviegoers. A stylish, self-assured filmmaker, his return to US screens is a welcome reunion for those who appreciate how he uses a non-linear plot structure to explore complex themes of fractured families, voyeurism, and obsession.

After several highly regarded early films, his charged erotic drama EXOTICA was a career breakthrough, winning the International Federation of Critics award at Cannes. His follow-up film THE SWEET HEREAFTER earned him even greater acclaim, garnering two Academy Award nominations. 

His new film SEVEN VEILS starring Amanda Seyfried, mixes the filmmakers’ love of opera and cinema. In it, art imitates life, and this visually stunning film feels like a fever dream that sweeps you away. 

Atom Egoyan remains one of the most challenging and talked-about directors on the international scene, and we got to sit down with him, to discuss his new film, SEVEN VEILS. 

 Join us on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now. 

Inside the Arthouse: Ex-Husbands

Posted on by Team Sbarge

As Tolstoy says, 

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

And so, it is any wonder that stories about dysfunctional families are such fertile ground for filmmakers. 

Griffin Dunne stars in a new film, EX-HUSBANDS, And in the hands of writer & director Noah Pritzker, the story of the Pearce family as it unfolds in EX-HUSBANDS, is told with a wealth of empathy and wry humor, making for a particularly enjoyable bit of moviegoing.

It’s a great cast, James Norton, Rosanne Arquette and Richard Benjamin And– Griffin Dunne, in a welcome return to a leading role. He effortlessly anchors the film.

Join us now as writer-director Noah Pritzker and actor Griffin Dunne as they discuss their new film, EX-HUSBANDS, on Inside the Arthouse