Tag: Greg Laemmle

Inside the Arthouse: The Queen of My Dreams

Posted on by raphaelsbarge_lf2krp

Having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, playing SXSW and many others, Fawzi Mirza’s luminous debut film, THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS, opens in theaters exploding with color and sound.

Set against the rich, stylish backdrop of 1969 Pakistan, THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS is a mother-daughter dramedy, that time-travels between generations to explore themes of cultural identity and family expectations.

At the center of the story is actress Amrit Kaur, who delivers an award-winning performance in dual roles as both mother and daughter—each navigating their own path between tradition and transformation.

Evoking the bold colors of classic Bollywood, THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS is vibrant, emotional, and infused with humor. This is a film that will resonate with anyone who’s ever struggled to reconcile family, where they come from, and who they really are.

Join us for our conversation with the writer-director, Fawzia Mirza, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now…

 

Inside the Arthouse: Bad Shabbos

Posted on by raphaelsbarge_lf2krp

Did some say, “Comedy?” Right when we need it most, BAB SHABBOS is inviting you to dinner.

You didn’t have to be Greek to enjoy MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. So it stands to reason that you don’t need to be Jewish to enjoy BAD SHABBOS.

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, BAD SHABBOS has found favor both with ticket buyers and critics, who have given the film a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Written by Daniel Robbins and Zach Weiner, and directed by Robbins, the film boasts a terrific cast including Kyra Sedgwick, David Paymer, Milana Vayntrub and Cliff “Method Man” Smith.

Hollywood has largely abandoned comedy. But this indie gem more than fills the gap, providing laughs that take the familiarity of family getting together for a meal, and mines comic gold from a rather unexpected situation.

Writer-director Daniel Robbins joins us for a conversation about BAD SHABBOS, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now…

Inside the Arthouse Ghost Trail

Posted on by Team Sbarge

Every Spring in New York City, Lincoln Center hosts Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. An eagerly awaited festival for lovers of French film. Of the films we saw, Jonathan Millet’s GHOST TRAIL, stood out as haunting, immersive and truly memorable.  

Millet has been a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker up till now, and this, his feature film debut is a spy thriller, based entirely on true events.  The filmmaking is remarkable, visceral, suspenseful–  a political thriller that seethes with tension.  

With a plot that recalls the best spy fiction of Graham Greene and John le Carre, GHOST TRAIL is that rare film that combines the thoughtfulness of an arthouse film with the dramatic tension of a Hollywood thriller.  

Add extraordinary performances from Adam Bessa and Tawfeek Barhom, makes GHOST TRAIL something you won’t  want to miss as it opens in theaters across the US.  

Join us, “on the road” at Lincoln Center, as we sit down for a conversation with Johnathan Millet, in INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.  

INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE: NORTHERN LIGHTS

Posted on by Team Sbarge

In the late 1970’s, when there was nothing like the indie film scene that we now take for granted, the film NORTHERN LIGHTS surprised the cinema world by winning the coveted Camera d’Or Award at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival.  

NORTHERN LIGHTS has the feel of an old black and white photograph discovered in an attic. The bitter-sweet story of young lovers caught up in a political struggle waged by farmers against the grain trade, the banks and the railroads, NORTHERN LIGHTS brings back a forgotten era of American history and evokes the austere beauty of the Northern Plains. 

Called “The greatest movie you will never see,” this rare and remarkable film has been lovingly revived by a team lead by IndieCollect for a gorgeous 4K restoration, and is now being brought back to North American arthouses by Kino Lorber.

In support of this re-release, we are very happy to welcome co-director Rob Nilsson for a discussion about this landmark film. Join us on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now. 

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: 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: 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: The Fishing Place

Posted on by Team Sbarge
The fishing Place

A new movie lands in theaters, called THE FISHING PLACE, directed by the indie maverick Rob Tregenza.  

The FISHING PLACE has drawn high praise with rave reviews from Richard Brody in The New Yorker calling it, “Spectacularly conceived,” and that Tregenza is “An artisan of the highest order.” Manohla Dargis of The New York Times calls Tregenza, “An Authentic Independent who holds you rapt.” 

Rob Tregenza has done a bit of everything in the world of arthouse cinema.

As a distributor, he brought to US cinemas works by Michael Haneke, Jacques Rivette, and Jean-Luc Godard.

As a cinematographer, he shot Bela Tarr’s WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES.

And, as a director, his films TALKING TO STRANGERS, INSIDE/OUT and GAVAGAI drew so much critical praise that he received a retrospective tribute from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  

As THE FISHING PLACE rolls out to theaters across the US, we asked Rob to join us for a wide-ranging conversation about art and the search for meaning and beauty in cinema.

Join us now, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE.