Schedule 2016
THURSDAY, JUNE 2 - OPENING NIGHT
7:15 p.m. - HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
7:15 p.m. - HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
"What makes Wilderpeople memorable is how attached audiences become to the characters." - Hollywood Reporter
Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky (Julian Dennison) gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: loving Aunt Bella, cantankerous Uncle Hec (Sam Neill) and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go into the bush on the run. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family. Equal parts road comedy and coming-of-age drama, director Taika Waititi (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS) masterfully weaves lively humor with emotionally honest performances by Neill and Dennison. Never short on laughs, this touching story reminds us about the journey that growing up is (at any age) and those who help us along the way. (Note courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)
DIR/SCR/PROD Taika Waititi; SCR from the book by Barry Crump; PROD Carthew Neal, Matt Noonan, Leanne Saunders. New Zealand, 2016, color, 101 min. RATED PG-13
9:20 p.m. - EVOLUTION [ÉVOLUTION]
"An open-ended visual feast that disconcertingly turns the tables on the snips-and-snails set for a narrow, yet discriminating cult audience." - Variety
Director Lucile Hadzihalilovic (INNOCENCE), frequent collaborator with Gaspar Noé (ENTER THE VOID), returns with this visionary sci-fi fable. Nicolas lives on a rocky island in a hospital dormitory with other young boys. He is treated for an unnamed medical condition by a staff of nurses, all women. Curious about his surroundings, the nurses and what they do on the beach at night, Nicolas sneaks out of bed to spy on them, and discovers a strange and terrifying secret.
DIR/SCR Lucile Hadzihalilovic; SCR Alante Kavaite; PROD Julien Naveau, Sylvie Pialat, Benoît Quainon, Sebastián Álvarez. France/Belgium/Spain, 2015, color, 82 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
FRIDAY, JUNE 3
7:00 p.m. -THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER [aka FEBRUARY]
"An atmospheric and suspenseful indie with a subtle but unmistakable retrograde feel, it should score with sophisticated genre aficionados and anyone else inclined to savor a stealthy, unsettling escalation of dread before full-bore horror kicks in. "- Variety
The beautiful and haunted Joan (Emma Roberts) makes a bloody and determined pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all-girls boarding school, where Rose (Lucy Boynton, currently seen in SING STREET) and Kat (Kiernan Shipka) find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. As Joan gets closer, terrifying visions begin plaguing Kat, while Rose watches in horror as she becomes possessed by an unseen evil force. (Note courtesy of A24.) Official Selection, 2015 Fantastic Fest and Toronto film festivals.
DIR/SCR Osgood Perkins; PROD Bryan Bertino, Adrienne Biddle, Alphonse Ghossein, Robert Menzies, Rob Paris. U.S./Canada, 2015, color, 93 min. RATED R
9:00 p.m. - CARNAGE PARK
"Combine that tension with a beautifully disconcerting score (courtesy of one Giona Ostinelli), a starkly creative visual style (both in production design and cinematography), and, perhaps best of all, a freaky sense of ongoing unpredictability, and the result is a cool, brutal, and confidently satisfying indie thriller." - Nerdist
The year is 1978. After botching an ill-conceived bank robbery in a desolate California town, two wannabe crooks named Scorpion Joe and Lenny flee the scene with a hostage, Vivian, and lead the local lawmen on a high-speed chase. With his partner suffering from a gunshot wound and losing blood, Joe takes to the back roads to dodge the heat, and unwittingly steers them into the path of a far more dangerous evil: a psychotic ex-military sniper who doesn’t take kindly to strangers. Thrust into a wicked game of cat and mouse with a highly trained and mentally imbalanced killer, they begin a harrowing fight for survival. Hot on the heels of his previous feature, 2015’s DARLING, Mickey Keating’s latest descent into insanity showcases his versatility as a writer and director, braiding crime caper and survival story into one demented thrill ride. Ashley Bell quickly turns the role of damsel in distress into that of a badass, “don’t f**k with me” female lead, traversing the horrors of Carnage Park. (Note courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)
DIR/SCR Mickey Keating; PROD Eric B. Fleischman, Sean Tabibian. U.S., 2016, color, 90 min. NOT RATED
11:00 p.m. - THE GREASY STRANGLER
"A playful oasis of filth and depravity ... The relentless monstrosity of a film is rife with fetishized cellulite, disgusting food and firehose penises. It’s not for everyone – but perhaps it should be! FOUR STARS" - Guardian
This Los Angeles-set tale follows the exploits of Ronnie, a man who runs a disco walking tour with his browbeaten son, Brayden. When a sexy woman named Janet takes the tour, it ignites a competition between father and son for her attentions. It also signals the arrival of an oily, inhuman maniac who stalks the streets at night and strangles the innocent — soon dubbed “The Greasy Strangler.” Flush your expectations down the toilet, because you have never seen a slasher film or a father-son comedy like this. (Note courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2016 Sundance and SXSW film festivals.
DIR/SCR Jim Hosking; SCR Toby Harvard; PROD Daniel Noah, Andrew Starke, Ant Timpson, Josh C. Waller, Elijah Wood. U.S., 2016, color, 93 min. NOT RATED
11:30 p.m. - BELLADONNA OF SADNESS [KANASHIMI NO BERADONNA]
Newly restored, including over 8 minutes of surreal and explicit footage cut from the original
One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation, never before officially released in the U.S., BELLADONNA OF SADNESS is a mad, swirling, psychedelic light-show of medieval tarot-card imagery with horned demons, haunted forests and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, equal parts J. R. R. Tolkien and gorgeous, explicit Gustav Klimt-influenced eroticism. The last film in the adult-themed Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese anime and manga, Osamu Tezuka, and directed by his long-time collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto (ASTRO BOY; KIMBA THE WHITE LION), BELLADONNA unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolor paintings that bleed and twist together. An innocent young woman, Jeanne (voiced by Aiko Nagayama) is raped by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai, RAN) who appears as an erotic sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire. Extremely transgressive and not for the easily offended, BELLADONNA is fueled by a mindblowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh. The film has been newly restored by Cinelicious Pics using the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements, and includes more than eight minutes of surreal and explicit footage cut from the original negative. On par with Rene Laloux’s FANTASTIC PLANET and Ralph Bakshi’s WIZARDS as an LSD-stoked 1970s head trip, BELLADONNA marks a major rediscovery for animation fans. (Note courtesy of Cinelicious Pics.)
DIR/SCR Eiichi Yamamoto; SCR Yoshiyuki Fukuda, from the novel by Jules Michelet; PROD Osamu Tezuka. Japan, 1973, color, 93 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
11:45 p.m. - BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966)
50th Year Celebration!
This year's AwesomeCon welcomes BATMAN stars Adam West and Burt Ward, and the DC Fantastic Film Showcase follows suit with late-night screenings of BATMAN: THE MOVIE. Gotham City’s United Underworld — the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler and Catwoman — launch a diabolic new scheme involving submarines, exploding sharks and a dehydrator that reduces humans to dust. It's no mere heist they have in mind, but total world domination, with plans to dehydrate the members of the United World Organization’s Security Council.
DIR Leslie H. Martinson; SCR Lorenzo Semple, Jr., based on characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger; PROD William Dozier. U.S., 1966, color, 105 min. NOT RATED
SATURDAY, JUNE 4
5:15 p.m. -GOG 3D
In person: Archivist and 3D expert Robert Furmanek
Newly restored in HD and 3D! In a remote, underground research laboratory, two scientists engaged in space travel research are frozen to death in a cold chamber when their instruments come under the control of an unknown power. Security agent Dr. David Sheppard (Richard Egan, THE 300 SPARTANS) arrives at the secret base, also home to two experimental robots, to investigate the possible sabotage. Early in his investigation, Sheppard finds that the underground laboratory is under the control of the supercomputer NOVAC and experimental robots GOG and MAGOG. Herbert L. Strock (THE CRAWLING HAND) directed this sci-fi/horror classic with a stellar cast that includes Constance Dowling (BLACK ANGEL), Herbert Marshall (FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT) and William Schallert (TV's THE PATTY DUKE SHOW). (Note courtesy of Kino/Lorber.)
DIR Herbert L. Strock; SCR Tom Taggart; SCR/PROD Ivan Tors. U.S., 1954, color, 85 min. NOT RATED
7:30 p.m. - UNDER THE SHADOW
"Iranian-born British filmmaker Babak Anvari has made a splash at Sundance with his atmospheric debut, a domestic-possesion horror movie with sharp political undertones." - Hollywood Reporter
In 1988 Tehran, Shideh’s attempts to return to medical school after getting married and having daughter Dorsa are thwarted as a consequence of her politically active history. Her husband is sent to serve in the Iran-Iraq war, while Iraqi air raids draw perilously close to their own apartment. Left alone with Dorsa after neighbors and friends flee from a city in chaos, Shideh’s daughter becomes increasingly ill and seemingly disturbed. Shideh initially dismisses Dorsa’s tantrums over a missing doll, but she reluctantly comes to suspect that they’ve been targeted by djinn — malevolent spirits that steal from those they seek to possess. Babak Anvari’s ambitious feature debut blends period detail and social critique with a good old-fashioned horror story, crafting a film that is as smart as it is scary. Anchored by Narges Rashidi’s stellar performance, the film presents Shideh’s experience as a strong, defiant woman — frustrated by a society that has consistently admonished her for her independence — as she single-handedly battles a multitude of dangers from both the physical and supernatural worlds in order to save herself and her child. (Note courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)
DIR/SCR Babak Anvari; PROD Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh. UK/Jordan/Qatar, 2016, color, 84 min. In Farsi with English subtitles. NOT RATED
9:30 p.m. - ANTIBIRTH
"It knows body horror and does it well. The mythology it reveals is clever, but I don’t want to spoil it. Perez’s style keeps everything nasty, but it’s fun to go on the nasty ride with him and this cast." - BloodyDisgusting.com
Trailer dweller Lou (Natasha Lyonne) and her best friend Sadie (Chloë Sevigny) spend most of their nights steeped in a murky haze of pot smoke and booze-filled TV-watching sessions, venturing out on occasion to party in a desolate community full of drug-addled ex-Marines and other miscreants of society. After an otherwise normal night of self-destructive behavior, Lou awakens with symptoms of a bizarre illness and psychosomatic visions that she can’t seem to shake. Unfazed, she continues with her hard-living ways, but even her frequent bong rips don’t fully explain the shitstorm swirling around in her head. Something otherworldly has infected her body, and try as she might, it refuses to be ignored. An unknown stranger arrives to help her get a grip on reality as paranoia sets in and stories of conspiracy spread. Writer and director Danny Perez (ODDSAC) presents a new exercise in visual madness, further cementing his spot as a purveyor of demented imagery and unrelenting chaos. (Note courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.)
DIR/SCR Danny Perez; PROD David Anselmo, Justin Kelly, Natasha Lyonne, Roger M. Mayer, Cole Payne. U.S./Canada, 2016, color, 94 min. NOT RATED
11:30 p.m. - BELLADONNA OF SADNESS [KANASHIMI NO BERADONNA]
Newly restored, including over 8 minutes of surreal and explicit footage cut from the original
One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation, never before officially released in the U.S., BELLADONNA OF SADNESS is a mad, swirling, psychedelic light-show of medieval tarot-card imagery with horned demons, haunted forests and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, equal parts J. R. R. Tolkien and gorgeous, explicit Gustav Klimt-influenced eroticism. The last film in the adult-themed Animerama trilogy produced by the godfather of Japanese anime and manga, Osamu Tezuka, and directed by his long-time collaborator Eiichi Yamamoto (ASTRO BOY; KIMBA THE WHITE LION), BELLADONNA unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolor paintings that bleed and twist together. An innocent young woman, Jeanne (voiced by Aiko Nagayama) is raped by the local lord on her wedding night. To take revenge, she makes a pact with the devil himself (voiced by Tatsuya Nakadai, RAN) who appears as an erotic sprite and transforms her into a black-robed vision of madness and desire. Extremely transgressive and not for the easily offended, BELLADONNA is fueled by a mindblowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh. The film has been newly restored by Cinelicious Pics using the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements, and includes more than eight minutes of surreal and explicit footage cut from the original negative. On par with Rene Laloux’s FANTASTIC PLANET and Ralph Bakshi’s WIZARDS as an LSD-stoked 1970s head trip, BELLADONNA marks a major rediscovery for animation fans. (Note courtesy of Cinelicious Pics.)
DIR/SCR Eiichi Yamamoto; SCR Yoshiyuki Fukuda, from the novel by Jules Michelet; PROD Osamu Tezuka. Japan, 1973, color, 93 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
11:45 p.m. - BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966)
50th Year Celebration!
This year's AwesomeCon welcomes BATMAN stars Adam West and Burt Ward, and the DC Fantastic Film Showcase follows suit with late-night screenings of BATMAN: THE MOVIE. Gotham City’s United Underworld — the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler and Catwoman — launch a diabolic new scheme involving submarines, exploding sharks and a dehydrator that reduces humans to dust. It's no mere heist they have in mind, but total world domination, with plans to dehydrate the members of the United World Organization’s Security Council.
DIR Leslie H. Martinson; SCR Lorenzo Semple, Jr., based on characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger; PROD William Dozier. U.S., 1966, color, 105 min. NOT RATED
11:59 p.m. - PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE w/Live Shadowcast
Cabaret-styled pre-show introduced by Count Gore De Vol
After the tremendous success of last October's screenings of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, the DC All-Star Shadowcast retuns to the AFI Silver to present a midnight screening of Brian De Palma's 1974 rock opera PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE. Disfigured composer Winslow Leach (William Finley) seeks revenge on Swan (Paul Williams), the heartless producer who stole his music, which Leach wrote for Phoenix (Jessica Harper), the woman he loves from afar. Williams’ wicked rock music powers this outré musical, which combines elements of “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “Faust.”
DIR/SCR Brian De Palma; PROD Edward R. Pressman. U.S., 1974, color, 92 min. RATED PG
Beginning with a live, musical pre-show cabaret by members of the DC All-Star Shadowcast and the AFI Silver's resident Phantom, Count Gore De Vol, the screening of PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE plus live shadowcast will be more magnificent than you ever dreamed…Quite an attraction.
SUNDAY, JUNE 5
4:30 p.m. - EQUALS (2015)
"This is sophisticated, moody sci-fi in the grand tradition of the best genre outings of the seventies. Obviously it's a must-see." - Joblo.com
In this gripping and emotional sci-fi romance from acclaimed director Drake Dorms (LIKE CRAZY), Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult play Nia and Silas, two people who work together in a futuristic society known as The Collective. A seemingly utopian world, The Collective has ended crime and violence by genetically eliminating all human emotions. Despite this, Nia and Silas can’t help noticing a growing attraction between them, leading them to a forbidden relationship — at first tentative, but then exploding into a passionate romance. As suspicion mounts among their superiors, the couple will be forced to choose between returning to the safety of the lives they have always known, or risking it all by attempting a daring escape. (Note courtesy of A24.) With Guy Pearce, Bel Powley and Jacki Weaver. Official Selection, 2015 Venice and Toronto film festivals.
DIR Drake Doremus; SCR Nathan Parker; PROD Chip Diggins, Michael A. Pruss, Ann Ruark, Michael Schaefer, Jay Stern. U.S., 2015, color, 101 min. RATED PG-13
5:15 p.m. - TREKOFF: THE MOTION PICTURE - World Premiere!
In person: filmmaker Justin Timpane
The final frontier was never so hilarious…or so dirty! Sci-fi/comedy podcasters Justin Timpane (director of NINJAS VS. MONSTERS, which premiered at the 2012 Spooky Movie International Horror Film Festival) and Alexia Poe take their show on the road, voyaging to an Enterprise set, a sexy Trek burlesque show, a 23rd-century musical and conventions where they meet Klingons, stormtroopers, genre celebrities and more. This raunchy, laugh-out-loud "fun-umentary" mixes intriguing and giggle-inducing interviews with live performances of the over-the-top "Trekoff" podcast, creating an out-of-this-world experience that is not to be missed. (Note courtesy of the producers.)
DIR/PROD Justin Timpane, Darrell Poe. U.S., 2016, color, 76 min. NOT RATED
7:30 p.m. - LITTLE SISTER (2016)
"Zach Clark courts greater indie exposure with this sweetly off-kilter tale of an ex-Got nun facing her dysfunctional family." - Variety
October 2008. Young nun Colleen (Addison Timlin) is avoiding all contact from her family, until an e-mail from her mother (brilliantly played by Ally Sheedy) announces, “Your brother is home.” Upon returning to her childhood home in Asheville, North Carolina, Colleen finds her old room exactly how she left it: painted black and covered in goth/metal posters. Her parents are happy enough to see her, but unease and awkwardness abounds. Her brother (Keith Poulson) is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from the Iraq war. During Colleen’s visit, tensions rise and fall, with a little help from Halloween, pot cupcakes and GWAR. Written and directed by Virginia native Zach Clark (WHITE REINDEER), this is a sad comedy about family — a schmaltz-free, pathos-drenched, feel-good movie for the little goth girl inside us all. "Sweetly funky." – Variety. (Note courtesy of indiewire.)
DIR/SCR/PROD Zach Clark; PROD Daryl Pittman, Melodie Sisk. U.S., 2016, color, 91 min. NOT RATED
9:45 p.m. - YOU'RE F@#K'N DEAD! - World Premiere!
Q&A with director Jay Spence
Tagline: "If you push someone over the edge, make sure they don't crawl back up." In this violent and sexy homage to grindhouse-style cinema, sisters Lexi (Ali Lukowski) and Beth (Kristin Rogers) make a wrong turn in their '71 Dodge Duster and find themselves in a strange, derelict town not pictured on any map. When the sisters discover the town's dark secret, Beth is held hostage, and her only chance for survival lies in the hands of Lexi, who will stop at nothing to get her back. Both of them will fight for their souls against an evil that will never let them leave…because no one ever leaves the town of Abandon. (Note courtesy of the producers.)
DIR/SCR Jay Spence; PROD Ali Lukowski, Daniel Ross, Emily Shinn, Jenna St. John. U.S., 2016, color, 100 min. NOT RATED
