By Todd Morris • JTIFF Founder and Executive Director
After canceling last year due to COVID, the Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival (JTIFF) returns to the Mauch Chunk Opera House for its 4th edition with ALL LIVE, IN-PERSON screenings! That’s right – no glitchy streaming on your phone, tablet or laptop, but real films projected on a huge screen in the dark with excellent sound, the way films were MEANT to be experienced.
This year, we are proud to present 90 new films including dozens of US and Pennsylvania premieres from all over the world – incredible films you won’t see anywhere else. Our program was curated from over 900 submissions of every length, genre and description – from the gritty underground to high-budget Hollywood films, and everything in between. Here’s a summary of the festival highlights:
Opening Night on Thursday 4/22 kicks off with a LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE by the Brooklyn-based ‘dream-rock’ sensation OK COWGIRL that will play from 7:00 to 8:00pm, at which time we’ll kill the lights for our first feature, the stylish, neo-noir thriller, SUPERIOR, that premiered In Competition at Sundance in February. SUPERIOR, directed and co-written by Erin Vassilopoulos, is set in the 80’s and tells the tale of Marian, a failed rocker on the run, who returns to her hometown in upstate New York to hide out with her estranged identical twin sister, Vivian. Marian lies about why she returned, putting both of their lives in danger.
On Friday, we offer a full slate of short films and features including the ground-breaking SCALES, a supernatural dystopian drama written and directed by female director, Shahad Ameen. The film was selected as Saudi Arabia’s entry for the Best International Feature at this year’s Academy Awards. Scales is the story of a young strong-willed girl, Hayat, who lives in a poor fishing village governed by a dark tradition in which every family must give one daughter to the sea creatures who inhabit the nearby waters. In turn, the sea creatures are hunted by the men of the village.
On Friday afternoon there’s FIRST DATE – a raucous and fun Tarantino-esque dark comedy that premiered at Sundance 2021. Mike, a high school kid with a crush, finally summons the courage to ask Kelsey out on a date. But with no car to drive her, Mike borrows money and gets duped into buying a sketchy ’65 Chrysler.
Although many a first date goes wrong, Mike’s swiftly descends into a surreal misadventure that finds him inexplicably targeted by a pair of cops, a criminal gang, and a vengeful cat lady – with all roads leading to a bloody showdown. First Date is a pure entertainment throwback, billed by first time directing duo, Manuel Crosby & Darren Knapp, as a cross between “Superbad and True Romance.”
Friday night at 7:00pm, the riveting documentary PHILLY DA takes an unflinching look at Philadelphia’s controversial progressive District Attorney, Larry Krasner. During his 30 years as a civil rights attorney, Krasner called out policies that caused Philadelphia to become one of the major cities in America with the most incarcerations. More than 75 times, he sued police officers who perpetuated corruption and brutality. This made him an unlikely candidate for district attorney, but in 2017 he launched an election campaign that promised to reform the system.
Passionate in his beliefs and buoyed by activists committed to ending mass incarceration, Krasner set out to revolutionize his city’s criminal justice system from the inside. The film will be Introduced by Co-Director Ted Passon who will follow up with Q&A after the screening. Expect fireworks.
Saturday afternoon we present the PA premiere of THE NIGHT OF THE BEAST – an urban road trip that follows two Bogota teenagers trying to get into the first Iron Maiden concert in Colombia, a historic event that had been awaited for three decades by fans of the metal band which eventually came to pass in 2008 in the Colombian capital. Metalheads of all ages pawned their instruments and saved for months just to get the tickets.
The film is directed by Mauricio Leiva-Cock – the showrunner behind Netflix’s GREEN FRONTIER and features a soundtrack of songs from Iron Maiden such as “Aces High” and “The Trooper” alongside Colombian metal bands like Vein, Agony, Masacre, Darkness, La Pestilencia and others.
Closer to home, JTIFF is proud to present the first live in-person screening of MARIONETTE LAND by Lancaster native, Alexander Monelli who’s first feature, AT THE DRIVE-IN, about the rebirth of the Mahoning Drive-in in Lehighton, won “Best Local Feature” at the 2017 Philadelphia Film Festival.
MARIONETTE LAND is an intimate portrait of the wonderful world of Robert Brock, a man who lives above his own magical marionette theatre with his mother, Lary Lou. Brock creates and performs classic one-man shows for kids and families, as well as grown-up shows where he straps on heels to become famous Hollywood starlets of yesteryear. Director Alexander Monelli will be on hand to introduce his film and do Q&A after the screening.
Following Marionette Land, we present our Saturday prime time feature, NIGHT DRIVE. When Russell picks up an enigmatic young woman through a ride-share app, his mundane evening suddenly takes an interesting turn. Slipping him a handful of $100’s, she convinces him to cancel his plans and be her personal driver for the rest of the evening. But all bets are off after they accidentally run over a guy, setting in motion a chain of events Russell could never have imagined. Directors’ Meghan Leon & Brad Baruh’s charming, Coen-esque comedy of errors, takes the viewer on a wild ride of twists and turns and always keeps you guessing.
Saturday night at Midnight, we welcome back our favorite GRINDHOUSE auteur, Jeffery Garcia, who returns to Jim Thorpe from San Marcos, Texas to present his first gloriously-offensive full-length feature film, HENRIETTA AND HER DISMAL DISPLAY OF AFFECTION.
After a lusty sexual affair leaves a family divided and a father devastated, Henrietta “Alice McAllister” must do what she can to hold on to what little dignity her family has left. Along the way, the family encounters a diverse and colorful cast of burnouts, hippies, deviants and rejects, thrown mercilessly into the mysterious and maddening misfortunes of Reedville, Texas. NO ONE UNDER 18 ADMITTED TO THE GRINDHOUSE BLOCK.
Screening Sunday afternoon is one of our most unusual and fascinating features, STRAWBERRY MANSION, a surrealistic sci-fi adventure / romantic comedy directed and written by Albert Birney & Kentucker Audley. In a dystopian future where dreams can be taxed and invaded by advertisers, government agent, James Preble, travels to the eccentric home of aging artist Arabella Isadora to audit her dreams and finds himself falling in love as he explores her subconscious, stored on a vast library of VHS tapes. The film had its world premiere at Sundance in January.
Despite our international flavor, JTIFF always strives to encourage our community of local creators to become a part of the annual festival. And our efforts have definitely paid off this year as the films we’re presenting in both the PA STUDENT FILMMAKER block (Saturday at 11:00am) and the LOCAL HEROES block (Sunday at 11:00am) are the best we’ve seen since the birth of the festival four years ago. And we are thrilled to see excellent new work by Local Hero alumni Anthony Cundro, Tedd Hazard and Michael Sheridan, and PA Student Filmmaker, Graham Burrell.
CLOSING NIGHT FEATURE – The festival closes Sunday 4/25 with the intense ANNE AT 13,000 FEET that stars Deragh Campbell in an acting tour de force as Anne, a troubled, socially-awkward daycare worker whose life radically changes after she skydives for the first time at a friend’s bachelorette party. The film premiered in competition last Fall at the Toronto International Film Festival.
And no film festival worth its salted popcorn would be complete without a big, glitzy party. So this year’s FILMMAKERS’ GALA will be held at the incredible, newly-expanded Victor Stabin Museum @ 268 W. Broadway, Friday 4/23 right after PHILLY DA. There’ll be a Cash Bar, music, dancing, hor d’oeuvres and a free limo-bus that will transport festival-goers from the opera house to the Stabin museum. (Otherwise, a 10-minute walk up Broadway). The cavernous venue now boasts over 7,000 square feet of COVID-safe space including their gorgeous outdoor patio!
So ditch your old sweat pants, and dig out your fanciest, pre-COVID night-on-the-town garb and we’ll see you on the red carpet!
*** NOTE: JTIFF will be following CDC Guidelines for COVID-19 prevention and will maintain established protocols to keep all festival goers safe including mandatory masks, social distancing and reduced seating capacity at the Mauch Chunk Opera House.
PASSES & TICKETS
All Access VIP Pass for all screenings & parties = $160
Opening Night Thurs 4/22 = $20
Day Pass Fri 4/23 = $30
Day Pass Sat 4/24 = $50
Day Pass Sun 4/25 = $30
Filmmakers’ Gala Fri 4/23 = $25
Individual Film Block = $10
Awards Ceremony Sun 4/24 = No Charge
For tickets and more info go to: jimthorpeindiefilmfest.com
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