Mike Faist is no stranger to musicals. He originated the role of Connor Murphy in the Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen," for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical. He also originated the role of Morris Delancey in Disney's "Newsies." He's been in films like "The Unspeakable Act," "Wildling," and "Panic." And now, he's taking on the role of Riff in the Steven Spielberg-directed "West Side Story."
Faist is easily a standout in the cast, which is saying something. He's working with the original Anita, Rita Moreno, and the film also stars Ansel Elgort,...
The post West Side Story Star Mike Faist on Playing Riff & the 'Jet-Tivities' Weekend [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
Faist is easily a standout in the cast, which is saying something. He's working with the original Anita, Rita Moreno, and the film also stars Ansel Elgort,...
The post West Side Story Star Mike Faist on Playing Riff & the 'Jet-Tivities' Weekend [Interview] appeared first on /Film.
- 12/10/2021
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
Many of the most scarring breakups we suffer in life are not with lovers, but with friends: people we once trusted with our most closely guarded truths, reduced over the years to strangers, or more wrenchingly still, to polite occasional acquaintances. Yet we rarely refer to these breakups as such. We talk about “drifting apart” or “losing touch” or some other euphemism that makes the loss sound less severe, as if our friendships carry less weight than our romances. We belittle them, even, with phrases like “just friends,” as if the designation is somehow less complex. The unstinting marital drama is a genre unto itself; rarer are the films that scrutinize the progression of a platonic friendship with equivalent gravity and intricacy.
Dan Sallitt’s “Fourteen” is one: a wise, graceful but viciously felt study of middle-school best friends whose bond becomes a burden the further they recede into adulthood,...
Dan Sallitt’s “Fourteen” is one: a wise, graceful but viciously felt study of middle-school best friends whose bond becomes a burden the further they recede into adulthood,...
- 5/18/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Micro-budgeted and entirely self-financed projects by a critic and director with a day job in It, the films of Dan Sallitt feel light years away from anything currently produced in the United States. And the dissonance owes as much to their shoestring means as to the emotional wealth they harbor. To be treading into Sallitt’s luminous cinema—a body of work that so far spans five features and one short, Caterina, his latest project—is to wade into a universe dotted with psychologically complex characters grappling with unfulfilled desires and shape-shifting relationships.It’s a world that feels curiously domestic in scope, pivoting as it often does on character studies and couples’ portraits, like the L.A.-stranded protagonists of Sallitt’s 1986 debut Polly Perverse Strikes Again!, the best friends turned newlyweds in Honeymoon (1998), the two estranged sisters in All The Ships at Sea (2004), or the other sibling duo...
- 5/13/2020
- MUBI
We’ve been big on Dan Sallitt’s Fourteen since its premiere at last year’s Berlinale, calling it “an acutely observed and quietly expansive little film” about the struggles of friendship between two distinctly different women. Although we named it one of year’s best undistributed films just four months ago, it’s opening next week—virtually, given these times—via Grasshopper Film, who’ve premiered a trailer and poster. (Which now makes it one of 10 films to see this month.)
Starring Tallie Medel and Norma Kuhling (Chicago Med), the movie, which I saw last year, efficiently moves across an entire decade, and in 90-or-so minutes captures time’s alternately enriching and corrosive effects in a way that’s practically novelistic in depth.
See both below:
Mara and Jo, in their twenties, have been close friends since middle school. Jo, the more outgoing figure, is a social worker who...
Starring Tallie Medel and Norma Kuhling (Chicago Med), the movie, which I saw last year, efficiently moves across an entire decade, and in 90-or-so minutes captures time’s alternately enriching and corrosive effects in a way that’s practically novelistic in depth.
See both below:
Mara and Jo, in their twenties, have been close friends since middle school. Jo, the more outgoing figure, is a social worker who...
- 5/5/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Grasshopper Film has required the U.S. distribution rights to Fourteen, the feature about female friendship from writer/director Dan Sallitt, which premiered at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival. Starring Tallie Medel and Norma Kuhling (NBC’s Chicago Med), the pic is slated for a theatrical release in the spring followed by a digital and home video release.
The story centers on Mara and Jo who, now in their twenties, have been close friends since middle school. Jo, the more outgoing figure, is a social worker who runs through a series of brief but intense relationships. Mara, a less splashy personality than Jo, bounces among teacher aide jobs while trying to land a position in elementary education, and writes fiction in her spare time. She too has a transient romantic life, though she seems to settle down after meeting Adam, a mild-mannered software developer.
The story centers on Mara and Jo who, now in their twenties, have been close friends since middle school. Jo, the more outgoing figure, is a social worker who runs through a series of brief but intense relationships. Mara, a less splashy personality than Jo, bounces among teacher aide jobs while trying to land a position in elementary education, and writes fiction in her spare time. She too has a transient romantic life, though she seems to settle down after meeting Adam, a mild-mannered software developer.
- 1/15/2020
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
There is an uncomfortable, universal wound being picked at in Dan Sallitt’s latest film, regardless of which of its characters the viewer relates to more. The question is this: can we ever outgrow those close friends we looked up to in our younger years or are we destined to forever carry that complex around? This conundrum is what gnaws at the heart of Fourteen, an acutely observed and quietly expansive little film from the New York director of The Unspeakable Truth (another film with uncomfortable ideas about pseudo-siblinghood). This new feature concerns the alpha-beta (as it is perceived by the characters) relationship of two young women living in Brooklyn as, over the course of a decade or so, the beta friend adjusts to the pains and realizations of growing up and growing apart.
Fourteen stars Tallie Medel–who got her first break playing the lead in The Unspeakable Act...
Fourteen stars Tallie Medel–who got her first break playing the lead in The Unspeakable Act...
- 2/9/2019
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
“You need something all the time!” Mara snaps at Jo. “It gets difficult.” It’s a little comment, but one that’s been at least 10 years in the making. After more than a decade of intense — and intensely unbalanced — friendship in which the burden of emotional responsibility has only ever belonged to her, Mara (Tallie Medel) finds that her patience is starting to wear thin. Jo (Norma Kuhling) has just flaked out on dinner plans for the a zillionth time, and then shown up at Mara’s door at 12:40 A.M. in a fever about some other thing; she’s in another one of her panics about being fired from another one of her jobs.
Jo’s trouble goes a bit deeper than the average millennial’s post-adolescent slump, but Mara doesn’t really care about the reasons anymore. She’s getting her shit together. Not in a “strut...
Jo’s trouble goes a bit deeper than the average millennial’s post-adolescent slump, but Mara doesn’t really care about the reasons anymore. She’s getting her shit together. Not in a “strut...
- 2/8/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
In today’s film news roundup, a science-fiction Tom Hanks project will arrive in 2020, “Hearts Beat Loud” gets a film festival slot, and “Notes on an Appearance” gets distribution.
Release Dates
Universal Pictures has dated Tom Hanks’ sci-fi story “Bios” for Oct. 2, 2020, along with giving horror-thriller “The Turning” a Feb. 22 launch and canine drama “A Dog’s Journey” for May 17, 2019.
Hanks stars in Amblin Entertainment’s “Bios” as the last man on Earth who builds a robot to keep his beloved dog safe. As the trio embarks upon an epic cross-country journey, the scientist must teach his creation to become “human” enough to take care of its charge… and the beloved pet to accept a new master.
“Bios” is directed by Miguel Sapochnik from a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. Producers are Kevin Misher, as well as ImageMovers’ Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine. Robert Zemeckis, Luck, Sapochnik, and...
Release Dates
Universal Pictures has dated Tom Hanks’ sci-fi story “Bios” for Oct. 2, 2020, along with giving horror-thriller “The Turning” a Feb. 22 launch and canine drama “A Dog’s Journey” for May 17, 2019.
Hanks stars in Amblin Entertainment’s “Bios” as the last man on Earth who builds a robot to keep his beloved dog safe. As the trio embarks upon an epic cross-country journey, the scientist must teach his creation to become “human” enough to take care of its charge… and the beloved pet to accept a new master.
“Bios” is directed by Miguel Sapochnik from a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. Producers are Kevin Misher, as well as ImageMovers’ Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine. Robert Zemeckis, Luck, Sapochnik, and...
- 5/5/2018
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Tucking away in the “lounge” of the crowded downtown multiplex last year that hosted the Toronto Film Festival, this writer managed to wrangle a wide-ranging interview with directors Matías Piñeiro and Dan Sallitt regarding the former’s new film, Hermia & Helena. This is the first work by the acclaimed filmmaker to take place outside his home nation of Argentina, something that pays off in the film to ends both bittersweet and totally strange. Coming off as less an interview and more a moderated discussion between the two directors (the latter’s involvement in the film being a surprisingly effective acting turn), this was a great opportunity to bask in the kindness and knowledge of two kindred spirits.
As the film opens at Film Society of Lincoln Center and Metrograph, read the conversation below.
The Film Stage: What was the image you had gotten of New York, at least before living there?...
As the film opens at Film Society of Lincoln Center and Metrograph, read the conversation below.
The Film Stage: What was the image you had gotten of New York, at least before living there?...
- 5/25/2017
- by Ethan Vestby
- The Film Stage
Dustin Guy Defa makes his Sundance Film Festival feature debut with “Person to Person,” and he doesn’t know what to expect. He’s had a lot of disappointments in his life, ranging from being the kind of penniless artist whose survival demands long-term couch surfing to overcoming a nightmare family of origin. (It yielded his 2011 Sundance short, “Family Nightmare.”)
However, “Person To Person” also gives real weight to the time-worn trope that values the journey over the destination. With a cast that includes names like Michael Cera and”Broad City” star Abbi Jacobson as well as indie filmmaking stalwarts like David Zellner and Benny Safdie, it reflects the success he’s had building his place in independent filmmaking and the joy he brings with it. “It comes through loud and clear in his work,” said filmmaker David Lowery, a longtime Defa fan. “It’s the reason why his movies...
However, “Person To Person” also gives real weight to the time-worn trope that values the journey over the destination. With a cast that includes names like Michael Cera and”Broad City” star Abbi Jacobson as well as indie filmmaking stalwarts like David Zellner and Benny Safdie, it reflects the success he’s had building his place in independent filmmaking and the joy he brings with it. “It comes through loud and clear in his work,” said filmmaker David Lowery, a longtime Defa fan. “It’s the reason why his movies...
- 1/20/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Ryan Kampe’s New York-based sales agent has announced the hire of its new manager of acquisitions.
Trzebiatowska arrives from the Off Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema in Poland and replaces long-time head of acquisitions Aida LiPera.
The new hire served the last seven years as artistic director at the Kraków-based festival and will hold on to her duties at the festival.
Trzebiatowska trained in production and post-production at the BBC and the broadcast department of the British Museum. In 2012 she produced The Unspeakable Act by Dan Sallitt.
“We have known Ania for a long time and couldn’t be more excited for her to join our team as we transition to the next phase of the company,” said Kampe.
“Her taste, network and ability to programme top-tier films show that she will be a great asset to Visit. I am confident of her ability to close on the key projects that Visit has come to...
Trzebiatowska arrives from the Off Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema in Poland and replaces long-time head of acquisitions Aida LiPera.
The new hire served the last seven years as artistic director at the Kraków-based festival and will hold on to her duties at the festival.
Trzebiatowska trained in production and post-production at the BBC and the broadcast department of the British Museum. In 2012 she produced The Unspeakable Act by Dan Sallitt.
“We have known Ania for a long time and couldn’t be more excited for her to join our team as we transition to the next phase of the company,” said Kampe.
“Her taste, network and ability to programme top-tier films show that she will be a great asset to Visit. I am confident of her ability to close on the key projects that Visit has come to...
- 6/9/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
It started with an infographic. Then more infographics. And some think pieces. And some brief TwitterRage. Over the last year and a half, women’s role in cinema, specifically Hollywood cinema, has become a lightning rod for discussion and debate, and more so than any time in the past, people are approaching film a little more critically in regards to how women are portrayed. The statistics are mind-numbingly bleak, with women representing a fraction of the work force behind the camera, from director to CEO to the best boy. Women in front of the camera rarely fair much better, with roles such as “beautiful and always understanding girlfriend/wife to the hilarious schlub” and “girl with cleavage that shoots guns in tight clothes”.
Last week I happened across a piece about the Best Actress race for the upcoming Academy Award Ceremony and the author talked about how the Actress race...
Last week I happened across a piece about the Best Actress race for the upcoming Academy Award Ceremony and the author talked about how the Actress race...
- 12/11/2014
- by Jae K. Renfrow
- SoundOnSight
The new issue of Cinema Scope features articles on Harun Farocki, Xavier Dolan, David Lynch, Eugène Green and Michael Snow and interviews with Pedro Costa, Simone Rapisarda Casanova and Peter von Bagh and more. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Ignatiy Vishnevetsky on Dan Sallitt's The Unspeakable Act, Jordan Cronk on Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, Howard Hampton on Eraserhead, David Cairns on Segundo de Chomón, Sierra Pettengill on Roberto Rossellini's Roma città aperta—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 9/21/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
The new issue of Cinema Scope features articles on Harun Farocki, Xavier Dolan, David Lynch, Eugène Green and Michael Snow and interviews with Pedro Costa, Simone Rapisarda Casanova and Peter von Bagh and more. Also in today's roundup of news and views: Ignatiy Vishnevetsky on Dan Sallitt's The Unspeakable Act, Jordan Cronk on Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, Howard Hampton on Eraserhead, David Cairns on Segundo de Chomón, Sierra Pettengill on Roberto Rossellini's Roma città aperta—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 9/21/2014
- Keyframe
“I made Mama think I was depressed – or maybe I was depressed. I don’t know. I felt like I was pretending to be depressed to avoid having the talk. But maybe I was really depressed and just thought I was pretending.”
After reading the film’s synopsis— “17-year-old Jackie is in distress as her older brother Matthew gets his first girlfriend and prepares for college. Though Matthew does not share her incestuous desire, Jackie resists the intrusion of reality on her idyllic childhood world.”—The Unspeakable Act sounds like your typical, American indie filled with moments of pseudo-psychology, overly clever dialogue, and exaggerated self-importance. But it is one of the most assured and insightful films of 2013 – and one of the least-seen. Despite a glowing review from Film Comment’s Jonathan Robbins and a spot on Ignatiy Vishnevetsky’s ‘best of’ list, the film has yet to gain the type of recognition it deserves.
After reading the film’s synopsis— “17-year-old Jackie is in distress as her older brother Matthew gets his first girlfriend and prepares for college. Though Matthew does not share her incestuous desire, Jackie resists the intrusion of reality on her idyllic childhood world.”—The Unspeakable Act sounds like your typical, American indie filled with moments of pseudo-psychology, overly clever dialogue, and exaggerated self-importance. But it is one of the most assured and insightful films of 2013 – and one of the least-seen. Despite a glowing review from Film Comment’s Jonathan Robbins and a spot on Ignatiy Vishnevetsky’s ‘best of’ list, the film has yet to gain the type of recognition it deserves.
- 3/26/2014
- by Griffin Bell
- SoundOnSight
X-Men franchise director Bryan Singer, whose first two features debuted at the Sundance Film Festival — including The Usual Suspects in 1995 — was one of the industry figures named to the Sundance juries that will judge this year’s films when the festival begins next week. Singer, who has X-Men: Days of Future Past due in May, will be one of five members of the U.S. Dramatic Jury. Other members of the juries include Tracy Chapman, Lone Scherfig, Leonard Maltin, and screenwriter Jon Spaihts (Prometheus). A complete list of the juries, courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival, can be viewed after the jump.
- 1/9/2014
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
The second edition of the Transmissions ’13: A Festival of Independent Cinema organised by the Lightcube Film Society will be held in Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication, New Delhi from November 14-18, 2013.
The festival will showcase experimental films, short films, feature films and student films. The festival will also host panel discussions, video sessions, lectures, post-film discussions. Film literature, film criticism magazines, posters will also be up for sale during the festival.
Some of the films to be screened are 23 Winters by Rajesh Jala, City of Photos by Nishtha Jain, Chitrasutram by Vipin Vijay, Riyaaz by Gurvinder Singh and Ekti Naadir Naam by Anup Singh.
The pass to the festival will cost Rs 500 for general public and Rs 300 for students. Buy tickets from here. For more details call at 7838340196 or 9910161947 or write to lightcubefilmsociety@gmail.com / anuj.malhotra@lightcube.in
Schedule:
14th November 2013
4:30 Pm – 5 Pm: Opening
6:30 Pm: 23 Winters (2013)
Dir.
The festival will showcase experimental films, short films, feature films and student films. The festival will also host panel discussions, video sessions, lectures, post-film discussions. Film literature, film criticism magazines, posters will also be up for sale during the festival.
Some of the films to be screened are 23 Winters by Rajesh Jala, City of Photos by Nishtha Jain, Chitrasutram by Vipin Vijay, Riyaaz by Gurvinder Singh and Ekti Naadir Naam by Anup Singh.
The pass to the festival will cost Rs 500 for general public and Rs 300 for students. Buy tickets from here. For more details call at 7838340196 or 9910161947 or write to lightcubefilmsociety@gmail.com / anuj.malhotra@lightcube.in
Schedule:
14th November 2013
4:30 Pm – 5 Pm: Opening
6:30 Pm: 23 Winters (2013)
Dir.
- 11/11/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Dan Sallitt tours the housefrom The Unspeakable Act in the inaugural episode of what I hope will be an ongoing series of filmed interviews with directors. Our talk, recorded in Brooklyn in July, includes Sallitt's remarks on screenwriting, the importance of Eric Rohmer on the development of his sensibility as a filmmaker, and cinephilia. Craig Keller's interview with Dan Sallitt on The Unspeakable Act, which is now available on DVD from Cinema Guild, can also be found on Mubi. Forthcoming episodes, featuring Nathan Silver and Chantal Akerman, will be available on Vimeo....
- 9/16/2013
- by Ricky D'Ambrose
- MUBI
★★★★☆ Awarded the Best International Film prize at last year's Edinburgh International Film Festival over Dan Sallitt's The Unspeakable Act and Miguel Gomes' marvellous Tabu, Chinese director's Mao Mao's Here, Then (2012) finally gets a UK release this month thanks to world cinema distributor Second Run. An almost impenetrable study of the disenfranchisement of youth, Here, Then is a film which rewards patience and an analytical appreciation of cinema. In a remote Chinese village lies an entire lost generation of youngsters, each patiently waiting for their fate to roll around the corner and send them in the right direction.
However, with each day as monotonous as the last, their lives appear to amount to little more than simply prevailing against the weariness of this secluded lifestyle. The existence of these seemingly unrelated lost souls all become interconnected through a series of chance encounters, fuelled by sexual desire, boredom and...
However, with each day as monotonous as the last, their lives appear to amount to little more than simply prevailing against the weariness of this secluded lifestyle. The existence of these seemingly unrelated lost souls all become interconnected through a series of chance encounters, fuelled by sexual desire, boredom and...
- 6/18/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The Unspeakable Act
Directed by Dan Sallitt
Written by Dan Sallitt
USA, 2012
There are countless moments in Dan Sallitt’s The Unspeakable Act that resonate far deeper than most things you’ve seen on screen; this is a precise and assured work that revels in silence and bruises the viewer with its spoken and unspoken intimacy. The film is the third entry in writer/director Dan Sallitt’s modest filmography thus far, representing some sort of miraculous watershed moment for independent cinema and for Sallitt himself. Though the director tends to deal in taboo subjects, his approach at unearthing brutal truths and honesty within the medium shines brightest in his latest. While on the surface it’s a film about incest, reducing the film and Sallitt’s intentions to a singular portrait of said taboo would prove to be a rather faulty endeavor.
We first meet Jackie (Tallie Medel) as...
Directed by Dan Sallitt
Written by Dan Sallitt
USA, 2012
There are countless moments in Dan Sallitt’s The Unspeakable Act that resonate far deeper than most things you’ve seen on screen; this is a precise and assured work that revels in silence and bruises the viewer with its spoken and unspoken intimacy. The film is the third entry in writer/director Dan Sallitt’s modest filmography thus far, representing some sort of miraculous watershed moment for independent cinema and for Sallitt himself. Though the director tends to deal in taboo subjects, his approach at unearthing brutal truths and honesty within the medium shines brightest in his latest. While on the surface it’s a film about incest, reducing the film and Sallitt’s intentions to a singular portrait of said taboo would prove to be a rather faulty endeavor.
We first meet Jackie (Tallie Medel) as...
- 3/16/2013
- by Ty Landis
- SoundOnSight
While widely acclaimed filmmakers like Richard Linklater and Quentin Tarantino routinely smuggle European influences into their work, the under-seen director Dan Sallitt does it in subtler fashion. A New York-based critic who has made four impressive features in a span of 26 years, Sallitt's subdued approach to compelling drama in contained scenarios reflects a cinephile's eye. Rather than paying outright homage, Sallitt channels some of his favorite directors into the texture of his narratives. The most obvious precedent for Sallitt's filmmaking is French New Wave figure Eric Rohmer, to whom he dedicates his latest and best movie, "The Unspeakable Act," opening at New York's Anthology Film Archives this week ahead of a DVD/VOD release through Cinema Guild this summer. Along with the theatrical premiere of "The Unspeakable Act," Anthology is also featuring a retrospective of Sallitt's earlier movies, providing an ideal opportunity to put this distinctive cinematic voice in the.
- 2/28/2013
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
News.
Just in time for Kenya's national election this weekend, Mubi will be specially showing a new film, Something Necessary (Judy Kibinge, 2013), produced by Tom Tykwer, about the country's last elections, in 2007. Something Necessary premiered in January at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and will be free to watch globally on Mubi for 24 hours starting Sunday, March 3. Russian filmmaker Aleksei German has passed away at the age of 74. We've shared one of our favorite scenes of his and would like to point to a piece we published by Maxim Pozdorovkin last March, occasioned by the traveling retrospective of German's work.
We are terrifically happy for and proud of David Cairns—Notebook columnist of The Forgotten and author of the Shadowplay blog—who has just seen the premiere of his new film co-directed with Paul Duane, Natan, at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The documentary is on Bernand Natan, a...
Just in time for Kenya's national election this weekend, Mubi will be specially showing a new film, Something Necessary (Judy Kibinge, 2013), produced by Tom Tykwer, about the country's last elections, in 2007. Something Necessary premiered in January at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and will be free to watch globally on Mubi for 24 hours starting Sunday, March 3. Russian filmmaker Aleksei German has passed away at the age of 74. We've shared one of our favorite scenes of his and would like to point to a piece we published by Maxim Pozdorovkin last March, occasioned by the traveling retrospective of German's work.
We are terrifically happy for and proud of David Cairns—Notebook columnist of The Forgotten and author of the Shadowplay blog—who has just seen the premiere of his new film co-directed with Paul Duane, Natan, at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The documentary is on Bernand Natan, a...
- 2/28/2013
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
With an exacting intelligence, a hyper-articulate quality that brings to mind the characters of American systems novels, Dan Sallitt’s The Unspeakable Act meditates on the burgeoning mutual attraction of two Brooklyn siblings in a manner that, while leaving many unsettled, has already marked his third feature as a potential breakout for the critic-filmmaker. The scions of an old-school Brooklyn bohemian writer, Jackie Kimball and Matthew Kimball (Tallie Medel and Sky Hirschkron) have long harbored a forbidden desire for one another, although it is most intensely felt on Jackie’s side. Medel’s big green eyes under dark, foreboding bangs fill in all the gaps …...
- 2/27/2013
- by Brandon Harris
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
This week’s Must Read is actually a series from Melanie Wilmink’s new blog. One of her posts totally won Bad Lit over with the introductory sentence: “Short films regularly draw the short stick when it comes to being written about.” Ain’t that the truth! So, Melanie rights this wrong with an amazingly well-thought out article/review of the “Crime Wave” shorts at the Calgary International Film Festival that digs deep into issues of cinematic authenticity. Then, she has more in-depth reviews of the “End of Days” shorts program at the fest. Finally, at least for now that I know of, she tackles the anthology film V/H/S, which has been getting lots of press, and hammers it for its overt misogyny.Wanna hear Jonas Mekas talk lovingly about his five Bolexes?The Manitoba Scene got filmmaker Deco Dawson to write an essay about his award-winning short film Keep a Modest Head,...
- 9/30/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
As a gift to myself, I “sleep in,” which means I don’t force myself awake, bolt three cups of coffee, and rush out to an 8:30 or 9 a.m screening. Instead I wake up in a more leisurely fashion and write in my room. Then I bolt three cups of coffee and rush out to stand in the rush line for an 11:30 a.m. screening in the big Festival Hall of Matteo Garrone’s Cannes entry “Reality.” Inside the theater I run into my old friend and alternative press colleague Dan Sallitt, who’s here with his third feature film, “The Unspeakable Act.” He’s already in love with Karlovy Vary, both the town (which my Indiewire colleague Jessica Kiang called “obscenely picturesque” in one of her posts) and the festival. He arrived late last night, and headed out at 11, in the vague hopes of finding some food,...
- 7/5/2012
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
★★★★☆ Directed by former Los Angeles Reader film critic Dan Sallitt, The Unspeakable Act (2012) takes one of the few remaining social taboos in the western world and presents it in an earnest and incredibly charming way. Dealing with the controversial theme of incest within a close knit, yet strangely detached family dynamic, Sallitt's film relies far more on the strength of its character development than it does on gaudy sensationalism to push home his message.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 6/29/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
‘Taboo-busting’ is a phrase that is often heard in connection with Film Festivals; I have seen several films at the Festival over the years that have tried to resolve the problem of ‘real’ sex in movies, usually to spectacular dull or unpleasant effect (the aptly-titled “Anatomy of Hell” springs to mind). The only film I’ve seen that features real sex that actually works as a movie is “Shortbus,” which had the good sense to include some humour and drop all the navel-gazing.
In most European countries films get higher certificates for violence than sex, and isn’t that fairly reasonable? That several of these movies are French may not be surprising, nor that the country that sees an orgasm as a ‘little death’ would make such glum movies. Perhaps they were so determined not to be pornographic they made sure the audience had a grim time, a trend continued...
In most European countries films get higher certificates for violence than sex, and isn’t that fairly reasonable? That several of these movies are French may not be surprising, nor that the country that sees an orgasm as a ‘little death’ would make such glum movies. Perhaps they were so determined not to be pornographic they made sure the audience had a grim time, a trend continued...
- 6/28/2012
- by Adam Whyte
- Obsessed with Film
Jackie (Tallie Medel), a teenage girl weighed down by her own emotions and insecurities about life, lives within an unconventional family dynamic and shares an, at times, uncomfortably close bond with her older brother, Matthew (Sky Hirschkron). While Matthew doesn’t reciprocate and happily embarks upon relationships with other woman, Jackie harbours a deep, romantic and sexual love for him. As Matthew heads off to college and their lives drift further and further apart, she’s forced to face up to facts and motivate herself to move on.
For a film that concerns itself with the controversial topic of incest, The Unspeakable Act is surprisingly restrained, with writer and director Dan Sallitt chooses to merely scratch the surface rather than presenting something explicit that would likely turn viewers off immediately. That’s not to say the film isn’t full of ambiguity surrounding the close-knit relationship Jackie and Matthew share...
For a film that concerns itself with the controversial topic of incest, The Unspeakable Act is surprisingly restrained, with writer and director Dan Sallitt chooses to merely scratch the surface rather than presenting something explicit that would likely turn viewers off immediately. That’s not to say the film isn’t full of ambiguity surrounding the close-knit relationship Jackie and Matthew share...
- 6/25/2012
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The filmmaker and critic Dan Sallitt has created some uncompromising, beautiful films over the years; from his feature debut All The Ships At Sea to the Honeymoon, Sallitt has examined the intersection of intimacy and personal identity with thrilling results. His latest film, The Unspeakable Act, which examines the incestuous sexual desire of a young woman named Jackie (Tallie Medel), had its World Premiere at the recent Sarasota Film Festival (where I serve as Director) and will be screened at the upcoming BAMcinemaFest on Sunday, June 24th.
Filmmaker: I wanted to ask you about the issue of desire. The Unspeakable Act seems, for me, to be directly with the issue of “becoming” through desire, the idea of transgressive desire as a marker for living between two social states; adulthood and childhood. Can you discuss this idea of desire and how it shaped the film. What inspired you to tell this story?...
Filmmaker: I wanted to ask you about the issue of desire. The Unspeakable Act seems, for me, to be directly with the issue of “becoming” through desire, the idea of transgressive desire as a marker for living between two social states; adulthood and childhood. Can you discuss this idea of desire and how it shaped the film. What inspired you to tell this story?...
- 6/22/2012
- by Tom Hall
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Dan Sallitt's new film, The Unspeakable Act, marks the return of an underseen, major American filmmaker (long esteemed as one of the superior cinema critics writing in English, often here at The Notebook) with a feature which surely ranks among the richest works of the last several years.
Additionally, the new Sallitt film introduces the world to Tallie Medel, a performer whose intellect, emotive capacity, and force of persona place her in the outstanding category of such ascendant figures as Greta Gerwig and Kate Lyn Sheil while outlining a contour of being, a persuasion, that are hers alone.
The Unspeakable Act has its New York premiere as part of BAMcinemaFest on Sunday, June 24th, and its international premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Friday, June 29th, with three screenings at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to follow in July.
The conversation below took place over email across the last two months.
Additionally, the new Sallitt film introduces the world to Tallie Medel, a performer whose intellect, emotive capacity, and force of persona place her in the outstanding category of such ascendant figures as Greta Gerwig and Kate Lyn Sheil while outlining a contour of being, a persuasion, that are hers alone.
The Unspeakable Act has its New York premiere as part of BAMcinemaFest on Sunday, June 24th, and its international premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Friday, June 29th, with three screenings at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to follow in July.
The conversation below took place over email across the last two months.
- 6/20/2012
- MUBI
Cannes is now over which means it’s time to move to Britain as the Edinburgh Film Festival kicks off!
We’ve just been sent the full line-up for the 2012 Edinburgh Film Festival which is now in it’s 66th year. We have our people (Jamie, Steven and Emma) on the ground at the event right now ready to catch as many films as they possible can throughout the next wee or two as we get to see 121 new features and 19 world premieres.
I’ll let the full press release below do the talking but let us know what you’re looking forward to in the comments section below.
World Premieres:
Berberian Sound Studio Borrowed Time Day Of The Flowers Exit Elena Flying Blind Fred Future My Love Guinea Pigs Here, Then Leave It On The Track The Life And Times Of Paul The Psychic Octopus Life Just Is Mnl...
We’ve just been sent the full line-up for the 2012 Edinburgh Film Festival which is now in it’s 66th year. We have our people (Jamie, Steven and Emma) on the ground at the event right now ready to catch as many films as they possible can throughout the next wee or two as we get to see 121 new features and 19 world premieres.
I’ll let the full press release below do the talking but let us know what you’re looking forward to in the comments section below.
World Premieres:
Berberian Sound Studio Borrowed Time Day Of The Flowers Exit Elena Flying Blind Fred Future My Love Guinea Pigs Here, Then Leave It On The Track The Life And Times Of Paul The Psychic Octopus Life Just Is Mnl...
- 5/30/2012
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The full programme for the 66th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), which runs from 20 June to 1 July, has been officially announced and will feature nineteen World premieres and thirteen International premieres.
The Festival will showcase one hundred and twenty-one new features from fifty-two countries, including eleven European premieres and seventy-six UK premieres in addition to the World and International premieres. Highlights include the World premieres of Richard Ledes’ Fred; Nathan Silver’s Exit Elena and Benjamin Pascoe’s Leave It On The Track and European premieres of Lu Sheng’s Here, There and Yang Jung-ho’s Mirage in the maiden New Perspectives section; and the International premiere of Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Gaspar Noé, Juan Carlos Tabio and Laurent Cantet’s 7 Days In Havana and the European premiere of Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America in the Directors’ Showcase. In addition to the new features presented,...
The Festival will showcase one hundred and twenty-one new features from fifty-two countries, including eleven European premieres and seventy-six UK premieres in addition to the World and International premieres. Highlights include the World premieres of Richard Ledes’ Fred; Nathan Silver’s Exit Elena and Benjamin Pascoe’s Leave It On The Track and European premieres of Lu Sheng’s Here, There and Yang Jung-ho’s Mirage in the maiden New Perspectives section; and the International premiere of Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Gaspar Noé, Juan Carlos Tabio and Laurent Cantet’s 7 Days In Havana and the European premiere of Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America in the Directors’ Showcase. In addition to the new features presented,...
- 5/30/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Today the full lineup for BAMCinemafest has been unveiled, including the opening and closing night films. (The initial slate of titles was announced just over a month ago.) The fest will be bookended by comedian Mike Birbiglia’s Sundance charmer Sleepwalk with Me and Rock ‘n’ Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen, the latest doc from British musician and filmmaker Don Letts (Dancehall Queen).
The Spotlight screening is Benh Zeitlin’s Sundance Grand Prize winner Beasts of the Southern Wild, and other highlights out of the newly announced titles include the Ross brothers’ Tchoupitoulas, Cory McAbee’s Crazy and Thief and Tim Sutton’s Pavilion (all of which I’m very excited to catch up with.)
Speaking about the 2012 lineup, BAMcinématek’s program director Florence Almozini said, “I’m really excited about the fourth edition of BAMcinemaFest as it may be our best yet. I think we’re refining...
The Spotlight screening is Benh Zeitlin’s Sundance Grand Prize winner Beasts of the Southern Wild, and other highlights out of the newly announced titles include the Ross brothers’ Tchoupitoulas, Cory McAbee’s Crazy and Thief and Tim Sutton’s Pavilion (all of which I’m very excited to catch up with.)
Speaking about the 2012 lineup, BAMcinématek’s program director Florence Almozini said, “I’m really excited about the fourth edition of BAMcinemaFest as it may be our best yet. I think we’re refining...
- 5/3/2012
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Sarasota Film Festival, wrapping today, has announced this year's round of awards and SarasotaPatch has the full list. We especially want to congratulate Dan Sallitt, whose The Unspeakable Act has won Best Film in the Independent Visions competition. As Dan tells the Ditmas Park Corner, the film centers on a girl who "has her own vision, which is totally at odds with society's vision of what she's supposed to do with her romantic and sexual urges." And, as we noted last month, The Unspeakable Act will screen in June at New York's BAMcinemaFest.
The Nashville Film Festival is on through Thursday and Sam Smith's designed not only the poster but also the cover of the current Nashville Scene, wherein you'll find a robust collection of capsule reviews.
Nadav Lapid's Policeman won Best Film and Best Director at the Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente yesterday. Diego...
The Nashville Film Festival is on through Thursday and Sam Smith's designed not only the poster but also the cover of the current Nashville Scene, wherein you'll find a robust collection of capsule reviews.
Nadav Lapid's Policeman won Best Film and Best Director at the Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente yesterday. Diego...
- 4/22/2012
- MUBI
Today the BAMcinemaFest unveiled a selection of the films that will play at Brooklyn’s Bam between June 20 and July 1. The slate is dominated by titles that premiered in at Sundance, although there are also films here that bowed at Toronto and Cannes last year. The vast majority of the films announced here are also made by New Yorkers — many of them Brooklynites — while Brian M. Cassidy & Melanie Shatzky (named in our 25 New Faces back in 2007) enjoy the rare coup of having two films in the fest: the narrative Francine and the doc The Patron Saints.
Two films worth flagging up are Dan Sallitt’s The Unspeakable Act and Jonathan Caouette’s Walk Away Renée. A film critic who has made two previous features, Sallitt (who lives a stone’s throw from Bam) will debut his bold and surprising portrait of an unconventional brother-sister relationship at next month’s Sarasota...
Two films worth flagging up are Dan Sallitt’s The Unspeakable Act and Jonathan Caouette’s Walk Away Renée. A film critic who has made two previous features, Sallitt (who lives a stone’s throw from Bam) will debut his bold and surprising portrait of an unconventional brother-sister relationship at next month’s Sarasota...
- 3/29/2012
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
BAMcinématek has announced a first round of titles for its fourth annual BAMcinemaFest, running June 20 through July 1, and we've already placed one of them at the top of our must-see list: The Unspeakable Act, directed by frequent Notebook contributor Dan Sallitt. Here's the official synopsis: "Jackie's romantic feelings for her brother Matthew form the unlikely backdrop against which the milestones of adolescence — choosing a college, losing one's virginity — unspool in film critic Sallitt's long-awaited directorial return, an unnervingly dispassionate take on the last taboo, set in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park."
The other narrative features slated for the 12-day summer festival:
Rick Alverson's The Comedy. A roundup's in the pipeline. Craig Zobel's Compliance. See the Sundance roundup. So Yong Kim's For Ellen. Roundup forthcoming. Brian M Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's Francine. Likewise. Ry Russo-Young's Nobody Walks. Sundance roundup. Keith Miller's Welcome to Pine Hill. The Slamdance roundup's got the trailer.
The other narrative features slated for the 12-day summer festival:
Rick Alverson's The Comedy. A roundup's in the pipeline. Craig Zobel's Compliance. See the Sundance roundup. So Yong Kim's For Ellen. Roundup forthcoming. Brian M Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's Francine. Likewise. Ry Russo-Young's Nobody Walks. Sundance roundup. Keith Miller's Welcome to Pine Hill. The Slamdance roundup's got the trailer.
- 3/28/2012
- MUBI
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