Named one of Filmmaker magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” in 2007, New York–based co-conspirators Melanie Shatzky and Brian M. Cassidy gravitated toward moving-image storytelling after earning master’s degrees in photography at the School of Visual Arts. Exploring the porous borders between narrative and nonfiction, while importing many of the techniques they’d learned as Mfa students in another visual discipline, Shatzky and Cassidy debuted two equally memorable, conspicuously stylized shorts that year, The Delaware Project (fiction) and God Provides (a nine-minute doc), which premiered at the Rotterdam and Sundance Film Festivals, respectively. In 2011, The Patron Saints, a six-years-in-the-making “hyperrealistic” feature documentary that peeks at life in a nursing home with curiosity, discomfiting candor, and eccentric flashes of dark humor, unspooled at Toronto and further aligned the husband-and-wife team with a heightened cinematic style that borrows something from portraitists-of-the-everyday Walker Evans and William Eggleston.
Continuing their exploration in...
Continuing their exploration in...
- 9/12/2012
- by Damon Smith
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Today two recent festival favorites, Bob Byington’s Somebody Up There Likes Me and Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s Francine, found distribution.
Somebody, which stars Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman and former “25 New Face” Jess Weixler, premiered at SXSW earlier this year and has now been picked up by Tribeca Film, to be released in Spring 2013. The fifth feature from Byington (Harmony and Me, Rso [Registered Sex Offender]), it is about a trio of friends (Offerman, Weixler and regular Byington collaborator Keith Poulson) who waste their lives on meaningless relationships as time ebbs away. Geoff Gilmore, the former Sundance head who is now Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, said of the movie, “Somebody Up There Likes Me displays all the quirkiness, personality, and distinction that defines independent filmmaking. Infused with a biting, dry sense of humor and filled with wonderful performances from a talented cast, Bob Byington’s latest film...
Somebody, which stars Parks and Recreation‘s Nick Offerman and former “25 New Face” Jess Weixler, premiered at SXSW earlier this year and has now been picked up by Tribeca Film, to be released in Spring 2013. The fifth feature from Byington (Harmony and Me, Rso [Registered Sex Offender]), it is about a trio of friends (Offerman, Weixler and regular Byington collaborator Keith Poulson) who waste their lives on meaningless relationships as time ebbs away. Geoff Gilmore, the former Sundance head who is now Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, said of the movie, “Somebody Up There Likes Me displays all the quirkiness, personality, and distinction that defines independent filmmaking. Infused with a biting, dry sense of humor and filled with wonderful performances from a talented cast, Bob Byington’s latest film...
- 7/25/2012
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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
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
Melissa Leo's "Francine," from directors Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, will premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 13. Check out the new poster for the American-Canadian co-production. Leo stars as woman regaining her foothold in society after being released from prison. The security of temporary jobs proves just as elusive as the relationships she tries to build with the people in her new-found small town in North America. Her failure with human connection leads her to seek support from animals, with tragic consequences. More on this first feature narrative from Cassidy and Shatzky below (their doc "The Patron Saints" played Toronto 2011 and...
- 2/9/2012
- Thompson on Hollywood
We've been raving about this pair of filmmakers since we caught their candid, visual essay The Patron Saints at Tiff last year, and now we've got a pair of stills from Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's feature film debut, which is set to showcase at the 2012 edition of the Berlin Film Festival. Featuring Melissa Leo in what we imagine is an atypical role for the actress, Francine (#23 in our Most Anticipated Films list for 2012) will have its U.S premiere at SXSW next March in the Emerging Visions section. This is about a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison. Taking a series of jobs working with animals, Francine turns away those who take an interest in her and instead seeks intimacy in the most unlikely of places.
- 2/2/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
We have a report or two from the International Film Festival Rotterdam on the way, so this'll be something of a supplementary roundup, collecting reviews, impressions and so on from the festival that runs through Sunday. The first main event would have to be the world premiere of the film Takashi Miike is now calling Ace Attorney. The Iffr has posted a video record of Gawie Keyser's "Big Talk" with Miike that took place on Saturday. The introduction's in Dutch, and it's followed by a trailer with English subtitles (much longer, too, than the first trailer) and the conversation itself is a mingling of questions in English and answers in Japanese with Dutch subtitles. Miike obsessives, though, will be able to sort out what's being said.
"The Iffr and Miike have been friendly towards each other ever since Audition had a few legendary screenings over here back in 2000, and it...
"The Iffr and Miike have been friendly towards each other ever since Audition had a few legendary screenings over here back in 2000, and it...
- 2/1/2012
- MUBI
Today's announcement from the International Film Festival Rotterdam lays out the full lineup for the Bright Future program. With descriptions from the festival:
World premieres
A la cantábrica (To La Cantábrica), Ezequiel Erriquez, Argentina. A "coming of age film set in the outskirts of Buenos Aires during the economic crisis of the late 1990s." Blog.
Corta, Felipe Guerrero, Colombia, Argentina, France. Guerrero "associates the work of sugar cane harvesters with the process of 16mm filmmaking. This film is a beautiful, cinematic meditation reminiscent of the work of Sharon Lockhart or Ben Russell." The Ultimate Pranx Case, Influenz Films, Canada. "In 2010, three boys had a prank with a girl at school and streamed it live on Internet. What started as an innocent joke soon got completely out of hand." Par exemple, Electre (Electre, For Instance), Jeanne Balibar and Pierre Léon, France. "In this eclectic homage to the Greek tragedy, Balibar and...
World premieres
A la cantábrica (To La Cantábrica), Ezequiel Erriquez, Argentina. A "coming of age film set in the outskirts of Buenos Aires during the economic crisis of the late 1990s." Blog.
Corta, Felipe Guerrero, Colombia, Argentina, France. Guerrero "associates the work of sugar cane harvesters with the process of 16mm filmmaking. This film is a beautiful, cinematic meditation reminiscent of the work of Sharon Lockhart or Ben Russell." The Ultimate Pranx Case, Influenz Films, Canada. "In 2010, three boys had a prank with a girl at school and streamed it live on Internet. What started as an innocent joke soon got completely out of hand." Par exemple, Electre (Electre, For Instance), Jeanne Balibar and Pierre Léon, France. "In this eclectic homage to the Greek tragedy, Balibar and...
- 1/15/2012
- MUBI
#23. Francine Directors/Writers: Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie ShatzkyProducers: Washington Square Films' Joshua Blum (And Everything Is Going Fine) and Katie SternDistributor: Rights Available The Gist: Francine (Melissa Leo), is a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison. Taking a series of jobs working with animals, Francine turns away those who take an interest in her and instead seeks intimacy in the most unlikely of places...(more) Cast: Melissa Leo is the heart and soul of the drama. Keith Leonard, Victoria Charkut, Dave Clark and Mike Halstead co-star. List Worthy Reasons...: The Tiff preemed The Patron Saints was my introduction to the extremely gifted husband and wife directing team of Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky. Some called their vigorous docu-essay depressing, I couldn't have been more animated by this unclassifiable document and I can just imagine...
- 1/8/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
#80. Francine - Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky And for my final pick, I'm thinking that the husband-and-wife filmmaker team of Melanie Shatzky and Brian M. Cassidy will lock up a U.S Dramatic Comp section slot for their feature (fiction) debut. Francine should be among the buzz titles of the fest for what Melissa Leo (who plays the titular lead) will bring to the role, but my high expectations for the title have plenty more to do with my viewing of the craft in the stunning Tiff preemed The Patron Saints (here's our 4-star review and interview). The pair were previously at Sundance back in 2007 with their docu short, God Provides. Gist: Francine (Melissa Leo), is a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison. Taking a series of jobs working with animals, Francine turns away those who take...
- 11/15/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
The second shot of The Patron Saints is a slow pan across a wide swath of no-man’s land, the sad sound of a prairie wind reinforcing the impression of emptiness. Suddenly the camera stops moving at the sight of a building, several stories high, looking as if it were plunked down on Auntie Em’s farm in Oz after the tornado. There are no signs: This feels like the middle of nowhere.
Thanks to five years of work by filmmakers Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, we are able to experience what is inside, meeting and observing the residents whose privacy, like the location of the structure (“somewhere in the U.S.,” says Shatzky), the directors protect. This is a nursing home. Most of the residents are quite old and suffer some form of dementia. That early shot anticipates the mode the co-directors opt for: an abstraction of the isolation...
Thanks to five years of work by filmmakers Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, we are able to experience what is inside, meeting and observing the residents whose privacy, like the location of the structure (“somewhere in the U.S.,” says Shatzky), the directors protect. This is a nursing home. Most of the residents are quite old and suffer some form of dementia. That early shot anticipates the mode the co-directors opt for: an abstraction of the isolation...
- 9/9/2011
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Photographers-documentarians Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky use dark humor and unconventional storytelling techniques to look at patients living in a nursing home for their debut feature, The Patron Saints. Known for their Hurricane Katrina short God Provides and their photography highlighted on their site, piegonprojects.com (two reasons why we selected them for our 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2007), Cassidy and Shatzky’s unique eye of making the ordinary look extraordinary has us excited in seeing this premiere at Tiff.
Filmmaker: Tell us a little about what your film is about?
Cassidy/Shatzky: The Patron Saints is a hyperrealistic glimpse into life at a nursing home.
Filmmaker: What motivated you to tell a story about life in a nursing home?
Cassidy/Shatzky: A feeling that we might be able to depict an aspect of life that is rarely, if ever seen on film. A lot of people have...
Filmmaker: Tell us a little about what your film is about?
Cassidy/Shatzky: The Patron Saints is a hyperrealistic glimpse into life at a nursing home.
Filmmaker: What motivated you to tell a story about life in a nursing home?
Cassidy/Shatzky: A feeling that we might be able to depict an aspect of life that is rarely, if ever seen on film. A lot of people have...
- 9/8/2011
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Yesterday, the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place between September 8 and 18, unveiled the list of Canadian films that will be screened.
Galas
A Dangerous Method Director: David Cronenberg Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Sarah Gadon
Starbuck
Director: Ken Scott
Cast: Patrick Huard, Antoine Bertrand and Patrick Labbé
Take This Waltz Director: Sarah Polley Cast: Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman
Canada First
Marécages Director: Guy Édoin Cast: Pascale Bussières, Luc Picard, Gabriel Maillé and François Papineau
Amy George Directors: Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas Cast: Gabriel del Castillo Mullally, Claudia Dey, Don Kerr and Natasha Allan
Nuit #1 Director: Anne Émond Cast: Catherine de Léan and Dimitri Storoge
The Odds Directors: Simon Davidson Cast: Tyler Johnston, Calum Worthy and Julia Maxwell
The Patron Saints Directors: Melanie Shatzky and Brian M. Cassidy
Roméo Onze Director: Ivan Grbovic Cast: Ali Ammar, Joseph Bou Nassar, Eleonore Millier, May Hilal...
Galas
A Dangerous Method Director: David Cronenberg Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Sarah Gadon
Starbuck
Director: Ken Scott
Cast: Patrick Huard, Antoine Bertrand and Patrick Labbé
Take This Waltz Director: Sarah Polley Cast: Seth Rogen, Michelle Williams and Sarah Silverman
Canada First
Marécages Director: Guy Édoin Cast: Pascale Bussières, Luc Picard, Gabriel Maillé and François Papineau
Amy George Directors: Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas Cast: Gabriel del Castillo Mullally, Claudia Dey, Don Kerr and Natasha Allan
Nuit #1 Director: Anne Émond Cast: Catherine de Léan and Dimitri Storoge
The Odds Directors: Simon Davidson Cast: Tyler Johnston, Calum Worthy and Julia Maxwell
The Patron Saints Directors: Melanie Shatzky and Brian M. Cassidy
Roméo Onze Director: Ivan Grbovic Cast: Ali Ammar, Joseph Bou Nassar, Eleonore Millier, May Hilal...
- 8/10/2011
- by noreply@blogger.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
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