The Holdovers
Synopsis
Nobody likes teacher Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti) — not his students, not his fellow faculty, and not the headmaster, who all find his pomposity and rigidity exasperating. With no family and nowhere to go over the Christmas holiday in 1970, Paul is forced to remain at school to supervise students who are also unable to go home. After a few days, only one holdover remains — a trouble-making 15-year-old named Angus (Dominic Sessa), a good student whose bad behavior threatens to get him expelled. Joining Paul and Angus is head cook Mary (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), an African-American woman whose son was recently lost in Vietnam.
In his latest film, Alexander Payne, the Oscar-winning writer-director of The Descendants and Sideways, goes back to the ’70s of his youth, telling a nostalgic and comedic story of three very different shipwrecked people who together learn they are not beholden to their past, but can choose their own futures.
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Film Credits
- Mark Johnson, P.G.A., Bill Block, David Hemingson
- David Hemingson
- Kevin Tent, ACE
- Eigil Bryld
- Paul Giamatti, Da'vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
- Mark Orton
- Andrew Golov, Thom Zadra, Chris Stinson
- Miramax, Gran Via Production
- https://www.focusfeatures.com/the-holdovers
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The Hypnosis Hypnosen
Synopsis
This incisive, quick-witted, and cringe-inducing satire opens with André and Vera on the cusp of a business breakthrough. Invited to pitch their app concept at an international workshop for young entrepreneurs, the Swedish duo begins to feverishly prepare. Then, days before the event, Vera books a session with a hypnotherapist in hopes that it will help her quit smoking. Now, she’s suddenly cigarette-free and has a new outlook on life — one that is completely free of social inhibitions. As their big moment approaches, André begins to worry.
This delightfully awkward sendup of modern entrepreneurial culture is an ironic, open-hearted look at what it means to be your authentic self in the face of societal expectations.
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Film Credits
- Mimmi Spång
- Mads Stegger, Ernst De Geer
- Robert Krantz
- Jonathan Bjerstedt
- Asta Kamma August, Herbert Nordrum, Andrea Edwards, David Fukamachi Regnfors, Moa Niklasson, Simon Rajala, Aviva Wrede, Alexandra Zetterberg Ehn, Kristina Braden Whitaker, Karin de Frumerie, Julien Combes
- Peder Kjellsby
- Garagefilm International AB, Film I Väst AB, Mer Film AS, Totem Atelier
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The Love Stories of Liv S. Les histoires d'amour de Liv S.
Synopsis
A reconstruction of a life through a series of encounters, this decades-spanning portrait of one woman’s romantic history from girlhood crush to middle-life heartbreak investigates the joy and pain of partnership. Liv, a filmmaker and the lead singer of a post-punk band, drifts through a cycle of love and separation, in search of someone or something — even she can’t grasp what, exactly — with a sense of optimism and self-aware irony.
Vulnerable, playful, and honest, this offbeat rom-com oozes with charisma in its montage and mise-en-scène, and is buoyed by original glitter-grunge music. But, much like the character of Liv herself, the delightful, wry exterior of this confessional film belies an inner depth that plumbs questions of intimacy, compatibility, and connection without the promise of answers or resolutions.
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Film Credits
- Aline Schmid and Adrian Blaser
- Anna Luif, Marie Fourquet
- Nicolas Hislaire
- Timon Schäppi
- Agnès Delachair, Marie Fontannaz, Jean-Christophe Folly, Baptiste Gilliéron, Andranic Manet, François Neycken, Dimitri Stapfer, Antonin Schopfer, Rémi Fortin, Rebecca Bonvin
- Balz Bachmann
- Beauvoir Films
- https://www.love-film.ch
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The Nature of Love Simple comme Sylvain
Synopsis
Plenty of films have been made about adultery. But not many of them are rom-coms told from the perspective of the philandering woman. Sophia (Magalie Lépine Blondeau) is a philosophy professor whose relationship with nice guy Xavier (Francis-William Rhéaume) stimulates her mind — and that’s about it. Enter Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), a simple handyman who excites Sophia in all the ways her partner cannot. How can she choose between these two very different men, each of whom satisfies her in distinct ways?
Writer-director Monia Chokri asks a provocative question — can sexual and intellectual gratification co-exist in the same relationship? — in this seductive, playful story about having it all.
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Film Credits
- Sylvain Corbeil, Nancy Grant, Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz
- Monia Chokri
- Pauline Gaillard
- André Turpin
- Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Monia Chokri
- Emile Sornin
- Philippe Lombart
- Metafilms, MK Productions
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The People’s Joker
Synopsis
Although it made headlines as a wildly parodic rebuke to corporate IP, The People’s Joker is also a surprisingly intimate and heartfelt film. Quadruple-hyphenate writer-director-effects artist Vera Drew stars as “Joker,” an alt-comedy clown in Gotham City whose journey towards self-actualization is facilitated by her pal The Penguin (Nathan Faustyn) and a vat of feminizing chemicals.
The People’s Joker originated online, with a call for musicians, actors, and filmmakers to contribute to a “queer coming-of-age film” set inside the Batman universe. More than 150 artists responded, and their contributions are woven into this madcap work of comedic resistance. With a supporting cast that includes SNL‘s Sarah Squirm and Tim & Eric regular David Liebe Hart, The People’s Joker is a brilliant take on the personal nature of fandom, a love letter to trans artists and trans creativity, and an uproarious comedy from an exciting new talent.
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Film Credits
- Joey Lyons, Vera Drew
- Bri LeRose, Vera Drew
- Vera Drew
- Nate Cornett
- Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Griffin Kramer, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart, Tim Heidecker, Ruin Carroll, Bob Odenkirk, Scott Aukerman, Trevor Drinkwater, Denali Winter, Bambi Bell, Dan Curry, Daniella Baker, Maria Bamford
- Justin Krol, Quinn Scharber, Ember Knight, Danni Rowan, Elias and the Error
- Brian Alkerton, Riccardo Maddalosso, Bee Frederickson, Leo Kovalik Jr., Joey Lyons
- Haunted Gay Ride Productions
- https://thepeoplesjoker.com
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