We’re halfway through Cinequest 2018. What are the biggest hits and the most delightful surprises? Cinequest opened with William H. Macy’s directorial debut Krystal, which was a hit with the opening night audience. Macy successfully guided the Will Aldis story though an assortment of modes, including comedy of manners, madcap comedy and melodrama. The audience also loved the post-screening Q&A with Macy and producer Rachel Winter. Krystal will open in theaters on April 13.
INDIE WORLD PREMIERES
See it here first – Cinequest 2018 is hosting 74 world premieres, and these have been the best so far:
- Bikini Moon: The Must See indie at this Cinequest, this gripping drama features a mesmerizing performance by the ridiculously charismatic Condola Rashad. It’s the first American feature for renowned filmmaker Milcho Manchevski. Simply brilliant.
- Luba: This realistic Canadian drama explores the challenges of co-parenting with an addict. There’s a ticking time bomb finish.
- Hunting Lands: This indie is a slow burn thriller about a recluse emerging from the woods to right a horrible wrong. First time writer-director Zack Wilson lets the audience connect the dots.
- Flin Flon: A Hockey Town: This gentle documentary, without even a hint of condescension, paints a meticulous and revealing portrait of a remote Canadian hamlet and its beloved junior hockey team. From San Jose filmmaker Dustin Cohen.
WE HAVEN’T SEEN THIS BEFORE
Film festivals can showcase ambitious artists that don’t try to fit into the familiar. Here are some more world premieres:
- 7 Splinters of Time is the trippiest film in this year’s Cinequest. Eye candy galore, as time travel goes wrong and doppelgängers abound. Listed in the Cinequest program by the alternative title of Omphalos.
- Tommy Battles the Silver Sea Dragon has to be the bravest and most artistically ambitious movie premiering at Cinequest. In his debut feature as director, writer, composer and star Luke Shirock has imagined a guy put on trial by his own subconscious. And it’s a musical.
- Skull, an absolutely bizarre film, is intended to be Indonesia’s first sci-fi film. Opening with a beautiful drone shot, Skull lurches forward with bits of mystery, romance, chases and shootouts until its “science unleashes the end of the world” finish.
STILL TO COME
I’ve only seen Luba, The Line and The Wind so far, but all of these upcoming films look promising:
Tonite:
- The gripping single parent indie drama Luba.
- The Last Movie Star with Burt Reynolds and Modern Family’s Ariel Winter.
Tuesday:
- The searing Slovak thriller The Line.
- Blythe Danner, Michael Shannon, Hilary Swank, Robert Forster and Taissa Farmiga in What They Had.
Friday:
- The director Jan Sverak’s rare black-and-white cut of the Czech historical drama Barefoot.
- The silent The Wind with Lillian Gish, projected in a period movie palace, the California Theatre, accompanied by world-renowned Dennis James on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.
- The feel-good festival hit Pick of the Litter.
Saturday:
- Arnaud Desplechin’s Ismael’s Ghosts with Marion Cotillard, Mathieu Amalric and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Sunday
- Turner Classic Movie host Ben Mankiewicz presents one of his favorite classic films.
- Brothers in Arms, a documentary on the making of Platoon, co-presented by its narrator, Charlie Sheen.
Bookmark my Cinequest 2018 page, with links to all my coverage (links on the individual movies will start to go live on Sunday February 25). Follow me on Twitter for the latest.
