MINNEAPOLIS (March 8, 2017) — The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul on Thursday released the lineup of Minnesota Made films to be included in the 2017 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF). Also released are the Master Filmmaker Tribute, the Minnesota Cinematic Arts Award Honoree, a preview of two of the festival’s numerous parties, and MSPIFF’s Virtual and Augmented Reality Exhibition.
MSPIFF returns April 13-29, bringing 250 new films representing 70+ countries to audiences throughout the region. The full festival lineup will be available beginning March 23.
This year, MSPIFF—the largest film event in the Midwest—expands to include select screenings at the Capri Theater in Minneapolis, in addition to screenings at its hub at the St. Anthony Main Theatre, the Uptown Theatre, Metropolitan State University’s Film Space in St. Paul and the Marcus Wehrenberg 14 Theater in Rochester.
FILMMAKER TRIBUTES
This year, MSPIFF will honor director Frederick Wiseman with the Master Filmmaker Tribute, and Minnesota producer Sarah Pillsbury with the Minnesota Cinematic Arts Award, two annual awards that are being launched this year. The festival will feature focused retrospectives on the groundbreaking works from both Wiseman and Pillsbury.
VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY SHOWCASE
Virtual Reality (VR) has claimed its place as a dynamic visual playground for artists and filmmakers who are reimagining and transforming our cinematic experiences. With VR — and its newer twin, Augmented Reality (AR) — now coming into its own as a means of artistic expression, this year’s Festival is the perfect moment to explore this burgeoning field and fascinating new chapter in cinematic storytelling. To celebrate VR’s coming out party, we have curated a special selection of 11 VR projects (see below) that we feel represent highlights of the best, most engaging, and mind-expanding work of the last two years. The VR and the Future of Storytelling Exhibition runs from Friday, April 21 – Tuesday, April 25 at St. Anthony Main. Admission is free and open to the public.
Virtual Reality and the Future of Storytelling:
Title and Lead Artists
Across the Line (VR)
Nonny de la Peña, Jeff Fitzsimmons, Brad Lichtenstein
Giant (VR)
Milica Zec, Winslow Turner Porter III
HEROES, A Duet in Mixed Reality (AR + VR)
Melissa Painter, Eric Adrian Marshall, Tim Dillon, Thomas Wester, Jason Schugardt, Laura Gorenstein Miller
Minnesota in 360 (VR)
Chuck Olsen
Notes to My Father (VR)
Jayisha Patel
Operation Aspen (VR)
Danfung Dennis
Out of Exile: Daniel’s Story (VR)
Nonny de la Peña
Richie’s Plank Experience (VR)
Richard Eastes, Toni Eastes
Through You (VR)
Saschka Unseld, Lilly Baldwin
Under the Canopy (VR)
Patrick Meegan
Use Your Imagination (VR)
Roberto Drilea
Panel: VR/AR & the Future of Storytelling
Saturday, April 22, 5:00pm. A-Mill Artist Lofts Performance Hall, Minneapolis
Arguably the most disruptive force in filmmaking since the birth of the art form, Virtual/Augmented Reality is radically transforming how we experience the medium of film. This panel of VR and AR filmmakers, whose work is featured in our VR/AR Exhibition, will describe their path-breaking creative processes, address the technical challenges they met, and discuss how VR and AR are stretching the parameters of cinematic storytelling in bold, unpredictable, and exciting ways.
MSPIFF LINEUP PREVIEW AND XYZ PARTY
MSPIFF is not only premieres exciting films from around the world, but brings people together for parties and social events combining live music, entertainment, and cinema. Two of these events are the MSPIFF Preview Party and our annual XYZ Party.
The MSPIFF Preview Party Presented by the Star Tribune and the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul on Wednesday, April 5 brings Star Tribune Movie Critic Colin Covert, MSPIFF Programming Director Jesse Bishop and MSPIFF Programmer Craig Laurence Rice together for an exclusive conversation that will pull back the curtain on what goes into planning the largest film festival in the Midwest. The event begins with a reception at Aster Cafe’s River Room, 125 SE Main Street, Minneapolis, followed by the conversation and a screening of Page One: Inside the New York Times at the St. Anthony Main Theater, 115 SE Main Street, Minneapolis.
The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival’s annual XYZ Party: Music Video Gallery Show returns April 21, co-presented by Minnesota Music Coalition and the Minnesota Music Summit. Head to the Soap Factory for a music video experience, featuring a curated selection of some of the best national, international and Minnesota Made videos, projected on surfaces throughout the gallery space. Don’t miss live performances by Gramma’s Boyfriend and Graveyard Club, beer from Indeed Brewing Company, food trucks, and more. This event takes place Friday, April 21 from 8:00pm to midnight.
MORE THAN 80 LOCALLY MADE FILMS
MSPIFF is the focal point for local filmmakers, and we’re proud to present a line-up of more than 80 new locally made short and feature length narrative and documentary films from around the state.
MINNESOTA MADE FEATURES:
40 YEARS OF MAY DAY: A TRIPTYCH
Filmmakers attending | World Premiere
Three documentaries that explore the cultural, political, artistic, theatrical phenomenon happening every May Day in Minneapolis for over 40 years. Directed by Will Hommeyer, Daniel Polsfuss, and Mike Rivard. USA. 2017. English. 97 min. Documentary.
ACCIDENTS WAITING TO HAPPEN
Filmmaker attending | World Premiere
A documentary about the history, and the reunion of, Minneapolis Indie rock legends 12 Rods, following the band from its roots in Oxford, Ohio to working with Todd Rundgren. Directed by James Francis Flynn. USA. 2017. English. 105 min. Documentary.
THE BAKKEN
Filmmaker and crew attending | World Premiere
An intimate snapshot of the people involved in North Dakota’s historic oil boom, telling a story of rural industrialization and distress that unfolds over multiple story lines to form a mosaic of cultural, environmental, and economic turbulence. Directed by James Christenson, Lewis Wilcox, Jonah Sargent, Eliot Popko. USA. 2017. English. 85 min. Documentary.
FIRST DAUGHTER AND THE BLACK SNAKE
Filmmaker and subject attending | Minnesota Premiere
Winona LaDuke fights the Enbridge pipeline, galvanizing her community to save the sacred wild rice lakes and preserve their traditional indigenous way of life. Directed by Keri Pickett. USA. 2017. 105 min. English. Documentary.
in the wake of a second cook
Filmmaker attending | Minnesota Premiere
Woven from wildly disparate elements, in the wake of a second cook seamlessly ties nature, documentary, and fiction into a new filmic experience. Directed by Rolf Belgum. USA. 2016. English. 70 min. Narrative.
THE SOUNDING
Minnesota Premiere
After years of silence Liv begins to create a new language of her own by weaving together Shakespeare’s words. A neurologist commits her, and Liv begins to rebel. Directed by Catherine Eaton. USA. 2016. English. 89 min. Narrative.
SUPERMOTO
Filmmaker and cast members attending | World Premiere
A young woman wakes up alone in a motel room. Her boyfriend has ditched her, leaving her with a few dollars, a toothbrush, racing leathers, and a supermoto motorcycle. She’s just learned that she’s pregnant. Directed by Joe Maggio. USA. 2017. English. 85 min. Narrative.
VOICE FROM THE STONE
Filmmaker and crew attending | World Premiere
In 1950s Tuscany, Verena, a young nurse (Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke), is helping a young boy who is suffering trauma over the death of his mother while also contending with a haunted castle. Directed by Eric D. Howell. USA, Italy. 2017. English. 94 min. Narrative.
SHORTS:
Title and Director
13 Roads in Otter Tail County
Nik Nerburn
A Meanwhile Wonder
Michael Kampa
Allan Kingdom “Fables”
Martin C. Pariseau
Angels Walk
Brian Few Jr.
Audition
Michael Kuznar
Authentically You
Tyler Eichorst
Bionik (feat. Lizzo) – “Ball Like Beijing”
Powerhouse Animation Black & Blue, Simon Tolman, Jasper Lazor, Amir Sharif
Cambot: The Sad Sad Robot
Jaafar Alnabi
Carl Eller – The Hunt for Self Expression
Pam Colby
Coyote Story
Daniel Seman
Dead Birds
Emily Fritze
deM atlaS – “Perfect Day”
Samiera Abou-Nasr
Departure
Jonathan Oster
Devil’s Sonata, The
Michael Kuznar
Dreaming with Lola
Jila Nikpay
Dreams of Ice
Jack Davis
Eric Howell 2015 McKnight Media Fellow
Feven Gebrezgi
Fine
C.B. Jacobson
Fog – “Made to Follow”
Andrew Broder
Fraea – “Criminal”
Maria Juranic
Graveyard Club – “Cellar Door”
TJ Schwingle
Haley Bonar – “Kismet Kill”
Nicole Brending
Harvest
Kevin Byrnes
Head Below Water
Lucy Bowman, Evan Judson
Hello! My name is Eitzen
Dave Eitzen
HERE.
Zachary Green
How the Circus Saved My Life…Chimgee’s Story
Stewart Lippe
How to Make the Girl – How to Make the Maker
Ann Prim
I’ve Got a Tolerance
Tyler Hudson
Ice Breaker
Carrie Bush
Illegal Aliens
Justin + Kristin Schaack
Infestation
Cable Hardin
Interlude, The
Ruth Reitan
Kenilworth Sketch
Sam Hoolihan
Kill the Idiot
John Gwinn
Legend of Cyril, The
Beth Peloff
Lowering the Barrier
Caitlin Hammel
Memories
Melissa Moua
MEOW
Chris Jopp
Mr. Cooper
Sihai Zhu
New
Simone LeClaire
New Neighbors
E.G. Bailey
OUR IRAQ
Nathan Fisher, Jamal Ali, Amel Al Sammarraie
P.O.S. – “Lanes”
Mercies May
Polica – “Wedding”
Isaac Gale
Ragman, The – A Hobo’s Story Untold
Cy Dodson
Rainy Container
John Marks
Restitution
Joe Rein
ROBERT IN THE BEDROOM
Cynthia M. Uhrich
Roots in Richfield
Christopher Lange
Save the Velodrome
Christian Isaac Sundquist
Selfied
Nicole Brending
Shinaab
Lyle Corbine
Sister Species – “Star”
Jack Davis, Eli Edleson Stein
Son of Man
Josh Cisewski
Sonny Knight & The Lakers – “Sooner or Later”
Erik Nelson
Spectral Response
Holly Streekstra
Standing Rock
Markus Hoeckner
Stress of Her Regard, The – “Class Warfare”
Ilya Simakov
Stuck In Time
Asher Glaser
Sundogs
Elizabeth Chatelain
Superfan
Ryan Melling
Swimming in the Desert
Alvaro Ron
TOWN BY THE WATER
Raechel Bosch
Tree Work
Kevin Obsatz
Truthful Innards
Margaret Polzine
Tyte Jeff – “1952”
Paul Danhauser
U-Land
Colin Stanhill
Video Game
Wilson Hunter, Miguel Fresco Hanlon
White Dog
Rini Keagy
Without Papers
Andres Parra
MSPIFF is presented by the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul, a dynamic 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to fostering a knowledgeable and vibrant appreciation of the art of film and its power to inform and transform individuals and communities.
The Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival is generously supported by the Star Tribune, Cedarwoods Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Minnesota State Arts Board Legacy Amendment Funding, National Endowment for the Arts, McKnight Foundation, US Bank, The Minneapolis Foundation, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, Indeed Brewing Company, Canon, Cinequipt, the Uptown Association, Fox Rothschild, Depot Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, numerous international Consulates, and the 2,000+ Members of the Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul. mspfilm.org/festivals/mspiff
