Friday, March 18, 2016

AFI Silver Theatre Weekly Update (3-18-16)

Sally Field stars in Hello, My Name is Doris

From our friends at the AFI Silver Theatre...

AFI Silver Theatre Weekly Programming Update (as of Friday, March 18, 2016)

Tickets and full calendar at AFI.com/Silver

Just Announced...
THE CLAN
The 7:15 PM show on March 25 features an introduction and post-screening reception sponsored by the Embassy of Argentina. Tickets on sale now!

OPENING FRIDAY, MARCH 25: HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS
After a lifetime of being overlooked and ignored, a woman of a certain age (Sally Field) finds her world turned upside down by a handsome new co-worker - and a self-help seminar that inspires her to take a chance on love - in Hello, My Name Is Doris, a witty and compassionate late-life coming-of-age-story.

Current First Run:
Official Selection of AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi.

AFI AWARDS 2015 Official Selection. Academy Award winner, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

Nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Actress (Cate Blanchett), Best Supporting Actress (Rooney Mara), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costumes and Best Original Score.

HAIL, CAESAR!
Opening Night, 2016 Berlin Film Festival


OPENING FRIDAY, MARCH 25: THE CLAN
Directed by Argentinean auteur Pablo Trapero (Carancho, White Elephant) The Clan tells the true story of a middle-class family pulled into a world of kidnapping, ransom and murder by their patriarch. On the surface, the Puccios live like most families. Arquímedes (Guillermo Francella) presides over a modest household where his wife, sons and daughters gather most evenings over home-cooked meals to discuss their days. Eldest son Alejandro (Peter Lanzani) is a star rugby player manipulated into helping his father carry out meticulously planned abductions. But when kidnapping turns to murder, Alejandro must finally face the truth that his father, his hero, is a cold-blooded killer.

OPENING FRIDAY, APRIL 1: MIDNIGHT SPECIAL
In this sci-fi thriller, writer/director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) proves again that he is one of the most compelling storytellers of our time, as a father (Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road) goes on the run to protect his young son, Alton (Jaeden Lieberher, St. Vincent) and uncover the truth behind the boy's special powers. What starts as a race from religious extremists and local law enforcement quickly escalates to a nationwide manhunt involving the highest levels of the federal government. Ultimately, his father risks everything to protect Alton and help fulfill a destiny that could change the world forever, in this genre-defying film - as supernatural as it is intimately human. The film also stars Joel Edgerton (Black Mass) Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man, Marie Antoinette) Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, TV's Girls) and Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down, August: Osage County.)

OPENING FRIDAY, APRIL 8: MILES AHEAD
Inspired by events in his life, this is a wildly entertaining, impressionistic, no-holds-barred portrait of one of 20th-century music’s creative geniuses, Miles Davis, featuring a career-defining performance by Don Cheadle in the title role. Working from a script he co-wrote with Steven Baigelman, Cheadle makes his bravura directorial debut. 

In the midst of a dazzling and prolific career at the forefront of modern jazz innovation, Miles Davis (Cheadle) virtually disappears from public view for a period of five years in the late 1970s. Alone and holed up in his home, he is beset by chronic pain from a deteriorating hip, his musical voice stifled and numbed by drugs and pain medications, his mind haunted by unsettling ghosts from the past. A wily music reporter (Ewan McGregor) forces his way into Davis’ house and, over the next couple of days, the two men unwittingly embark on a wild and sometimes harrowing adventure to recover a stolen tape of the musician’s latest compositions. 

Davis’ mercurial behavior is fueled by memories of his failed marriage to the talented and beautiful dancer Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi.) During their romance and subsequent marriage, Taylor served as Davis’ muse. It was during this period that he released several of his signature recordings, including the groundbreaking "Sketches of Spain" and "Someday My Prince Will Come." The idyll was short-lived; their eight-year marriage was marked by infidelity and abuse, and Taylor was forced to flee for her own safety as Miles’ mental and physical health deteriorated. By the late ‘70s, plagued by years of regret and loss, Davis flirts with annihilation until he once again finds salvation in his art.

SPECIAL EVENTS, SERIES & ENGAGEMENTS THIS WEEK:
2016 New African Film Festival (March 11-18)

U.S. Premiere
MADAME COURAGE
Friday, March 18, 5:20 PM
Omar ekes out a meager living in the slums of seaside village Mostaganem, snatching valuables off passersby to feed his addiction to Madame Courage: Artane tablets, popular for their euphoric effect of invincibility. When he crosses paths with Selma, a beautiful girl with a shiny necklace he pockets, Omar finds a new obsession. But his stalking is met with intrigue and the two form a dangerous connection. Algerian filmmaker Merzak Allouache (The Repentant, 2013 New African Film Festival) brings a gritty intensity to this delicate examination of the male psyche, buoyed by incredible performances by his two young lead actors. Official Selection, 2015 Venice and London Film Festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Merzak Allouache; PROD Antonin Dedet. Algeria/France, 2015, color, 90 min. In Arabic with English subtitles. NOT RATED

RAIN THE COLOR BLUE WITH A LITTLE RED IN IT (AKOUNAK TEDALAT TAHA TAZOUGHAI)
Friday, March 18, 7:15 PM
This rollicking rock-u-drama tells the universal story of a musician trying to make it "against all odds," set against the backdrop of the raucous subculture of Tuareg guitar. The protagonist, real life musician Mdou Moctar, must battle fierce competition from jealous musicians, overcome family conflicts, endure the trials of love, and overcome his biggest rival - himself. Carried by stunning musical performances from Mdou, the story was drawn from his own experiences while stylistically borrowing from Prince's 1984 classic Purple Rain. DIR/SCR Christopher Kirkley; SCR Mdou Moctar. Niger, 2015, color, 75 min. In Tamashek with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Friday, March 18, 9:00 PM
A series of misfortunes leads a West African village to accuse a young girl, Asabi (Ophelia Klenam Dzidzornu) of witchcraft. Their pastor (Fred Nii Amugi, Beasts of No Nation) insists that salvation lies in her exorcism and death, using his compelling rhetoric to incite fear into the people and turn Asabi's mother (Ama K. Abebrese, Beasts of No Nation) against her own daughter. Disillusioned reporter Godwin (Oris Erhuero, Sometimes in April) finds himself swept up in the witch hunt. With the help of a young schoolteacher (Joseph Otsiman) he attempts to save Asabi's life, fighting back against corruption and false prophets (Jimmy Jean-Louis, Joy, Heroes). Based on true events, this is a story of morality, corruption and community in the heart of Africa. DIR/SCR Nana Obiri-Yeboah, Maximilian Claussen; SCR Nicholas K. Lory. UK/Ghana, 2015, color, 100 min. In English. NOT RATED

Saturday, March 19, 3:15 PM; Sunday, March 20, 3:15 PM
After a mishap in the ring, American boxing champ John Wayne returns to his native Ireland and falls for the charms of fiery redhead Maureen O'Hara. Her shifty brother Victor McLaglen is eager to marry her off, but when McLaglen fails to deliver the dowry, O'Hara informs Wayne there'll be no peace until he gets it for her - setting off much comic mayhem. The film garnered seven Oscar nominations, with wins for Winton Hoch and Archie Stout's verdant cinematography, and Best Director - John Ford's fourth and final Oscar win. DIR/PROD John Ford; SCR Frank S. Nugent; PROD Merian C. Cooper. U.S., 1952, color, 129 min. In English and Irish Gaelic with English subtitles. NOT RATED
35mm preservation print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive

25th Anniversary
Saturday, March 19, 7:30 PM
A critical and commercial hit voted the best Irish film of all time in a 2005 poll, The Commitments has been little seen in the U.S. since its 1991 release. Based on the Roddy Doyle novel about the rise and fall of a rough-and-tumble white Irish soul band, the film launched the careers of several members of its cast of young unknowns, including Glen Hansard (Once) and the four members of The Corrs. The film's soundtrack charted around the world, featuring cast band versions of "Mustang Sally," "Take Me to the River," "Chain of Fools" and "Try a Little Tenderness." DIR Alan Parker; SCR Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, Roddy Doyle, from his novel; PROD Lynda Myles, Roger Randall-Cutler. Ireland/UK/U.S., 1991, color, 118 min. RATED R