INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL YPSILANTI (IFFY)
April 19 - 22, 2023 at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti
IFFY will present its 4th season of independent film in Ypsilanti. iFFY is bigger than before featuring specially curated shorts programs including “Michigan-ish”, a celebration of short films fresh from the Mitten region. Also new in 2023, free in person creative workshops aim to help hone the rising filmmaking talent in our community.
IFFY is *not* an experimental film fest, but they will show plenty of indie, edgy shorts and a wild-eyed feature at Riverside Arts Center. There's also a horror/haunted shorts program, best of animation shorts, an international shorts program, free workshops and afterparties.
FOR A FULL LINE UP OF THE FILMS GO TO: iffypsi.com
OPENING THIS WEEK
"Chevalier"— OPENS FRIDAY, APRIL 21 AT THE STATE
A 2022 American biographical drama film directed by Stephen Williams and written by Stefani Robinson. It is based on the life of the titular French-Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr. The film also stars Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, Alex Fitzalan, and Minnie Driver. The film had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.
The rise and resurgence of Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a French-Caribbean violinist and composer who rose to fame through his musical prodigy. But a complicated love life and the racism of 18th Century French aristocrats leads to a falling out with Queen Marie Antoinette, and Saint-Georges realizes that things must change.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN
"Black Panther" — PLAYS FRIDAY, APRIL 21 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN (FREE FOR STUDENTS WITH VALID I.D.)
Part of the Science on Screen series
With post-film discussions by Dr. Ron Eglash (U-M School of Information and Professor of Art and Design, Penny W Stamps School of Art and Design) regarding Afrofuturism, fractal patterns found in African architecture, and Generative Justice.
After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mettle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.
"Adaptation." — PLAYS FRIDAY, APRIL 21 AT 7 PM AT THE STATE
Nicolas Cage is Charlie Kaufman, a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald (Nicolas Cage). While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep), Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman, Orlean's book, become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the others.
"Face/Off" — PLAYS FRIDAY, APRIL 21 AT 9:45 PM AT THE STATE
Obsessed with bringing terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) to justice, FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) tracks down Troy, who has boarded a plane in Los Angeles. After the plane crashes and Troy is severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy's. As Archer tries to use his disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy's brother, Troy awakes from a coma and forces the doctor who performed the surgery to give him Archer's face. From directorJohn Woo.
"The Places Promised in Our Early Days"— PLAYS SATURDAY, APRIL 22 AT 4 PM AT THE STATE
The feature film debut from Makoto Shinkai, the acclaimed director of "Weathering with You" and "Your Name.", is a haunting and beautiful story of friendship and loss, with stunning visuals and the emotional approach to science-fiction that would become the director’s trademark. In an alternate post-war Japan, three teenagers become obsessed with a mysterious tower across the Union border, which reaches far into the sky. Hiroki and Takuya work on a makeshift airplane, which they promise their friend Sayuri they will use to visit the tower together someday, but she disappears before it is completed. Several years later, the tower suddenly activates, starting a phenomenon that threatens the world. And the young men now discover their long-lost friend Sayuri may hold the key to it all.
"Daughters of Abdul-Rahman" — PLAYS SUNDAY, APRIL 23 AT 1:30 PM AT THE STATE
Presented with the U-M Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Features a post-film discussion via Zoom with director Zaid Abu Hamdan.
Years after escaping a dictated life, four estranged and offbeat sisters are forced to come together to find their suddenly missing father. In their secret for their father, secrets are revealed and more.
"Cinema Paradiso" — PLAYS THURSDAY, MAY 4 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE
Part of the Cultura d'Italia Series
Young Salvatore Di Vita (Salvatore Cascio) discovers the perfect escape from life in his war-torn Sicilian village: the Cinema Paradiso movie house, where projectionist Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) instills in the boy a deep love of films. When Salvatore grows up, falls in love with a beautiful local girl (Agnese Nano) and takes over as the Paradiso's projectionist, Alfredo must convince Salvatore to leave his small town and pursue his passion for filmmaking.
CONTINUING DOWNTOWN
A 2023 American comedy horror film directed by Chris McKay from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley, based on an original idea by Robert Kirkman featuring characters from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula". The film stars Nicholas Houltas the title character, alongside Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula, with Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, Adrian Martinez, and Shohreh Aghdashloo in supporting roles. The film had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 14, 2023, by Universal Pictures.
Count Dracula's lackey R. M. Renfield finds a new lease on life in modern-day New Orleans when he falls in love with Rebecca Quincy, a traffic cop, and decides to finally stand up to his creator in hopes of finally breaking free of his servitude.
A Japanese Anime film about the 17-year-old Suzume's journey. It begins in the quiet town in Kyushu when she encounters a young man who tells her, "I'm looking for a door." What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob.... Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster. The stars. The sunset. The morning sky. Within that realm, it was as though all time had melted together in the sky--guided by these mysterious doors, Suzume's journey to close doors is about to begin.
A 2023 American biographical sports drama film directed by Ben Affleck from a screenplay written by Alex Convery. It is based on true events about the origin of Air Jordan, a basketball shoe line, of which a Nike employee seeks to strike a business deal with rookie player Michael Jordan. The film starsMatt Damon, Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis.
Filming took place in the summer of 2022, with Affleck reuniting with his frequent collaborators, cinematographer Robert Richardson and editor William Goldenberg. While Jordan was not involved with the production, he did meet with Affleck and offered several suggestions, including the casting of Davis as his mother. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 18, 2023, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 5, 2023, by Amazon Studios.
"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves"
A 2023 American fantasy heist action-comedy film directed by Jonathan Goldsteinand John Francis Daley, who cowrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio from a story byChris McKay and Gilio. Based on the tabletop role-playing game "Dungeons & Dragons," it is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and has no connections to the film trilogy released between 2000 and 2012. The film stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith,Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant.
This is a 2022 British comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, based on the 2013 book "The King's Grave: The Search for Richard III" by Philippa Langley and Michael Jones. It is a dramatization of the story of Philippa Langley, the woman who initiated the search to find King Richard III's remains under a car park in Leicester, and her treatment by the University of Leicester in the claiming of credit for the discovery.
The film stars Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, and Harry Lloyd. The film premiered in Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2022.
"Everything Everywhere All at Once"
Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert ("Swiss Army Man"), collectively known as The Daniels, the film is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can't seem to finish her taxes.
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