ATLRetro

By Andrew Kemp
Contributing Writer

The Atlanta Film Festival is back in business. Starting Friday March 28, the Festival will host 10 days of screenings, premieres, special events, and filmmaking panels and, once again, ATLRetro is going to be there. We’ll be posting previews and reviews of retro-themed films throughout the festival, so be sure to check in with us often, or keep an eye on the ATLRetro Facebook page for all the updates.

For those looking to attend some screenings or simply intimidated by the depth of the schedule, allow us to offer a few highlights for the Retro-inclined.

20th CENTURY-THEMED FEATURES

Among the many feature films gracing festival screens this week is 45RPM, directed by Juli Jackson. The film follows a young artist’s quest for a rare 45RPM record released by her deceased musician father, and her search through Memphis with a vinyl enthusiast to find it. The film explores the connection between the present and the past, as the young woman hopes to find a link between her own art and her father’s music. 45RPM screens on Tuesday, April 1, at 7:15 at the Plaza Theatre.

Of course, the sad truth is that the past is not always as rosy as we remember it, which is certainly the case in 1982, directed by Tommy Oliver. Set in Philadelphia just as crack cocaine is engulfing the inner cities, the film concerns one man’s struggle to hold his family together despite his wife’s crippling addiction. The drama, which stars Hill Harper and comedian Wayne Brady, the film played to strong reviews at the Toronto Film Festival and screens Saturday, April 5, at 4:30 at the Plaza.

Hera, the protagonist of Ragnar Bragason’s METALHEAD, is born in Iceland in 1970 at the near-literal birth of heavy metal, just as Black Sabbath releases their legendary debut. Years later, the metal-obsessed young woman pursues her rock star ambitions while dealing with the pleas of a courting lover and the watch of the new village priest. METALHEAD screens Friday, April 4, at 9:30 at the Plaza.

1970s style drapes over the cast of DOM HEMINGWAY, a new British crime comedy from director Richard Shepard. Jude Law plays Dom, a safecracker freshly out of a long prison stay and on the move to reclaim money owed to him. The stylish film, which also stars WITHNAIL & I’s Richard E. Grant, evokes the cool and quirk of the best Guy Ritchie caper movies and screens on Monday, March 31, at 7:15 at the Plaza.

MUSIC ON THE SCREEN

The AFF never forgets the large audience of music lovers and music industry professionals in this town, and has made sure to provide plenty of programming for those interested in the history and culture of the art form. BAYOU MAHARAJAH: THE TRAGIC GENIUS OF JAMES BOOKER is one such film, chronicling the life of the man Dr. John once called “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius New Orleans has ever produced.” Alternately known as the “Black Liberace,” Booker played rhythm and blues in Louisiana during the 1960s and 70s and this new documentary by director Lily Keber tracks his distinct sound and incredible career during what the festival calls “a time of paradigmatic change.” BAYOU MAHARAJAH screens on Thursday, April 3, at 9:15 at the Plaza.

Phil Cohran was another groundbreaking musician in a chaotic time. Cohran played jazz in the Chicago of the late 1950s and developed an incredible legacy, in more ways than one. Besides his involvement in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and his invention of the instrument called the “space harp,” Cohran also gave the world eight talented sons who today have formed their own band, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. BROTHERS HYPNOTIC, the new documentary from Reuben Atlas, explores the brothers and their band as they play for audiences and record executives, but also as they sort out their own complex legacy. The film screens Saturday, April 5, at 2:15 at 7 Stages. 

From R&B and jazz, we move to the roots of country music and the Carter family, country royalty who helped establish the genre and became some of its earliest celebrities. THE WINDING STREAM, directed by Beth Harrington, explores the family’s history from their first emergence in American roots music through June Carter and her husband Johnny Cash. This comprehensive music documentary screens on Saturday, April 5, at 4:30 at 7 Stages.

Moving from country to showtunes, THE ROAD TO FAME offers a look at the familiar Broadway casting process, but with an entirely new twist. Directed by Hao Wu, THE ROAD TO FAME depicts a production of the play FAME by China’s Central Academy of Drama, the top drama school in the country. The film was shot by Wu, a documentarian once imprisoned by the Chinese government for making a film about Christian Chinese house churches, and ultimately completed with funds acquired through Kickstarter. The finished product is a must-see for theatre lovers and screens on Sunday, April 6, a 12:00 PM at the Plaza.

RETRO DOCUMENTARIES

LIMO RIDE, directed by Gideon C. Kennedy and Marcus Rosentrater, may not seem like an obvious retro fit, but as an act of reliving our past glories, it’s a fascinating exercise in nostalgia. Everyone has that one favorite bar story, the one you whip out to break the ice and that always ends with some newcomer to the tale saying “that should be in a movie.” That’s not usually true, but this is the exception that gives credibility to the entire idea. The film is a reenacted documentary about a group of friends, a New Year’s night, and a limo ride that left them “kidnapped, stripped, stranded, and left for dead…fighting to survive.” And it’s a comedy. To see the rest of the story, LIMO RIDE premieres Sunday, March 30, at 6:30 at 7 Stages.

Going way, way retro brings us to director Rafael Garcia and his new documentary MAYAN BLUE, which depicts the discovery of the ancient Mayan city of Samabaj. Part archaeological record and part cultural exploration, Garcia’s film delves into the spirituality and mythologies of the ancient people and how real-life events shaped their understandings. MAYAN BLUE screens on Saturday, March 29, at 4:00 at the Plaza.

As a film critic and enthusiast, I have a special fondness for documentaries about moments in the film industry, especially those films that explain how something that once seemed so promising turns to dust seemingly overnight. MISFIRE: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SHOOTING GALLERY is one such documentary. Directed by Whitney Ransick, the film chronicles the short life of The Shooting Gallery production company, a once-promising and white-hot group of indie filmmakers who scored a hit with Billy Bob Thornton’s SLING BLADE (1996) before going out of business entirely only a few years later. The festival calls the film “a story of passion, hubris, and missed opportunity” and it screens on Monday, March 31, at 9:45 at the Plaza.

CESAR’S LAST FAST is screening as a special, free event on Monday, March 31, at 7:00 at the Plaza. The film is a documentary on the legendary labor leader Cesar Chavez and his final protest, a hunger strike in support of farm workers needlessly exposed to hazardous pesticides. The film boasts never-before-seen footage of Chavez and offers a grounded portrait of the man who became a hero to millions by standing up for those who had been buried by the system. With the new Michael Pena-starring biopic currently in theatres, interest in Chavez is on the rise, and tickets will go fast. Again, this screening is a FREE special event, and so you must RSVP to secure tickets if you wish to attend.

SPECIALTIES AND CULT MOVIES

As Retro goes, the 18th century is pretty darn Retro. But those whose interests lie in the era of big wigs and bigger dresses should check out the costume drama BELLE, from director Amma Asante. The film is based on the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the real-life daughter of a British Admiral and an African slave. She was brought up as a free woman in the household of William Murray, an English barrister whose rulings on the slave trade had far-reaching effects. The film explores the contradiction between Belle’s freedom and her society’s prejudice against the color of her skin. BELLE screens on Thursday, April 1, at 9:15 at the Plaza.

Fans of 19th century Gothic literature—or vampire fiction—are probably familiar with “Carmilla,” the novella by Sheridan Le Fanu that depicts an attraction between a young girl and a female vampire years before the publication of Bram Stoker’s more famous Transylvanian Count. Atlanta director Bret Wood has adapted “Carmilla” for the modern day in THE UNWANTED, a bloody and twisted horror tale the gives the story a Southern Gothic setting and a new way to interpret ‘vampirism.’ THE UNWANTED screens on Monday, March 31, at 9:30 at the Plaza, and be sure to check out our Kool Kat interview with Bret Wood about his film and career!

THE CONGRESS, directed by Ari Folman (WALTZ WITH BASHIR), deals with the past and nostalgia in a completely novel, even radical way. Starring actress Robin Wright as herself, the film proposes a world in which actors at the end of their career may take a hefty payday in exchange for translating their entire selves into a digital form, to be used forever as a “character” by the studio who now owns the likeness. Dealing with complex issues of identity and self and using a mix of animation and live action, this sci-fi tale (recently acquired by Drafthouse Pictures) will screen on Sunday, March 30, at 9:00 at the Plaza.

And lastly, what Retro Guide would be complete without mentioning THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, that ultimate retro cult standard which has been a longtime regular of the Plaza programming. The regular crew from Lips Down on Dixie have put on their show as part of the AFF for the last two years, and they’ll open their doors on Friday, March 28, at midnight at the Plaza. Bring your usual props and witty one-liners. Check the weather before pulling on your fishnets, just as a precaution.

There’s plenty more programming of the non-Retro variety, such as David Gordon Green’s JOE and Ti West’s THE SACRAMENT. Take a glance at the full schedule and you’ll find all the screenings, parties, and panels you can manage. Enjoy the festival and remember to check in with ATLRetro throughout as we keep you up to date on what’s happening in the theatres!

Andrew Kemp is a screenwriter and game designer who started talking about movies in 1984 and got stuck that way. He can be seen around town wherever there are movies, cheap beer and little else.