Santa Barbara International Film Festival, February 7th – February 17th

MADU – Opening Night! A young boy with a dream to be a professional dancer is seen dancing in the rain on Tik Tok which goes viral. There is nowhere for him to develop his immense talent in his native country Nigeria. But Directors Matt Ogen and Joel “Kachi” Benson take notice creating this unusual and heartwarming documentary following 12-year-old Anthony Madu when he leaves his home in Nigeria to study at one of England’s most prestigious ballet schools. His story with extraordinary mental and physical obstacles shows dedication, courage, growth, on a path to self-identity, and belonging. Watch for our interview with Ogen and Benson about the trust they established to reveal the journey and the relationships with family and new friends between two very different cultures.

THE TASTE OF THINGS – Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel star in this delicious French film with subtitles about a female cook, who is an incredible gourmet chef. Binoche plays the muse of a rich gourmand (Magical)  she cooks for, but also cooks with.  The first hour will send your taste buds reeling watching the incredibly beautiful choreography cooks working together to create masterpieces of food in this 1885 French kitchen.  You can almost smell and taste them. But this film is more than that. It is a study of their very sensual relationship. Watch our interview with French/Vietnamese Writer/Director, Tran Anh Hung.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH –  Andy Kaufman was an adorable, exasperating, misunderstood, comedian who drove his bosses, colleagues and audiences crazy. But he was pretty crazy himself.  His talent was improvising off beat behavior, from wrestling women, to going off script challenging cast members on the popular Sitcom Taxi. He could transform characters on a dime. Director Alex Braverman has collected significant archival tape of performances on and off TV and the stage to show how weird this young man from Long Island could be. What’s missing is an interview with his parents to get more insight to what set him off when he was young to act the way he did once he found an outlet and success while it lasted. He died of cancer too soon in his mid 30’s.

GOD AND COUNTRY – Director Dan Partland’s documentary studies evangelism, Christian Nationalism, the origin, development, and differences with interviews with clergymen, religious and legal experts and professors about the separation of church and state in politics and in the media. How attitudes toward religion and politics have gone out of control since January 6th. Watch our interview with Partland about gathering research material and interviews with religious and political experts, plus working with Executive Producer, Rob Reiner, on making the film.

WE GROWN NOW –  Minhal Baig directs a film about two 12-year-old friends growing up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing complex in the early 1990’s. We screened the film just blocks from where the complex stood. Cinematically beautiful, well-written and paced, with an excellent cast including Jurnee Smollett, Blake Cameron James, and Gian Knight Ramirez. We actually worked in Chicago TV News covering the violence there at that time, and became close with a family that got out. Also produced an Emmy award-winning TV musical special for PBS with multicultural kids from Cabrini-Green. 

THE MOVIE MAN – Think you’re a movie buff? Director Matt Finlin found one who built a unique movie complex of 5 small theaters with a collection of movie memorabilia in rural Canada. Keith Stata saw The Time Machine starring Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux in 1962 and was hooked. His life dream was to create a place in Kinmount adding theaters, one at a time, to his own home.  Plus he created a museum for others to see his collection of motion picture artifacts, with a great concession stand and the best popcorn anywhere, made the old school way. Director Finlin has Stata, “The Movie Man,” give a tour of the his creation with  running commentary imparting  his wealth of knowledge about movies, today’s film culture, what’s changed and why wants to keep his Kinmount, Canada complex going.

THE ABC’S OF BOOK BANNING – This short is packed with information. Directors Sheila Nevins, Trish Adlesic, and Naz Habtezghi interview children about the books they are not being allowed to read. One young boy said he was so mad, he didn’t want lunch! Another 16-year-old girl says “I am who I am because of the books I’ve read.” The film shows how books with stories about race, religion, coming of age, attitudes, sex, LGBTQ, mental health, and more are being taken out of schools and libraries. 101-year-old  activist, Grace Lin is shown vehemently raising objections in a public meeting.  Includes authors George M. Johnson (“All Boys Aren’t Blue”), Elana K. Arnold (What Girls Are Made Of”), and Lil Miss Hot Mess (“The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish”).

SUZE – Linsey Stewart and  Dane Clark direct a comedy that takes a bit of patience until you get up to speed with the characters and what’s really going on. Michaela Watkins goes for it, on screen every minute as Suze, a middle-age divorcée whose only daughter, Brooke (Sara Waisglass)  goes away to college leaving behind herlove-sick, weirdo ex-boyfriend, Gage (Charlie Gillespie) Suze hates the kid, but finds herself not an empty nester for long. The Mom takes pity on Gage trying to get his life together, and, at the same time, learns a lot about herself. Good performances with twists and turns show exasperation with some funny and heartfelt coming of age growth and relationships, especially for both Suze and Gage.

THE LONG GAME -Director Julio Quintana and his young cast featured in “The Long Game” tell MoviesandShakers about their playing high school golfers alongside Jay Hernandez, and Dennis Quaid as their coaches. It’s a sensitive story about talented young school boys who could work as caddies, but not golf on the same course as those they caddied for in the past because they were Latin. The young actors recount their own serious stories about maintaining their Latin identity for their roles and the humor in the film. They also tell how much they enjoyed working with Cheech Marin who has a substantial role.