What’s Being Shown Thursday at the Greenwich International Film Festival

The Greenwich International Film Festival, now in its second year, is presenting more than 30 films from Thursday through Sunday, June 9 to 12 at various venues in Greenwich and Stamford.

The “GIFF” was founded, according to its website, “to bridge the worlds of film, finance, and philanthropy,” and also includes parties, panels and premiers.

Here’s what’s playing on Thursday:

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You is a recount of Mr. Lear’s compelling achievements in Television through his influential dialogue and political activism.

Directors Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady fashion this evocative documentary to prove that Norman continues to live as a vital pioneer among the idiosyncratic history of television. This portrait weaves together the past and present, and exposes Norman Lear’s thriving insight into faith, feminism, class, & culture.

Cole Auditorium at Greenwich Library

Thursday, June 9 at 10:30 a.m.

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Co-presented by JCC Greenwich

Part of GIFF Jewish Film Series. Reception to follow.

 

Uncle Howard

 

Director Howard Brookner died of AIDS in NYC in 1989 while in post-production on his breakthrough Hollywood movie. His body of work has been buried for 30 years in William S. Burroughs’ bunker until his nephew Aaron Brookner unearths his story and the memory of everything he was.

Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 2 

Thursday, June 9 — 11 a.m.

(also Sunday, June 12 — 10:30 a.m. at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Official website — IMDb — Rotten Tomatoes — Wikipedia — Facebook — Twitter

 

Moon in the 12th House

Separated as children by tragic circumstances, two sisters, Mira and Lenny are reunited again. This encounter leads them on a journey of self-discovery and healing. Moon in the 12th House is a coming of age story that features powerful and hypnotic performances from a solid ensemble cast.

Part of GIFF Jewish Film Series. Reception to follow.

11 a.m., Thursday, June 9 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3 in Greenwich

(also at 3:15 p.m., Saturday, June 11 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 2 in Greenwich)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Germans & Jews

Today, Europe’s fastest growing Jewish population is in Berlin. Germany is considered one of the most democratic societies in the world, assuming the position of moral leader in Europe as it embraces hundreds of thousands of refugees. None of these developments could have been imagined in 1945.

Through personal stories,Germans & Jews explores the country’s transformation from silence about the Holocaust to facing it head on. Unexpectedly, a nuanced story of reconciliation emerges.

What began as a private conversation between the two filmmakers and friends, Tal Recanati (Jewish) and Janina Quint (non-Jewish German), grew into a cultural exchange among many. This is an untold story of two people inextricably linked through the memory of the Holocaust.

Co-presented by AJC Westchester/Fairfield

Part of GIFF Jewish Film Series. Reception to follow.

1 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at Cole Auditorium at Greenwich Library

Q&A to follow with filmmakers Tal Recanati and Janina Quint, AJC Jewish Rights Activist, Eugene Dubow and Deputy Director of AJC in Brussels, George Van Bergen.

(Also showing at 10 a.m., Sunday, June 12 at Cole Auditorium at Greenwich Library)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

After Spring

As the Syrian conflict enters its sixth year, millions of people continue to be displaced. After Spring is the story of what happens next. By following two refugee families in transition and aid workers fighting to keep the camp running, viewers will experience what it is like to live in Zaatari, the largest camp for Syrian refugees.

With no end in sight for the conflict or this refugee crisis, everyone must decide whether or not they can rebuild their lives in a place that was never meant to be permanent.

1 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 1 in Greenwich

(Also playing at 8:30 p.m., Saturday at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 1 in Greenwich.)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Official website —    — Facebook — Twitter

Documentary Shorts Program

A collection of riveting documentary short films ranging in length and subject matter curated by GIFF Programming Team.

• Bacon & God’s Wrath (8 minutes) Documentary Short | 8 min — Bacon & God’s Wrath is a short documentary from Sol Friedman that chronicles a pivotal moment in the life of Razie Brownstone, a 90-year-old Jewish woman who tries Bacon for the very first time.
• Ferguson 365 (20min) Narrative Short | 20 minutes — Ferguson 365 follows the story of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, who was shot and killed on Aug. 9, 2014 by white police officer, Darren Wilson. Director and Ferguson resident, Chris Phillips, provides an intimate portrait of events that make up this case and critical insight into the policing policies of this city.
• Osprey: Marine Sentinel (15 minutes) — The first film in over thirty years starring what is arguably the world’s most iconic and significant raptor. Exclusive access, cutting-edge technology, and innovative cinematographic techniques provide a unique perspective and unprecedented intimacy into the dramatic story of a life-long pair, and the intrepid scientists who have spent a lifetime discovering what may be one of the most significant success stories of environmental conservation.
• Another Kind of Girl (10 minutes) — 17-year-old Khaldiya meditates on how the refugee camp she lives in has opened up new horizons and has given her a sense of courage that she lacked in war-torn Syria.
• PUPS (30 minutes) — PUPS is the story about the well known Spanish boxer Javier Garci´a Roche and his struggles to help three young men to become better persons in life through boxing. It is not a story about epic wins or victories but the story of people who have to overcome some serious difficulties in their lives because of the families they were born into, the poverty and the marginalization.

Playing at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 2 in Greenwich on:

• 1 p.m., Thursday, June 9
• 11 a.m., Saturday, June 11

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

The Tenth Man (El Rey del Once)

Ari, who has built a successful career in New York, thinks he has left his past behind. But his distant father Usher, who runs a Jewish aid foundation in El Once, the close-knit old Jewish neighborhood of Buenos Aires summons him back to his native city. What ensues is a comedy of errors, of missed and found people and connections, and a rumination on the extent to which we can ever really leave our past behind.

Part of GIFF Jewish Film Series. Reception to follow.

Playing at 1:45 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at the Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3 in Greenwich.

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Teenage Cocktail

Feeling confined by their small town and overbearing parents, Annie (Nichole Bloom) and Jules (Fabianne Therese) hatch a scheme to run away to New York City.

The only issue is, they need the money to get there. Jules, the riskier of the two, suggests they try webcam modeling. Although she’s nervous at first, Annie can’t argue when the money starts rolling in.

When their secret lives are exposed by Jules’ ex-boyfriend, their intimate photos are shared with the entire school. With only a weekend to go before their parents are informed by the principal, Annie and Jules find themselves with limited options.

With a lack of foresight about the consequences for their actions, the girls move forward with a dangerous plan that puts their young lives at risk.

Playing at 3:15 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at the Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 1 in Greenwich.

(Also playing at 3 p.m., Friday, June 10 at Cole Auditorium at Greenwich Library.)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Tickled

Tickled follows New Zealand Journalist, David Farrier, as he embarks on a bizarre journey to uncover the truth behind a mysterious “tickling endurance championship.”

Through his research, David learns that young men are paid to participate, bound, and filmed as they are tickled. Through his investigation, David encounters fierce resistance when inquiring about the competition, and soon realizes he has uncovered a vast empire that will stop at nothing to keep the organizer’s identities anonymous including the most extreme cyber bullying tactics.

Directors, David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, dismiss the sinister threats and warnings against their lives and uncover the criminals behind this mystery.

Playing 3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 2 in Greenwich.

(Also playing 8 p.m. Friday, June 10 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3 in Greenwich.)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Narrative Shorts Program

A collection of riveting narrative short films ranging in length and subject matter curated by GIFF Programming Team.

• Before the Bomb (23 minutes) — 10 year old Elsa takes matters into her own hands when Child Services plans a visit that could separate her from her 5 year old brother.
• Don’t Watch Me Dancing (21 minutes) — a short film about a private relationship between an Amish girl and a cloistered elderly man who lives in a mansion in the woods. As the story unfolds, director Michael Evan Deitzler provides insight into their bizarre relationship, and highlights the complexities of the human condition as they both strip themselves of traditional etiquette and customs.
• Hux (12 minutes) narrative short — Hux, longing to connect, rebels against the lonely isolation of her autism. Braving the confusing, chaotic world of others, her attempts at interaction are repeatedly thwarted – by her powerful aversion to stimuli, and by an epidemic that decimates the population. But when all seems lost, Hux finds one final chance to connect.
• The Mulberry Bush (17 minutes) narrative seature — Two men sit next to each other on an autumn day in Central Park. They make small talk about the weather and the joys of summer. When the conversation turns personal, however, it becomes clear that this is no random encounter, and they are headed toward a startling confrontation.
• Muscle (14 minutes) narrative short — A woman must make the agonizing decision to live for her terminally ill husband or live for herself.
• Pony (31 minutes) narrative short — Claudia, a hardworking single mom, has to go out of town on an important last minute business trip, forcing her to leave her 5 year old daughter,Miko, with uncle Jeff, a rock musician in his 50’s who is still running on fumes of his glory days. Spending the weekend looking after a spirited 5 year old, Jeff must suspend his delusions of grandeur and face reality. Miko is the catalyst for him to re-evaluate his life and re-connect with the inspiration that originally led him to music and he is able to gently guide her to a nascent understanding of life’s vicissitudes.
• Solitary (17 minutes) — An inmate endures long-term isolation within a prison’s solitary confinement unit.
• Super Sex (7 minutes) narrative short — Super Sex tells the story of a pair of siblings (Kevin Nealon and Elizabeth Perkins) trying to figure out what to get their father (Ed Asner) for his 86th birthday. After going through a list of options, the pair opt for a gift their father will never forget…Super Sex! The brother and sister awkwardly negotiate with a street prostitute (Ruby Modine) who agrees to give their 86 year old father a night he’ll never forget.
• Wifey Redux (22 minutes) — A man becomes maniacally obsessed with chasing off his teenage daughter’s new boyfriend in this dark comedy based on the story by acclaimed Irish author Kevin Barry.

Playing 3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3 in Greenwich.

(Also playing at 5 p.m., Sunday, June 12at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3 in Greenwich.)

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

Opening Night Narrative: Little Boxes

It’s the summer before 6th grade, and Clark is the new-in-town biracial kid in a sea of white. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act ‘more black,’ he fumbles to meet expectations, while his urban intellectual parents Mack and Gina also strive to adjust to small-town living.

Equipped for the many inherent challenges of New York, the tight-knit family are ill prepared for the drastically different set of obstacles that their new community presents, and soon find themselves struggling to understand themselves and each other in this new suburban context.

Playing at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, June 9 at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 1 in Greenwich.

Festival Passholders Only. Rush Line Tickets will be available to the public at the Box Office 15 min before showtime.

Little Men

When a couple (Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Ehle) inherit a building in Brooklyn, their child and the son of the Chilean single mom/shopkeeper who leases the first floor of the building, form an unbreakable bond. Trouble is, the shopkeeper is leasing the space for 1/5 its value and the new owners want her out. Little Men is a story about the gentrification of a NYC neighborhood, juxtaposing the new and old inhabitants and highlighting the complicated nature of this transition.

Playing at Bow Tie Cinema-Theater 3 in Greenwich at:

• 6:45 p.m., Thursday, June 9
• 2:45 p.m., Sunday, June 12

Buy tickets on the website: General admission — $15; students, seniors, military — $8; Greenwich residents — $12

The Duel

 

— SOLD OUT —

The Duel stars Liam Hemsworth as a Texas Ranger who investigates a series of murders in a small town led by a charismatic preacher played by Woody Harrelson. However, the routine undercover investigation soon turns personal for the ranger who must solve the case before he loses everything to the mysterious town.