For John Cameron Mitchell, the writer, director and star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, punk rock has to be in the moment. Currently on tour for the film’s 25th anniversary, Mitchell will stop in Iowa City on Sept. 23 and 24 for a musical performance as part of Hancher’s Infinite Dream Festival, as well […]
FilmScene
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Filmmaker Drew Johnson on why his team chose to zoom in on East Palestine, Ohio — and how it reminds him of Cedar Rapids
Drew Johnson grew up in Cedar Rapids making movies with his friends in his backyard. Now an adult, his filmmaking career has flourished without Johnson needing to leave the Midwest. He’s was one of the founding members of Loose Films, an award-winning production house based in Columbus, Ohio. Johnson founded the company with Noah Dixon […]
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New Mary Oliver documentary inspires Iowa City orgs to celebrate a poet often disregarded in elite circles
Film director (and former University of Iowa professor) Sasha Waters first recalls being struck by the work of Mary Oliver as a new parent, listening to A Prairie Home Companion in her Iowa City kitchen. Years later, PBS would ask her to make a documentary about the late Pulitzer Prize-winning poet for the American Masters […]
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Review: ‘Natchez’ shows romanticized history, while sometimes comforting, is far creepier than the truth
When the trailer for the Best Documentary Feature winner at the Tribeca Film Festival, Natchez, first played at FilmScene, my initial, curious response was eclipsed by my partners’ who said, “I’ve been there. We had a family reunion there.” Even before watching the film, its themes of history and tourism were placed firmly on our lap, already haunting the theater. How far away was the past, really?
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A project led by two Iowa City filmmakers, 13 years in the making, is welcome in both art galleries and film fests
Experimentation and chance are at the heart of Homegrown Stories, a 13-year online collaborative media project founded by local photographer and video artist Sandy Dyas and filmmaker LeAnn Erickson.
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Five questions with FilmScene’s Ben Delgado on the new Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival
My favorite interaction regarding FilmScene’s upcoming Aquí y Allá Latin American Film Festival is on an Instagram post promoting the snacks available during the fest. The post sports a cross-section of Latin American snacks found in a tienda near you; Ricolino Duvalín’s, Gansito cakes, Chupa Chups and more.
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Worth a Rewatch: Say hello to ‘Scarface’ (1932), a blood-soaked tribute to Al Capone nearly eviscerated by censors
Welcome back to Worth a Rewatch — new reviews and reevaluations of old films featured at Iowa’s nonprofit cinemas. Think of it as a small historical adventure, an investigation of an artifact and perhaps, the way meaning has changed over time. Today we look at Howard Hawk’s 1932 gangster magnum opus Scarface, which the Bijou Film Board will be screening at FilmScene this weekend.
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‘Queen of Iowa horror’ Carrsan T. Morrissey’s new short to debut at FilmScene Wednesday night
Bleeders, a new short film by local filmmaker Carssan T. Morrissey, will premiere at FilmScene in Iowa City Wednesday, following a showing of Evil Dead (2013). The two films are paired together as part of FilmScene’s long-running love letter to niche horror flicks, Late Shift at the Grindhouse. Morrissey’s short film explores consumption, lust and […]
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Worth a Rewatch: A Black American filmmaker shook up the French New Wave with 1967’s ‘The Story of a Three-Day Pass’
The Story of a Three-Day Pass was awarded the critics’ choice award at the 1967 San Francisco International Film Festival, and all of a sudden Melvin Van Peebles found himself in a position that was almost unbelievable. He was a Hollywood darling. A decade before, when Van Peebles went looking for a job in Hollywood, […]
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Worth a Rewatch: ‘The Thing’ finds normal people resisting a violent invasion of their snowy home
There’s nothing like beginning the year at the end of the world. As Iowa City’s FilmScene prepares for its yearly showing with two screenings, how does John Carpenter’s cult classic, a film infamously received as off-putting during the Reagan era, land on our laps as we face our own rising tide of conservatism and real-world violence? […]
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Christmas mirth and murder, a Seyfried/Sweeney showdown and all the films you need to see in local theaters this month
Hey folks, welcome back to Little Big Screen: On the Big, Big Screen, where film columnist Benjamin McElroy recommends five screenings happening at Iowa’s independent movie theaters. Keep scrolling for the full list of this month’s big screenings. The Holiday (2006) Directed by Nancy Myers Kate Winslet is approached by more mothers and more daughters […]
Posted inEastern Iowa
Worth a Rewatch: ‘The Idiot’ (1951) is a Kurosawa deep-cut from a Dostoevsky superfan — and an idiotic film studio
Akira Kurosawa seems keenly aware of the improbability of translating literature into film, especially in the case of Dostoevsky, who Kurosawa calls more psychological than visual. But Kurosawa wanted to make The Idiot.
