As a self-described “movie guy,” I’ve often found documentaries a tough genre to break into. My biases often paint them as bleak or sterile looks at how the human race is failing one another. Movies are my means of escaping those harsh realities. Maksym Melnyk is not interested in painting that picture though. His portrait […]
FilmScene
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As ‘Oppenheimer’ drops, local cinemas focus in on nuclear films, Iowa’s atomic history
With the highly anticipated premiere of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer on the summer calendar, FilmScene staffer Lee Sailor decided to curate a Nuclear Movies series over a few weeks in July. The Iowa City cinema’s series typically last longer, but “we were slightly concerned about how many people would want to go see the world end […]
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UI alumni, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, return to Iowa with new movie, talking dinosaurs and Adam Driver
For Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, working on their latest $45 million dinosaur movie was reminiscent of their student film days. “The scope of the film is massive compared to anything else we’ve done, and yet at the same time it doesn’t feel much different from when we were at the University of Iowa,” said […]
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Samuel D. Hunter, UI grad and playwright behind ‘The Whale,’ talks friendship with Brendan Fraser, writing ‘autofiction’ and falling in love in Iowa
Before The Whale became an Oscar-nominated film, playwright Samuel D. Hunter briefly believed the play had reached its pinnacle. “Having the show at one of my favorite theaters, Playwrights Horizons, here in the city, a 125-seat theater, was the top of the mountain,” Hunter, a 2007 graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop, told […]
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Watch: Screenwriter and producer David Kajganich on adapting novels, cannibalism and Iowa City’s new film festival
For the first time in four years, screenwriter and Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum David Kajganich is back in Iowa City for the FilmScene premiere of his genre-bending, spine-tingling new work. Bones and All is the third adapted screenplay Kajganich has crafted for director Luca Guadagnino — audiences packed FilmScene during the 2018 Witching Hour Festival […]
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FilmScene’s Refocus Festival announces slate of features, from a VR documentary to a ‘secret’ animated film
As the start date for single ticket purchases quickly approaches, FilmScene has announced the lineup of films for its inaugural Refocus Film Festival, which runs Oct. 6-9 across Iowa City. (Ticket sales begin Sept. 16; passes are on sale now and range from $65 public/$60 members for a five-show pass to $230/$195 for all access.) […]
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FilmScene’s long-awaited ReFocus Film Festival is ‘tailormade for a City of Literature’
Iowa City’s literary history casts a long shadow. It’s the first UNESCO City of Literature in the country, home to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. But next month, Iowa City will enter the film festival world with FilmScene’s long-awaited ReFocus Film Festival, an event dedicated to the relationship between literature and film. Andrew Sherburne, executive director […]
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In a tight-knit community, art is ritual
A few years ago, the Englert Theatre and FilmScene initiated a campaign to make Iowa City “the Greatest Small City for the Arts.” And that title is justified. Not only do our local arts organizations bring us incredible performances, but we also boast a highly talented home-grown community of artists and performers. As the fall […]
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‘Hockeyland’, a new documentary from the makers of ‘Saving Brinton’, hits theaters this month
It’s been 17 years since Minnesota-born filmmakers Tommy Haines, JT Haines and Andrew Sherburne founded their independent production company, Northland Films, with a focus on nonfiction storytelling. In that time, they’ve produced, directed and released six film projects — all while Sherburne was busy founding and expanding Iowa City’s nonprofit cinema FilmScene. Their best-known documentary […]
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The Stanley Museum of Art’s homecoming
In 2019, the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art was celebrating its 50th anniversary. It also had been nearly 11 years without a home. The floods of 2008, which wreaked havoc across Iowa, hit Cedar Rapids and Iowa City the hardest. The Cedar and Iowa Rivers crested at 31.12 ft and 31.5 ft, respectively, […]
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T.C. Boyle discusses and reads from his work; his writings have never been timelier
T.C. Boyle returns to Iowa City this week for a pair of events presented by the University of Iowa Center for Advancement and the UI Lecture Committee. First, tonight, May 4, those orgs join with FilmScene for a screening of The Road to Wellville, the 1994 film based on Boyle’s 1993 novel of the same […]
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Watch: Interview with Sara Terry, director of ‘A Decent Home’
The new documentary A Decent Home tells the story of mobile home park residents, including those in North Liberty’s Golfview, as they try to preserve their communities and their homes after the parks are bought by private equity funds and other investors determined to maximize profits at their expense. Ahead of its sold-out screening at […]
