The jangle, hum and hiss of Denis Johnson’s writing, first published when he was a 19-year-old undergrad at the University of Iowa and later stamped with the National Book Award, found me by mistake. “Car-Crash While Hitchhiking,” the short story responsible for Bethany, Missouri’s place in the literary canon, wasn’t supposed to be there. But […]
Refocus Film Festival
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Review: Queer desire ruled at Refocus 2025, from ‘She’s the He’ to ‘Hedda’
The Refocus Film Festival awarded its Audience Choice Award to She’s the He, the debut feature from director Siobhan McCarthy. In it, high school best friends Ethan and Alex find themselves tangled up in a queer coming-of-age. Alex (Nico Carney), desperate to impress his dream girl, insists that they pretend to be trans women in […]
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Film critic and frequent ‘Filmspotting’ podcast guest Michael Phillips talks adaptations, Trump fatigue and the Refocus film that feels most pertinent
Michael Phillips, former film critic at the Chicago Tribune, is coming back to Iowa City for the Refocus Film Festival. There, he will join UI Professor and Filmspotting co-host Adam Kempenaar for a live taping of the podcast Friday, October 10. Little Village met with Phillips to chat about the festival and reflect on his long career in a fickle field.
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Refocus returns on Thursday! Here’s a guide to 18 films on the festival lineup
FilmScene’s Refocus Film Festival returns to Iowa City Oct. 9-12 with a full platter of cinematic goodness. We asked our resident film scribes Ariana Martinez and Benji McElroy to share the shows they’re most excited to see. We also broke down the lineup by mood, with only a little fighting about what fit where. Click […]
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Behind the ultimate rock-umentary — and its 20th anniversary re-release, ‘Dig! XX’ — is a sister-brother duo with an eye for mad genius
Multi-award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner has amassed a wide-ranging body of work about people she calls “impossible visionaries.” Her documentary subjects tend to stray from social convention and take the path less traveled, which can sometimes put hers in impossible situations. I imagine that nothing was more difficult than making Last Flight Home, a 2022 film […]
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Are film critics artists? Of course! Jonathan Rosenbaum and Marya E. Gates compare ideas on what makes a good movie — and a good movie review
During last month’s Refocus Film Festival, Little Village film columnist Ariana Martinez had the opportunity to chat with renowned film critics Jonathan Rosenbaum and Marya E. Gates in a panel entitled “Writing on Film.” The trio’s discussion ranged from career highlights and how to approach interviewing different directors to what it means to call yourself […]
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Deliberately scratched frames, disquieting docs, dreamy shots of Iowa: Reviews of 10 films featured at Refocus
It is officially a wrap on the 2024 Refocus Film Festival, which means it is time to unpack all I was able to see and experience following opening night.
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A packed Englert audience sees and celebrates ‘Nightbitch’ movie as Refocus 2024 kicks off
Last night, a giddy audience gathered in the historic Englert Theatre, its marquee beautifully illuminating their entrance, for opening night of the third annual Refocus Film Festival. Onstage, Andrew Sherburne and Programming Director Ben Delgado expressed their gratitude for all who made the festival possible and shared some backstory on their efforts to screen Marielle […]
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Swallowing a tooth, and other ways local poets ‘harness a feeling’ in short films at Refocus
“It is October. Everything is overturning,” writes Hannah Bonner in her debut book of poetry, Another Woman. “I pack a suitcase to get through October and drive to the shore with a video camera,” begins the poem “Video Footage” in Julia Anna Morrison’s Long Exposure, her first book of poems. It is October. And with […]
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Palestinian stories, Orson Welles, Reality Winner, ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ — Vital films new and restored feature in Refocus 2024 lineup
“I mean, we might as well address the dog in the room,” chuckled Andrew Sherburne, the co-founder of Iowa City’s nonprofit cinema FilmScene. Sherburne and programming director Ben Delgado eagerly await Oct. 17, the opening night of the Refocus Film Festival and the Iowa City premiere of Nightbitch, adapted from Iowa City author Rachel Yoder’s […]
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Iowa is steeped in cinema history — and historic cinemas. But keeping an indie theater ticking isn’t easy
In Tommy Haines’ and Andrew Sherburne’s 2017 documentary Saving Brinton, Iowa history teach Mike Zahs discovers a treasure trove of old film reels in a farm basement, including rare footage of Teddy Roosevelt and a never-before-seen film by Georges Méliès (A Trip to the Moon, The Impossible Voyage). Zahs then embarks on an international odyssey […]
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Iowa City authors Rachel Yoder and Garth Greenwell discuss midlife crises, ‘re-wilding’ marriage and trusting in Amy Adams
When we learned the movie adaptation of Nightbitch — Iowa City author Rachel Yoder’s satirical 2021 novel about a new mother embracing her inner (and outer) beast — would be headlining FilmScene’s Refocus Film Festival in October, Little Village editors naturally began imagining a cover for the September Fall Arts Preview involving Yoder holding some […]
