Directed by George Tillman Jr. who is also known for films such as Faster, Notorius, and the hit Soul Food, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete takes us into a Brooklyn, New York housing project and introduces us to best friends, Mister,14 and Pete, 9 as they try to survive alone during a sweltering New York summer after both of their mothers are arrested.

Mister’s mother, Gloria is played by academy award winning actress and R&B powerhouse Jennifer Hudson and Martha Millan from Entourage plays the role of Pete’s mom. Packed full of heavy hitters in film, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete successfully brings to life a coming of age story with a wonderful plot twist that is a must see.

A true gem of the Montclair Film Festival, the film kept me wanting more from young actors Shylan Brooks as “Mister” and Ethan Dizon as “Pete”.

Photo by Neil Grabowsky / Montclair Film Festival

Following the screening, there was a Q & A session with Director George Tillman Jr. sharing his own journey of rejection, defeat, and finally triumph, as the film has gotten more than one incredible audience response having also shown at the Sundance Film Festival. The response at MFF was incredible in a standing room only theater at the Clearview Clairidge Cinema in Montclair; the overall consensus of the room was that this film NEEDS to be seen and that Hollywood needs Writer, Director, Producer extraordinaire George Tillman Jr., the “Mister” of film.

View highlights of the screening below.

Directed by John Huston, this 1982 classic features a star-studded cast including Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Ann Reinking, Tim Curry, Bernadette Peters and many others.  Popular songs include “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow”, “It’s a Hard Knock Life” and “Maybe”.

Synopsis: In the depths of the 1930′s, Annie is a fiery young orphan girl who must live in a miserable orphanage run by the tyrannical Miss Hannigan. Her seemingly hopeless situation changes dramatically when she is selected to spend a short time at the residence of the wealthy munitions industrialist, Oliver Warbucks. Quickly, she charms the hearts of the household staff and even the seemingly cold-hearted Warbucks cannot help but learn to love this wonderful girl. He decides to help Annie find her long lost parents by offering a reward if they would come to him and prove their identity. However, Miss Hannigan, her evil brother, Rooster, and a female accomplice, plan to impersonate those people to get the reward for themselves which put Annie in great danger.

SING-ALONG ANNIE
FRIDAY MAY 31 (Raindate: June 1)
Movie starts at sundown – approx 8:45pm
Essex County Presby Memorial Iris Gardens
474 Upper Mountain Avenue, Upper Montclair
Street parking available on Upper Mountain Avenue and Highland Avenue (the street above the Gardens) 

Gideon’s Army follows the lives of three new young public defenders. Filmmaker and former litigator Dawn Porter chronicles the trials and tribulations of neophytes Travis Williams, Brandy Alexander, and June Hardwick as they reconcile advocacy of impoverished clients with the harsh reality accompanying it. Each share reasons for becoming defenders and face myriad tests in emotionally, psychologically, and financially sustaining themselves in their work.

Photo by Mikel Colson / Montclair Film Festival

Caseloads of 120 to 180 clients each do not smother the young attorneys’ resolve to go the extra mile for clients, regardless of what they must forgo and forgive.  “All I do is this,” says Travis, a first year devoted public defender in Georgia, confirmed by footage showing his office directly next door to his apartment.  “Either this is your cause or this ain’t,” is another of his battle hymns. June, based in Mississippi, harbors a boots-on-the-ground approach in working for her clients because they are “all counting on me for being there for them.” She regards her clients as kinfolk; because several divulge of previously having inadequate counsel, she tries to redeem the profession and their faith in the system. Brandy, based in Georgia, takes on a mentoring role, particularly with adolescent clients naïve to how the system works. She even visit clients when lonely being behind bars. Yet her experience, and like so many of her counterparts, is that sacrifices are not always reciprocally respected.

While sensationalized court cases dominate and saturate the airwaves, Porter deftly unearths through trial footage and interviews the unglamorous and unfair world of public defenders. Travis must defend a client against armed robbery charges without any DNA evidence.  Because the taking of a witness deposition is not required in Georgia, Brandy must prepare her case for her client, an adolescent also facing armed robbery charges, without knowing what the prosecution’s witnesses will say. With minimal resources and routinely problematic circumstances, public defenders must pull effective defenses from meager means. Where are the bright lights when you need them?

This documentary drives the sympathetic point that public defenders need bolstering too, and spotlights the only program nationwide providing it. The Southern Public Defender Training Center (now Gideon’s Promise) mentors fledgling frontiersmen in the legal wilderness. During one meeting Brandy unbosomed her dilemma, telling of a client’s graphic yet nonchalant detailing of raping his daughter, triggering in her a collision of her humanity with her growing ambiguity over whether to remain a public defender. With only 15,000 in service nationwide, the movie drives home the point that public defenders, like water, are a resource that should not be squandered.  The personal and professional lives of Travis, Brandy, and June somewhat justifies why 1 out of 3 public defenders leave the profession.

In Gideon’s Army, Porter situates the narratives of the defenders’ lives against the larger social, economic and ethical social landscapes within which they occur.  For poor clients, existing economic hardships become exacerbated. Once being jailed, lack of employment results in them losing jobs, homes, cars, and child custody. In one Georgia county high bonds are prohibitive of clients sustaining livelihoods and lives; a bond for shoplifting is $40,000.  One of Brandy’s adolescent clients was eligible for a pre-trial diversion program if his mother could post $3000 bond, which she could not muster. Consequently, he pled guilty. Working within systems with minimal resources and questionable executions of due process, Porter makes us privy to the underbelly of the pursuit and metering out of justice received.

Amidst their trials and tribulations Porter also reminds us that public defenders have human needs too. June is a mother who, once her student loans and bills are paid, is left with $300 for monthly expenses. She candidly shares of one time writing a check for groceries that she knew she did not have money in her account to cover.  Brandy, facing student loans of six figures, is shown putting $3 of gas in her car, hoping it will be enough to get her back and forth from home to work for the next two days. Travis seeks a life outside of work, seeking to bring fulfilling relationships into his life, and once getting them balancing them with his work.

The blessing emanating from the grievance of Clarence Earl Gideon not receiving counsel has led to us all having now the privilege of legal representation during trial. But Porter craftily unfolds throughout the movie the layers of complexity that underlie delivering and receiving it.  Each attorney learns they must navigate and negotiate the intersection of principles and actuality, as pursuit of justice exacts costs on defender, client, system and nation.

Everything free ain’t free.

Photo by Olivia Christina / Montclair Film Festival

A fruitful dialogue and exchange of information ensured after the screening.  An impromptu and informal panel of Dawn Porter (Director, Producer), Julie Goldman (Producer), Summer Damon (Co-Producer), Paul Fishman from the US Attorney for New Jersey’s office and another public defender were present to field questions. One viewer asked Porter how the film was made and the attorneys selected. Through her connections with Gideon’s Promise, she was able to interview and select participants for the film; although outreaching to prosecutors, all declined participation.  Another viewer inquired about funding sources, which Porter credited the Ford Foundation and HBO as substantial contributors.

When asked of the number of cases she followed, Porter shared interesting stories of the rigor she was put through in order to even get to film cases. Georgia requires a motion requesting permission, but one judge who eventually accommodated filming, requested formal arguments be presented. Less of a challenge was experienced in Mississippi where June is based, as she simply asked permission of her judge. Another viewer asked if pro bono representation is provided in New Jersey, which the representative from the US Attorney for NJ office explained that all attorneys within the state are supposed to provide some sort of pro bono counsel, explicating how that occurs. However, he detailed how because of the sequestration, his own office is furloughed 11 days. Another viewer made comparison of what occurred in the movie with what is transpiring in the Bronx where the magnitude of caseloads is causing a backlog.

A concussion is a ‘jarring’, or a shaking up of the status quo, and that’s what the movie Concussion did on May 5th as the second Montclair Film Festival drew to another successful close at the Bellevue Theater in Upper Montclair.

As I entered the theater 45 minutes early, there was already a line of people outside waiting to get into the theater and see what local filmmaker Stacie Passon had in store for them. People were talking about this film as it had generated quite a buzz . . . especially since it had been filmed locally in and around Montclair. This was obviously the hit of the night, eclipsing even the big budget, commercially produced film at the Bellevue.

The buzz generated is well-deserved, as it was acclaimed at The Sundance Film Festival (where it initially debuted) as “superb” by critics.

Photo by Neil Grabowsky / Montclair Film Festival

Friends, family and filmmakers alike showed up to be entertained by this sometimes light-hearted, sometimes psychologically deep dramatic-comedy, which did a masterful job of displaying a midlife crisis in a humorous, insightful way.

Robin Weigert (Deadwood) gives a stunningly dramatic performance of a forty-something lesbian housewife who after suffering a concussion gets shaken into a new reality, that there is something more than her life at home and work. As she explores her new reality, she gains a new perspective on her own psychology and eventually taking on the double-life of a high-end escort.

Photo by Neil Grabowsky / Montclair Film Festival

After the film, Ms. Passon answered a number of insightful (often humorous) questions about the film. Her praise for Ms. Weigert and those who assisted her with this film was boundless.

It was interesting how many people arrived wondering so much about this film, and how many people walked away wondering that much more about themselves.

Enjoy the beach while you can, because the ocean seems to be reclaiming what was once its own. The Montclair Film Festival featured the world premiere of Shored Up on Sunday, May 5th at the Montclair Kimberly Academy. The crowds turned out to hear what this important film had to say . . . and the message wasn’t a pleasant one for beach goers and beach residents.

Photo by Frank Schramm / Montclair Film Festival

Beach erosion and the rise of sea level are very serious issues that need to somehow be addressed, and after the tragedy of Superstorm Sandy this is all the more evident. But this film went beyond beach erosion, it made a statement about the danger that people are in living on the beaches, the danger they are putting their investments in, and their futures. Set on Long Beach Island, NJ and the Outer Banks of North Carolina this film really hits home for a lot of people who are affected by the Nor’easters and hurricanes that we along the United States’ Eastern Coastline experience each year. The film asks some of the difficult questions: Whether beach replenishment is doing more harm than good? What is the science really saying about global warming and why are some politicians so resistant to the facts? What is the true financial cost of our efforts? And many others.

The large auditorium at Montclair Kimberly Academy was filled almost to capacity. A very animated crowd arrived, some concerned about the environment, some concerned about their homes, some concerned for others, and some arrived just to be informed and entertained.

Photo by Frank Schramm / Montclair Film Festival

Director Ben Kalina and Mike Schneider appeared on stage for a Q& A session and a number of the audience members expressed concern over a wide range of subjects from people losing their homes to why must our tax dollars contribute to ‘shoring up’ the beaches around million dollar luxury properties so that the wealthy can live in safety. We were joined in the audience by a number of the crew who assisted Mr. Kalina; Executive Producer Brian Newman, Cinematographer Jen Schneider, and Editor Marc D’Agostino.

Shored Up is a film that answers many questions, but raises many others. It is a film that is intended to raise both awareness and debate.

In a sold out showing, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp made its domestic debut at the 2013 Montclair Film Festival. A long line of people waited in a stand-by line to claim what ended up being only a few empty seats in the theater.

Iceberg Slim, the nom de plume of the author Robert Beck, wrote PIMP: The Story of My Life (1969), his famous and loved autobiography about his first 42 years of life as a working pimp. The film examines the life of Robert Beck and the context of his writing career. Cycling through interviews with those influenced by Beck’s writings (Ice-T, Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, Chris Rock, Henry Rollins, and Katt Williams), scholars, voice-overs taken from PIMP, and interviews with Beck himself the film lays out the first half of the subject’s life.

Beck was a very talented student; invited to the Tuskegee Institute at the age of 15. The film suggests that Beck was pushed towards a life of crime by a tumultuous childhood. Beck spent the first half of his life in and out of prison, working as a pimp and petty criminal in the ghettos of Chicago. There he developed a debilitating drug habit. An addiction to cocaine and heroine eventually got Beck locked up in solitary confinement for 9 months.

Upon his release from solitary confinement Beck vowed to renounce his old life. Beck went out to California to reconcile with his mother and quickly began a family with his first wife Betty. Working as an exterminator to support his four children, Beck would come home and regale his wife with stories of his former life. In time she began to transcribe these stories, which would become the first draft of PIMP.

Photo by Robby Shah / Montclair Film Festival

Once PIMP was printed, Beck’s writing career took off. He wrote seven books in total, each of them chronicling stories of people who live on the fringes of society. Outcasts ushered out of acceptance for “ethical” transgressions. Beck wanted to deglamorize the outlaw lifestyles of pimps and hustlers through a gritty depiction of these lifestyles. PIMP and his other novels however still inspired new people to gravitate to such behavior. In an interview, Ice-T, who named himself after Iceberg Slim, claims that as a young pimp he tried to use the book PIMP as a guide.

While Ice-T, the film’s producer, is the largest name associated with the film, it was Ice-T’s manager and business partner of 28 years, Jorge Hinojosa who conceived of and directed the film. Ice-T said of his role in the film that “Jorge would just show me clips, and I was like dope.”

Photo by Robby Shah / Montclair Film Festival

During the Q & A session with Ice-T after the screening, the rapper insisted that Mr. Hinojosa read the works of Iceberg Slim as a prerequisite to becoming his manager.

Michael Slovis stopped by the Montclair Film Festival on May 4^th to discuss the art of cinematography, his participation with the groundbreaking series Breaking Bad, and just what it meant to be a cinematographer. The audience, a group of diverse people were there for various reasons . . . some there because they are aspiring cinematographers, some there because they appreciate the art form of cinematography, and some because they are fans of Breaking Bad.

The crowd seemed excited to hear Michael speak, as a range of discussions were developing while we all entered the back room behind the café at the Montclair Public Library–primarily about Breaking Bad, but also about Michael’s other projects, including: 30 Rock, and CSI, Crime Scene Investigation.

Michael began his discussion with how he first got involved with his current project, Breaking Bad, and how if it wasn’t for his wife’s insistence we probably would all be watching Breaking Bad with another cinematographer calling the camera shots.

Photo by Melissa Secondino / Montclair Film Festival

Michael spoke in great detail about a number of techniques he used most successfully on Breaking Bad, and more importantly he discussed why these techniques worked for him (and how they could have possibly not worked in other situations). One of the techniques that Michael uses extensively on Breaking Bad is the ‘wide shot’,  which typically shows the entire object or human figure and in relation to its surroundings. It has been suggested that long-shot ranges usually correspond to approximately what would be the distance between the front row of the audience and the stage in live theater. It is now common to refer to a long shot as a “wide shot” because it often requires the use of a wide-angle lens.

Later in his discussion Michael brought in the importance of camera types and lens choices. The fact that Breaking Bad almost exclusively utilizes ‘old school’ techniques of filming, processing, and developing a scene astounded some, surprised others . . . but delighted all in that those techniques could produce such high quality television.

Photo by Melissa Secondino / Montclair Film Festival

Michael Slovis is known for his dynamic, unconventional approach to projects making him so attractive to producers and directors. An interesting quote that Michael shared with the audience sums it up, “If you do average quality work and are quick you’ll always find work, if you do great work and are slow you won’t work for long . . . and if you do great work and are quick, you’ll work forever”.

Get the picture?

In the final scene before the credits roll, the mysterious rock star character of Every Word Handwritten declared, “This, by far, has been the most fun I’ve ever had.” Judging by the reactions of the delighted audience, there was plenty of fun to be had at Montclair Film Festival’s presentation of NJ Shorts: Musical Journeys on Friday evening at the Clairidge Cinema. The series of shorts included three films, Gifted & Talented: A Musical Short Film, Every Word Handwritten, and Asleep at the Wheel: Then and Now.

Gifted & Talented tells the story of virtuoso teenage keyboardist and budding composer, Wyatt, who is chosen to attend a camp for gifted musicians. Wyatt instantly develops a crush on fellow camper Nikki, but his timid nature keeps him from asking her out. No banal high school musical is this – it is told in a refreshing visual style that occasionally superimposes handwritten musical notation over the action and delivers original musical numbers.

Photo by Neil Grabowsky / Montclair Film Festival

Directed by Jeff Luppino-Esposito and Jamie T. McClelland, the short is the latest from The Online Musical, a collective that creates interactive online musicals. The group began with students at the University of Virginia, who thought of delivering original musicals with an engaged online audience. Their first effort Musical: The Online Musical, incorporated suggestions from online commentators about the musical’s content, songs, and character into each new episode.

This was followed by the short Every Word Handwritten, which followed the lives of several individuals connected by one vinyl record. Produced by the band Gaslight Anthem and directed by Kevin Slack, the film is a love letter to vinyl records and the heyday of record stores. It was originally planned as a music video for the band’s 2012 album Handwritten and later expanded into the original short film.

Beginning in the 1960s with the shot of a rock band playing out to a packed house, the film then traces the journey of an album produced by that band. A young woman buys the album for her sweetheart, who is going to Vietnam. She writes him a love letter on the sleeve, and so begins a tradition of writing messages on the album’s sleeve as it changes hands. When the current owner of the album decides to sell it, history comes full circle as the original rock star of the album happens upon the record.

Asleep at the Wheel: Then and Now is about a different kind of band in the sixties: dubbed the “Western Swing Beatles” for a time, Asleep at the Wheel has been performing and recording music for over 40 years. Yet for all that time only one thing has remained unchanged about the band – Ray Benson, who never left despite considerable troubles. Facing financial hardship, changing musical taste, and the realities of constant tours, the band still continues to bring Western Swing to audiences.

Benson began the band on a farm in Paw-Paw, West Virginia with self-identified “hippies” with an interest in Western Swing and nature. From the remote farm, it was then quite a step to the wilds of Berkeley, California, where the band struggled to make ends meet. An initial record contract with United Artists failed to catch on, so the band moved to Texas to find a more receptive audience for their music.

For years Texans came out in droves to see the band, but another dry period came when disco hit. Still, Benson witnessed another comeback in 1987 with a Billboard hit and continues to makes music with the band today. Asleep at the Wheel: Then and Now, the longest of the three short films, also seemed to earn the most laughs of the evening. It was easy to see why, since the documentary short directed by Dan Karlok was filled with endless humorous anecdotes from the band.

All in all, a trio of shorts that tickled the audience and engaged their musical sensibilities.

Arriving at the MFF screening of his directorial debut, Geoffrey Fletcher, the Academy-Award-winning screenwriter for Precious, was gracious and charming, and eager for the audience to see Violet & Daisy, his first feature film. “Watch it with an open mind,” Fletcher urged. “The film starts and ends in starkly different places . . . it’s different from Precious . . . different from anything else.”

Photo by Daniel DiScala / Montclair Film Festival

Both written and directed by Fletcher, Violet & Daisy tells the story of two teenage girls, Violet and Daisy, who become guns-for-hire to earn money to buy extravagant dresses from a coveted fashion designer. Violet is the ring leader, with a cool depravity toward victims but genuine affection for her friend. Daisy is younger and more thoughtful; the one who suggests milk with her cookies and believes everything she is told. They wind up in the company of their latest target, a paternal figure played by James Gandolfini, where a hilarious, chilling, tumultuous, and ultimately poignant afternoon together not only alters their plans, but impacts their future. Violet & Daisy will open nationally in theaters on June 7th.

Following the film’s screening, Fletcher delighted filmgoers with a lively Q&A session, sharing insight on his creative process, and intel behind the scenes. “The idea [for the story of Violet & Daisy] came before Precious . . . I love so many different genres of film . . . this has a fable-like way [about it]. There are a lot [of films made about] boys in the universe and I wanted to explore the girls . . . in subjects of love, family, trust, and redemption”.

Photo by Daniel DiScala / Montclair Film Festival

Fletcher and his producer John Penotti spoke of the casting of the two lead girls. “A lot of actresses wanted to be in the film, and we did internet readings from London, LA, New York, all over . . .” said Fletcher. “There are so few parts where the actresses drive the plot.” Penotti concurred, “The girls went for it.”

The MFF audience lauded the film’s cinematography, to which Fletcher attributed to “working beautifully” with his cinematographer Vanja Cernjul. “Vanja is very film literate, and we developed a short-hand [language] very quickly.” The filmmaker dodged questions about the imagery in the film, encouraging the audience to make their own decisions. When pressed, he did share one item. “The plane imagery is tied to Violet’s mother. But that’s all I’m telling you!” he teased.

After the screening and Q&A session, Fletcher was surrounded by audience members raving about the film. He smiled and thanked everyone, then said with a wink, “Think about [the film], and over time there will be more to it, tomorrow, the next day . . .” And with that, Fletcher was whisked away to his next MFF event.

Hey Bartender screened at the Montclair Film Festival last Friday follows the stories of two bars, a struggling suburban corner bar and a thriving NYC hotspot. It portrays the owners and bartenders and what motivated them to do what they do. The history of the bartender since prohibition is examined and the evolution of the bartender from the simple server of drinks to the crafter of cocktails is explored.

The story lines are interspersed with sound bite interviews of many famous NYC bar owners giving a historical perspective from the days of the three martini lunch, the disappearance of barkeep creativity in the seventies and eighties when alcohol and syrup were the protocol, to the modern day craft cocktails made with fresh and locally harvested ingredients.

Following the film, director Doug Tirola, producer Susan Bedusa, and bartender Steve Schneider (Employees Only, NYC) who was featured prominently in the film spoke and took questions from the audience. Everyone congregated outside to continue the discussions and many continued on to Egan & Sons for a much needed cocktail.

Photo by Daniel DiScala / Montclair Film Festival

Click here to listen to audio of the Q&A session.