JULY 16, 2014
Independent Film Festival 2014
Desert Foothills Library
Fridays, July & August; 10:30 a.m.-Noonish
Free popcorn and soft drinks!
July 18: Stories We Tell (Rated PG-13)
In this inspired, genre-twisting new film, Oscar® - nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who's telling it. Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. She playfully interviews and interrogates a cast of characters of varying reliability, eliciting refreshingly candid, yet mostly contradictory, answers to the same questions. As each relates their version of the family mythology, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of their mother, who departed too soon, leaving a trail of unanswered questions. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving. (108 minutes)
July 25: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (NR)
In this madcap and lighthearted comedic romp, introverted optometrist Weichung begins to question his marriage with his wife Feng, upon learning of her desire to have another baby. At his sister's engagement party, Weichung bumps into an old friend, Stephen, a wedding photographer who, though also married, is living the high life of a younger, single gay man. When Stephen teases Weichung for his newly straightlaced lifestyle, dormant emotions are awakened in Weichung, setting him off on a quest for true romance and desire. Mandarin Chinese w/subtitles. (104 minutes)
August 1: Least Among Saints (R)
A haunted soldier just back from war and a boy who has never known peace in his home life embark on a life -changing journey as they become unlikely friends – and one another's last shot at redemption. (107 minutes)
August 8: The Broken Circle Breakdown (NR)
Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He's a romantic atheist, she's a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill, their love is put on trial. An intensely moving portrait of a relationship from beginning to end, The Broken Circle Breakdown is a romantic melodrama “of the highest order”. Oscar-nominated: best foreign language film. Dutch w/subtitles. (111 minutes)
August 15: Spinning Plates (NR)
A documentary about three extraordinary restaurants and the incredible people who make them what they are. A cutting-edge restaurant named the seventh-best in the world whose chef must battle a life-threatening obstacle to pursue his passion. A 150-year-old family restaurant still standing only because of the unbreakable bond with its community. A fledgling Mexican restaurant whose owners are risking everything just to survive and provide for their young daughter. Their unforgettable stories of family, legacy, passion and survival come together to reveal how meaningful food can be, and the power it has to connect us to one another. (93 minutes)
August 22: Run & Jump (NR)
After her husband suffers a debilitating stroke, spirited Irish housewife Vanetia Casey struggles to keep her family together in the wake of tragedy. Help comes in the form of American doctor Ted Fielding, whose research grant for documenting the family s recovery process takes care of finances but also requires that the straight-laced doctor live with the chaotic Casey family for two months. Although Vanetia initially resents living under Ted s microscope, she soon finds comfort in his calming presence, while Ted grows surprisingly accustomed to Vanetia s dynamic, unpredictable personality. As the two explore their bond within their unique situation, they discover that a new family is beginning to take shape around them. Uplifting and authentic, Run & Jump is an unexpected, unconventional romance about human connection and the power of acceptance. (106 minutes)
August 29: Saints and Soldiers (PG-13)
After surviving a massacre in Malmedy, a location behind the German army in Europe, four American soldiers with only one weapon rescue the British pilot Oberon Winley in a tree and they move together, trying to reach the allied forces and save a great number of allied soldiers from a German attack with the information got by Winley in his flight. While marching, each soldier discloses inner secrets to the rest of the group. German w/subtitles. (90 minutes)
