We’re gonna move forward with some new films this week, but we will absolutely hold onto DRIVEWAYS for another week – NEON fans have loved it. Jane wrote, “DRIVEWAYS was a great film-we really enjoyed it!” Richard says it’s an “Excellent film,” and Mickey chimed in with “Oh my goodness Driveways is SUCH a wonderful film!” Stuart told folks that DRIVEWAYS is, “Wonderful, poignant, one of Brian Dennehy’s best performances ever, and highly recommended.” Thanks to all the folks who help spread the word. If you missed the Q&A for UP FROM THE STREETS, the terrific doc about the Music of New Orleans, you’re in luck – a second has been added! A LIVE Q&A with Terence Blanchard, director Michael Murphy, and Ben Jaffe, Creative Director of Preservation Hall will take place on May 26 at 9pm ET/6pm PT – here’s the LINK where you sign up for the Free Q&A. We’ll hold the film for another week, too!Starting today, because we know how Daytonians have really started to embrace short films over the past few years, we are opening a collection of “petite Gallic pleasures” – NEW FRENCH SHORTS 2020. On Friday, because we love Kristin Scott Thomas and because Dayton is proud of Wright Patt Air Force Base, we are opening MILITARY WIVES (and it’s just in time for Memorial Day). In addition, on Friday, we will begin the next in the Magnolia Pictures’ Doc Series – A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE DOCS – where you can send in questions to each of the films’ directors (this week’s selection is LIFE ITSELF)! (Don’t forget – Tonight, Wednesday, May 20, is the Q&A for RBG!)
Synopsis for NEW FRENCH SHORTS 2020: “This showcase of some of the most exciting new cinematic voices from France runs the gamut from animation to romance to absurdist comedy. Revel in these petite Gallic pleasures, including award winners from Cannes, Locarno, and Palm Springs ShortFest. New French Shorts 2020 is made available through Young French Cinema, a program of UniFrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. Selections include: Ahmed’s Song (Foued Mansour, 30m), Sheep, Wolf, and a Cup of Tea… (Marion Lacourt, 12m), Tuesday from 8 to 6 (Cecilia de Arce, 26m), The Distance Between Us and the Sky (Vasilis Kekatos, 9m), The Tears Thing (Clémence Poésy, 25m), Magnetic Harvest (Marine Levéel, 24m), Bonus: The Glorious Acceptance Speech of Nicolas Chauvin (Benjamin Crotty, 26m)” This collection of films will be available for viewing on most computers, phones and tablets as well as via apps on AppleTV, Roku and Firestick. Further details are available on the bottom of the official purchasing site. Click the image below to watch the trailer and gain 5 day access to this collection of films for $12.
Synopsis for MILITARY WIVES: Perfect for Memorial Day Weekend! We’re pleased to continue our partnership with Bleecker Street in bringing you their latest release, MILITARY WIVES. From the director of THE FULL MONTY and starring Kristin Scott Thomas (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and Sharon Horgan (CATASTROPHE), it’s the feel-good movie of the year! “MILITARY WIVES centers on a group of women from different backgrounds whose partners are away serving in Afghanistan. Faced with their loved ones’ absences, they come together to form the very first military wives choir, helping each other through some of life’s most difficult moments, and quickly find themselves on an international stage.” (Bleecker Street) THE DAILY MAIL calls MILITARY WIVES “Hugely engaging, enormously moving.” Starting May 22, you’ll be able to gain 72 hour access to the film for just $4.99. Click the image below to watch the trailer…the link to purchase the film will be available starting Friday on our website.
MAGNOLIA PICTURES: A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE DOCS is already underway with RBG, and you’ve been invited to ask questions to the directors. Each Friday, we’ll start a virtual engagement of a great documentary for just $5.00 each. On the following Wednesday, you can attend a live virtual Q&A with the film’s director – and you’ll be able to submit your own questions in advance. You can either submit them over email to [email protected], or they can tweet at Magnolia by using the hashtag #magnoliadocseries. Here’s the line-up (click the titles to watch the trailers…the link for RBG and LIFE ITSELF are also where you can gain 72 hour access to each film for $5):
RBG starts on May 15. (Q&A on 5/20 with directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen, moderated by Melena Ryzik from the New York Times)
LIFE ITSELF starts May 22. (Q&A on 5/27 with Chaz Ebert in conversation with director Steve James)
BLACKFISH starts May 29. (Q&A on 6/3 with director Gabriela Cowperthwaite)
HAIL SATAN? starts June 5. (Q&A on 6/10 with director Penny Lane in conversation with Lucien Greaves, head of The Satanic Temple.)
When you purchase access to each film for $5, you will also get invited to that film’s Q&A event and 10% of all the national sales will go to a charity of the filmmaker’s choice.
Due to the uncertainty of the coming weeks/months, the DAYTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL has decided to go mostly virtual this June instead of postponing or canceling…and the preview event on June 2 is right around the corner. Though we’ll certainly miss hosting this fantastic festival at THE NEON, we think they’ve made a wise decision!! Check out their awesome line-up by clicking the image below! It’s their 20th anniversary, and they’re making all the screenings and on-line discussions FREE!!
Wanna know what’s coming down the road? (Click any title to watch that film’s trailer.) On May 27, foodies will delight in the new documentary DIANA KENNEDY: NOTHING FANCY. Also on the 27th, lovers of classic cinema and film history will adore THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS. On June 12, we will open the documentary FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO – Daniel Karslake’s follow-up to his film FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. And sometime in June, we hope to open THE TOBACCONIST – a film I saw and loved at The Cleveland International Film Festival last year. We’re working to make this a sidebar or encore to the Dayton Jewish Film Festival…and you’ll be invited to participate in a post-screening discussion with yours truly.
There are many other irons in the fire right now, and THE NEON is working hard to make sure that when we’re able to re-open, we can do it as safely as possible. I’ll keep you posted.
