Work has, admittedly, added a layer of anxiety in terms of covering film festivals that I usually have not had to worry about. In past years, I was able to just take the requisite vacation time- or was on furlough- and left to freely cover the festival. This year, that hasn’t happened. But I’m not going to allow that to stop me from covering the 46th Atlanta Film Festival.
While Fantasia Fest had a kick-ass genre lineup, Sundance has the strongest potential for indie winners during the mainstream movie year, and the Renegade Film Festival has my favorite festival atmosphere, I think the Atlanta Film Festival has, typically, had my favorite lineup of films in general. There’s an empathy to the programming that has really endeared itself to me the past three years, and it makes me excited to see what films I will discover year in and year out. Whether it was “The Farewell” and “Afterlife” in 2019, “Curtis”, “The Miseducation of Bindu” and “The Killing of Two Lovers” in 2020, or “Clean Slate”, “Moon Manor”, “Nine Days” and “Akilla’s Escape” in 2021, the festival has given me some of my favorite movie experiences of the respective year, and hopefully, 2022 will be no different.
There will be parts of this year’s Atlanta Film Festival that will be different, however. Because of work, I’m going to have to balance the festival and my full-time job. Therefore, I am targeting a handful of must-attend in-person screenings, and will only hit others if my schedule allows. The virtual aspect of the festival will help fill out my coverage this year.
Below, I’ll shine a light on not only some of the screenings I will be attending, but others that are noteworthy. If you get a chance, even if you aren’t in Atlanta, I hope you check out some of the virtual program. It’s sure to have some gems in it.
Thursday, April 21
=“100 Feet of Film presented by the Atlanta Film Society and Kodak Film Lab Atlanta: Film Screening” (6pm, The Plaza)- Atlanta Film Society (ATLFS) and Kodak present the 100 Feet of Film Project. This project provides a team of filmmakers with the opportunity to maximize their creativity while minimizing the ability to reshoot. Through this project, filmmakers have learned to effectively and efficiently shoot on a limited reel of film stock and in the process must focus on the fundamentals of filmmaking.
=“Cha Cha Real Smooth” (8:30pm, The Plaza)- This Sundance fave is about a young man who works as a Bar Mitzvah party host strikes up a friendship with a mother and her autistic daughter.
Friday, April 22
=“892” (7pm, The Plaza, Opening Night)- A Marine war veteran faces mental and emotional challenges when he tries to reintegrate back into civilian life. Director Abi Damaris Corbin will be in attendance.
Saturday, April 23
=“Refuge” (5pm, Carter Presidential Center)- REFUGE is a story about fear and love in the American South. A leader in a white nationalist hate group finds healing from the people he once hated – a Muslim heart doctor and his town of refugees. Chris is a husband and father, a veteran, and until recently, a leader in the KKK. He started hating Muslims when the planes hit the Twin Towers on 9/11, but is forced to confront his hate when he receives a text from Muslim refugee, Heval. REFUGE illustrates the false promises of hate and reveals where real and lasting refuge is found. Where there is love, there is refuge.
=“Do Not Hesitate” (7pm, The Plaza)- After the sudden disappearance of their superior, three young Dutch soldiers are left to guard a military vehicle by themselves. As their situation and the scorching desert heat renders them increasingly disconnected from reality, an encounter with a local boy escalates into a fight that will mark their lives forever.
Sunday, April 24
=“Outta the Muck” (12:30pm, Dad’s Garage)- Family, football and history come to life in an intimate portrait of the Dean family, longtime residents of the historic town of Pahokee, Florida. As we take a journey back home, with filmmaker Ira McKinley, to the land of sugarcane, he reconnects with his niece Bridget and nephew Alvin and explores their shared family history that spans seven generations. Told through stories that transcend space and time, OUTTA THE MUCK presents an intimate portrait of a community that resists despair with love, remaining fiercely self-determined, while forging its own unique narrative of Black achievement.
=“Montana Story” (1pm, The Plaza)- Two estranged siblings return home to the sprawling ranch they once knew and loved, confronting a deep and bitter family legacy against a mythic American backdrop.
=“Breakwater” (3:30pm, The Plaza)- Aslan, a young insecure fisherman who lives on a Turkish island, finds a valuable lobster cave while diving. Knowing this treasure will bring him wealth and the prestige that he has never had in his society, he decides to keep it a secret from his cousin and best friend Yilmaz until he can properly harvest the lobsters by himself. By not sharing the secret, Yilmaz’s growing suspicion conjures a series of paranoid obsessions that thrust him into a downward spiral.
=“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (4:30pm, The Plaza)- Feature adaptation of the animated short film interviewing a mollusk named Marcel.
=“Summering” (7:30pm, The Plaza)- School begins — four girls struggle with the harsh truths of growing up and embark on a mysterious adventure.
=“Boycott” (8:30pm, Carter Presidential Center/The Lawn)- When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across 33 states in America. BOYCOTT is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech.
Monday, April 25
=“Phantom of the Open” (7:15pm, The Plaza)- Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist, managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship Qualifying in 1976 and subsequently shot the worst round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process.
=“A Woman on the Outside” (8:30pm, Carter Presidential Center/The Lawn)- Growing up, Kristal watched nearly every man in her life disappear to prison. She channeled that struggle into keeping families connected, both as a social worker and with her van service that drives families to visit loved ones in far-off prisons. But when Kristal’s dad and brother return to Philly, her happiness meets the realization that release doesn’t always mean freedom. Passionate, funny and resilient, Kristal remains determined to carve out a different future – for herself and for her young nephew, Nyvae. Part observational documentary, part family album, A WOMAN ON THE OUTSIDE is a tender portrait of one family striving to love in the face of a system built to break them.
Tuesday, April 26
=“Miles From Nowhere” (7pm, The Plaza)- Miles is dying. After a year of avoiding his two closest friends, he attempts to reestablish normalcy by gathering them together for their annual cabin trip. However, his plan to reveal his terminal cancer goes awry when Sammy and Victor come clean about secrets of their own. The past becomes the present and the future becomes uncertain as lies, pain, and pride threaten to erase the bonds of friendship entirely.
=“After Sherman” (8:30pm, Carter Presidential Center/The Lawn)- A director’s exploration of coastal South Carolina as a site of pride and racial trauma through Gullah cultural retention and land preservation is interrupted by the shootings at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. AFTER SHERMAN is a story about inheritance and the tension that defines our collective American history.
=“Emily the Criminal” (9:45pm, The Plaza)- Down on her luck and saddled with debt, Emily gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, ultimately leading to deadly consequences.
Wednesday, April 27
=“A Love Song” (7pm, Dad’s Garage)- Two childhood sweethearts, both now widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains.
=“Only I Can Hear” (8:30pm, Carter Presidential Center/The Lawn)- In the American Midwest, three hearing teenagers come of age in the vibrant, raucous Deaf community. Balancing both hearing and deaf societies, they often struggle to fit in either world but find connection, understanding, and community in a home between the two disparate spaces, amongst their peers who are also CODA — Children of Deaf Adults.
=“Hekate” (9:30pm, The Plaza)- Following a horrific event, Helena and Kira argue on the side of the road. No destination in mind, no plan to follow. The journey unfolds kilometer by kilometer; a journey that soon becomes a ritual — a tribute to the goddess of witches and a ritual of passage towards the autonomy and maturity of her descendants.
Thursday, April 29
=“The Murder Podcast” (7pm, Dad’s Garage)- Desperate to get more podcast listeners, Chad Thadwick decides he needs a new topic. After a murder in his hometown, the answer is clear: a true crime podcast! With the help of his best friend, Chad starts investigating, only to get wrapped up in a terrifying adventure full of supernatural threats!
=“You Resemble Me” (7pm, The Plaza)- Cultural and intergenerational trauma erupt in this story about two sisters on the outskirts of Paris. After the siblings are torn apart, the eldest, Hasna, struggles to find her identity, leading to a choice that shocks the world. Director Dina Amer takes on one of the darkest issues of our time and deconstructs it in an intimate story about family, love, sisterhood, and belonging.
=“Master of Light” (8:30pm, Carter Presidential Center/The Lawn)- George Anthony Morton is a classical painter who spent ten years in federal prison for dealing drugs. Since his release, he has worked to defy society’s expectations and to tackle the white-dominant art world. Journeying back home from Atlanta to Kansas City, George works to heal broken relationships while painting family members in the style of the Dutch Old Masters. Every brushstroke dives deeper into George’s soul as he shines a bright light on racial injustice and the intergenerational trauma it begets.
=“Soul of a Beast” (9:30pm, The Plaza)- In a delirious summer rush, teenage father Gabriel falls in love with enigmatic Corey, the girlfriend of his best friend Joel. Overwhelmed with the decision of his life Gabriel is catapulted into the unforgiving wilderness of his heart, where imagination is more real than reality.
Friday, April 29
=“Look At Me: XXXTENTACION” (7:45pm, The Plaza)- An inside look at a gifted young rapper’s tumultuous coming-of-age with never-before-seen footage, as XXXTentacion’s inner circle speaks out for the first time.
Saturday, April 30
=“In the Bones” (4pm, The Plaza)- A lyrical documentary that explores the personal and political by interweaving the lives of 12 characters living in Mississippi during a legislative session in which equal pay for equal work and abortion rights are being decided. Although set in three distinct regions of Mississippi, IN THE BONES is a much broader exploration of our culture, an unsettling portrayal of America that lingers, shining a light on the weight women live under in this country and also the resilience expressed in everyday acts of survival.
=“Mija” (7pm, The Plaza, Closing Night)- Follows Doris Munoz, who began a career in music talent management and met Jacks Haupt, an auspicious young singer, and both share the ever-present guilt of being the first American-born members of their undocumented families.
Sunday, May 1
=“Salma’s Home” (4:15pm, The Plaza)- The story follows three women who are facing uncertain times after the death of the family’s patriarch Bakri: Salma, Bakri’s ex wife, is a talented baker. Her daughter Farah is struggling with her own marriage. Lamia, Bakri’s new wife, is a wannabe socialite and social media influencer. Together they navigate Bakri’s inheritance, finding out that the only way forward is to live together under one roof.
=“Hands That Bind” (7:15pm, The Plaza)- Having severed ties with his father, Andy’s opportunity to farm as a landowner has been jeopardized. He devotes his life to working another man’s land, trying to establish new roots with his wife and children, and with the hope that the land might one day be his. But those hopes are destroyed when his boss’s ungrateful son unexpectedly returns. As Andy struggles with providing for his family in a world that is increasingly unfamiliar, a darkness settles over the community and mysterious occurrences begin; cattle mutilations, drought, a missing teenager, paranoia, and unexplained lights in the sky.
2022 Atlanta Film Festival- The Reviews
“Emily the Criminal” (YouTube Quick Take, above)
“Only I Can Hear” (Review on 4/27)
“Outta the Muck”
“Learn to Swim”
“The Game” (YouTube Quick Take)
“Cha Cha Real Smooth”
“Refuge”
“Daughter of a Lost Bird” (YouTube Quick Take)
“892”
“Portraits From a Fire” (YouTube Quick Take)
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”
“Boycott”
Thanks for Listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com.
