EDDIE REDMAYNE IN THE GOOD NURSE |
CAREY MULLIGAN AND ZOE KAZAN IN SHE SAID |
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stunts ; then he was sexually assaulted by someone in the foreign press . This is his big comeback role ; they are calling it his “ Brendanaissance .”
Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor , creators of the super-popular fiction podcast Night Vale , will launch a new spinoff of their series on Saturday the 23rd . Night Vale gives “ noire-y radio news reports about a small fictional town where horrible things happen . It ’ s as if Stephen King did Prairie Home Companion .”
The centerpiece family film , on Sunday Oct . 23 , is Patrick and the Whale , produced with the Nature Conservancy , about a man who befriends a sperm whale in the Caribbean . It ’ s The Octopus Teacher meets Moby Dick . The photography is incredible . Iwatched it on my computer and can ’ t wait to see it on the big screen at the Wellmont .
She Said , the closing night film , is based on the 2019 book by the New York Times ’ Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey , who exposed Harvey Weinstein ’ s history of sexual abuse and misconduct . It stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan . The filmmakers will be awarded the festival ’ s David Carr Award for Truth in Filmmaking .
It ’ s always hard for me to single out films ; they ’ re like my children , and Ilove them all . But one I ’ d especially recommend is Devotion , about
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the friendship between an African- American and white Navy pilot during the Korean War . It ’ s a Top- Gun-ny buddy film tinged with the racial politics of the time . The other is Remember This , starring David Straithairn , about the concentration camp escapee who tried to alert FDR to the atrocities of the Holocaust .
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ’ RE ALMOST BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF FILMS IN THE FESTIVAL . HOW MANY ATTENDEES ARE YOU EXPECTING ?
HALL : This year we ’ ll have about 130 films — 61 features and 68 shorts .
We can show more movies each day than last year , when we were trying to keep an hour between movies so people weren ’ t lining up on top of each other because of COVID . As far as audience numbers , we likely won ’ t be shattering 2019 ’ s total of 26,000 festival-goers , but we ’ ll be closer than last year .
WHAT OTHER PARTIES OR SPECIAL EVENTS ARE BEING HELD THIS YEAR ?
GOTTUNG : After a two-year hiatus , we are again hosting the opening night party , which will be at Porta restaurant , next door to our headquarters . There is also a filmmaker breakfast open to the public and an October 29 showing of the
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Rocky Horror Picture Show , with The Ordinary Kids performing a live floor show . Wear a costume . |
WILL YOU OBSERVE ANY COVID RESTRICTIONS AT THE FESTIVAL ?
HALL : No . While masks are strongly encouraged and staff will be masked , we are following the lead of the governor and Broadway and not requiring masks or vaccine cards . Everything has been walked back . I don ’ t know if that ’ s appropriate or not . One of the good things is that Montclair is a heavily vaccinated area .
THE CLAIRIDGE THEATER REOPENED LAST YEAR RIGHT BEFORE THE FESTIVAL . WHATCHANGESWILL WE SEE ?
HALL : The lobby was recently renovated , and we are waiting on town approval of a liquor license for the snack bar . It ’ s a nonprofit license ( and not subject to a bidding war like those given to retail businesses ), so the cost to us will be minimal . After the festival , we ’ ll be replacing the floors and chairs in all six theaters , supported by a matching grant . We also need to replace the theater ’ s three HVAC systems . We took that on when we signed the lease for the property ( with Montclair landlord Dick Grabowsky ). We ’ ll be fundraising for that .
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COURTESY OF MONTCLAIR FILM |
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24 FALL 2022 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE |