The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul will screen nine incredible films at the Capri Theater as part of the 2018 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF). MSPIFF brings bold, exciting and moving works by emerging and veteran filmmakers to the Twin Cities from April 12-28, presenting 250+ new films representing over 70 countries. Screenings at the Capri (2027 West Broadway) will be held on April 13, 14, 15, 26 and 27.
MSPIFF, one of the longest-running film festivals in the country and the largest film event in the Midwest, draws an attendance of 50,000 annually. Tickets are $14 general public, $11 Film Society members, and $8 youth under 25 and students w/ID.
Roller Dreams: Venice Beach, 1984. Suffocated by the pressures of the city, young people find solace on the beaches of Venice, creating their own community through a shared bond—roller dancing. However, this vibrant, multicultural circle is soon interrupted by greed and incoming gentrification. Program: New American Visions. Directed by Kate Hickey. USA, Australia. 2017. English. 82 min. Documentary feature. Friday, April 13 at 7 p.m.
Don’t Get Trouble in Your Mind: The Carolina Chocolate Drops Story: In 2010, African American string-band The Carolina Chocolate Drops stunned the music world, taking home a Grammy for their debut album. This documentary charts the band’s sudden rise and also reflects on the influence of their mentor, black fiddler Joe Thompson; the banjo’s African origins, and how interconnected communities lead to popular American music of today. Program: New American Visions, Minnesota made. Directed by John Whitehead. United States. 2017. English. 99 min. Documentary feature. Saturday, April 14 at 4 p.m.
Piano Hero and Superfriends: Presented by the Minnesota Music Coalition, MSPIFF, Film North and the American Composers Forum, Piano Hero and Superfriends is a visual wonder in the form of a live musical event. Composer/Pianist Carrie Hennemann Shaw plays to a diverse range of experimental films, adding a spectacular new layer to each film. Program: Frame Forward, Women & Film. Multiple directors. USA. 2018. English. 60 min. Performance. Saturday, April 14 at 7 p.m.
The Book of Clarence: The story of Grammy Award-winning Gospel singer Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama. Weaving memories, footage and live performances together, The Book of Clarence is a moving portrait of the life and work of a music legend. Program: New American Visions. Directed by Lee Breuer. United States. 2017. English. 120 min. Documentary feature.Sunday, April 15 at 4 p.m.
Beyond Dreams (Drom Vidare): Ex-con Mirja returns home to find herself at yet another crossroads. Her sickly mother and younger sister are looking to her for support, but Mirja still feels the pull to the group of friends she considers family. In this poignant drama, Mirja must decide where her true loyalties reside. Program: Midnight Sun, Emerging Filmmaker Award. Directed by Rojda Sekersöz. Sweden. 2017. Swedish w/English subtitles. 90 min. Narrative feature. Sunday, April 15 7 p.m.
Did You Wonder who Fired the Gun?: On a night in Alabama in 1946, white Klansman and shop-owner S.E. Branch guns down a black man, Bill Spann. Years pass, and Branch’s great-grandson, the filmmaker himself, returns to the site of the murder to reflect on a generation’s worth of aftermath that followed since that long-ago night. Program: New American Visions, Spotlight: Chasms and Bridges. Directed by Travis Wilkerson. USA. 2017. English. 90 min. Documentary feature. Thursday, April 26 5 p.m.
Five Fingers for Marseilles: The spaghetti Western starts fresh in Five Fingers of Marseilles. In South Africa’s Eastern Cape, five childhood friends are called to unite after twenty-years apart. Heart-pounding action ignites in a land where the only hope from a malignant oppression are the kids, now adults, who choose to fight back. Program: Images of Africa. Directed by Michael Matthews. South Africa. 2017. Xhosa, Southern Sotho w/English subtitles. 120 min. Narrative feature. Thursday, April 26 7 p.m.
Miracle (Stebuklas): Complications abound in Egle Vertelyte’s latest feature film. Irena, the manager of a small pig farm, is struggling to keep the place open when by chance she meets Bernardas, a dashing American who promises to help her save the business. The relationship prospers, that is, until darker intentions are unveiled. Program: World Cinema, Women & Film. Directed by Egle Vertelyte. Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, UK, France. 2017. Lithuanian, English, Russian w/English subtitles. 91 min. Narrative feature. Friday, April 27 5 p.m.
Crime + Punishment: Stephen Maing’s Crime + Punishment is a blood-boiling peek inside the corruption of the NYC Police Department and the racist workings that fester below the surface. The star of this doc is an NYPD policing system that demands unjust arrests of minorities and lower income citizens, all to meet quotas. Program: New American Visions, Spotlight Competition Award. Directed by Stephen Maing. USA. 2017. English. 112 min. Documentary feature. Friday, April 27 7 p.m.
More info: thecapritheater.org and mspfilm.org.