THURSDAYS · SEPTEMBER 20 ∙ OCTOBER 4 AND 18 ∙ NOVEMBER 1 AND 29
Hirokazu Kore-Eda, I Wish, 2011.
Sarah Polley, Take This Waltz, 2011.
Delphine and Muriel Coulin, 17 Girls (17 Filles), 2011.
Leos Carax, Holy Motors, 2012.
Patrick Wang, In the Family, 2011.
MMoCA’s Spotlight Cinema series returns this fall with the Madison premieres of five critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary and narrative feature films, all screened on glorious 35mm. The series kicks off on Thursday, September 20, with I Wish, the latest film from acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore-Eda. A lighthearted and uplifting tale of childhood fantasy and longing, the film is “a lovely and piquant examination of childhood” (The New York Times).
The series, which is curated by Mike King and Tom Yoshikami, continues on selected Thursday evenings through the fall; see dates below for detailed program information. Admission is free for MMoCA members and $7 per screening for the general public.
Spotlight Cinema is a program of MMoCA’s education department. The series is generously funded in part by the Maia Foundation and Venture Investors, LLC.
September 20, 2012 · 7-9 pm
I Wish
Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda Cast: Koki Maeda, Ohshiro Maeda, Nene Ohtsuka
2011, Japan, 128 min., 35mm
A lighthearted and uplifting tale of childhood fantasy and longing, I Wish is the latest film from acclaimed Japanese director Hirozaku Kore-Eda (After Life, Nobody Knows). Separated by their parents’ divorce, brothers Koichi and Ryunosuke (played by real-life brothers) yearn for family to reunite. When Koichi learns that a new bullet train line will soon link his and Ryunosuke’s towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed. The two boys each gather a group of friends and set off on a journey hoping to witness a life-changing miracle. With performances Roger Ebert calls “as unaffected, spirited and lovable as I can imagine.”
Thursday, October 4 • 7-9 pm
Take This Waltz
Director: Sarah Polley Cast: Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen
Director Sarah Polley’s second feature is an engaging and emotionally generous story of a young married couple (brilliantly played by Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen) whose comfortable relationship starts to buckle under the looming threat of infidelity. Intelligent, witty, and heartbreaking, Take This Waltz is an honest portrayal of the joyful and devastating impermanence of love and infatuation.
Thursday, October 18 • 7-9 pm
17 Girls (17 Filles)
Directors: Delphine and Muriel Coulin
Inspired by real events that took place in the U.S., directors Delphine and Muriel Coulin’s provocative debut feature focuses on a group of disaffected teenage girls who all make an irrevocable pact to become pregnant. 17 Girls is a chilling reflection on adolescence, body image, friendship, and the perplexing realities of growing up.
Thursday, November 1 • 7-9 pm
Holy Motors
The sensation of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, former enfant terrible Leos Carax’s first feature in thirteen years is as mad and exhilarating as movies come. Starring a mind-bogglingly chameleonic Denis Lavant in 11 overlapping roles, Holy Motors unfolds as an epic limousine ride through, above, and beneath the streets of Paris.
Thursday, November 29 • 7-9 pm
In the Family
Debut director Patrick Wang’s In the Family is a heartfelt story woven around child custody, two-dad families, parental loss, interracial relations, and the human side of the law. A tour-de-force of truly independent filmmaking, Wang wrote, directed, produced, and co-starred in what Roger Ebert hailed as a courageous “indie masterpiece.”