Oscar Buzz Presents: The Overnighters

Tuesday, December 9th-Wednesday, December 10th, 7:30pm

Oscar Buzz Presents: The Overnighters

(2014 Oscar qualifying, shortlisted and nominated feature documentaries.)

Jesse Moss, 2014, 102 min.

In the tiny town of Williston, North Dakota, tens of thousands of unemployed hopefuls show up with dreams of honest work and a big paycheck under the lure of the oil boom. However, busloads of newcomers chasing a broken American Dream step into the stark reality of slim work prospects and nowhere to sleep. The town lacks the infrastructure to house the overflow of migrants, even for those who do find gainful employment.

Over at Concordia Lutheran Church, Pastor Jay Reinke is driven to deliver the migrants some dignity. Night after night, he converts his church into a makeshift dorm and counseling center, opening the church’s doors to allow the “Overnighters” (as he calls them) to stay for a night, a week or longer. They sleep on the floor, in the pews and in their cars in the church parking lot. Many who take shelter with Reinke are living on society’s fringes and with checkered pasts, and their presence starts affecting the dynamics of the small community. The congregants begin slinging criticism and the City Council threatens to shut the controversial Overnighters program down, forcing the pastor to make a decision which leads to profound consequences that he never imagined.

Director Jesse Moss' award-winning documentary The Overnighters, which made the shortlist for the 2014 Best Documentary Feature Oscar, engages and dramatizes a set of universal societal and economic themes: the promise and limits of re-invention, redemption and compassion, as well as the tension between the moral imperative to “love thy neighbor” and the resistance that one small community feels when confronted by a surging river of desperate, job-seeking strangers.

There will be a live Q&A with director Jesse Moss following the screening on Tuesday, December 9th and a Skype Q&A with Jesse Moss on Wednesday, December 10th.

Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/978555

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/102881502

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/330832303767674

Albert Maysles and Oscar Buzz Presents: 20 Feet From Stardom

Thursday, February 20th, 7:30pm

Friday, February 21st, 7:30pm

Albert Maysles and Oscar Buzz Present: 20 Feet From Stardom

(Oscar winning documentaries, nominees, and shortlisted films.)

20 Feet From Stardom

Morgan Neville, 2013, 91 min

Millions know their voices, but no one knows their names. In his compelling new film Twenty Feet From Stardom, award-winning director Morgan Neville (Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story, Muddy Waters Can’t Be Satisfied, Johnny Cash’s America) shines a spotlight on the untold true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. Triumphant and heartbreaking in equal measure, the film is both a tribute to the unsung voices who brought shape and style to popular music and a reflection on the conflicts, sacrifices and rewards of a career spent harmonizing with others.  

These gifted artists span a range of styles, genres and eras of popular music, but each has a uniquely fascinating and personal story to share of life spent in the shadows of superstardom. Along with rare archival footage and a peerless soundtrack, Twenty Feet From Stardom boasts intimate interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and Sting to name just a few. However, these world-famous figures take a backseat to the diverse array of backup singers whose lives and stories take center stage in the film. Features the legendary Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Judith Hill (also of NBC's "The Voice"), Claudia Lennear, Lisa Fischer, Tata Vega and the Walters.

Skype Q&A with director Morgan Neville to follow the screening on Thursday, February 20th.

2014 Academy Award® Nominee – Best Documentary Feature

“Sheer perfection! Just watch Morgan Neville’s exhilarating documentary and try not to stand up and cheer. “ - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWyUJcA8Zfo

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.c83om/event/5561

FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/684170481668728/

The Act of Killing

Tuesday, February 11th, 7:00pm

Thursday, February 13th, 7:30pm

Albert Maysles and Oscar Buzz Present: The Act of Killing

(Oscar winning documentaries, nominees, and shortlisted films.)

The Act of Killing

Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer,Co-Directed by Anonymous & Christine Cynn,

2013, 120 min.

In this chilling and inventive documentary, executive produced by Errol Morris (The Fog Of War) and Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), the filmmakers examine a country where death squad leaders are celebrated as heroes, challenging them to reenact their real-life mass-killings in the style of the American movies they love. The hallucinatory result is a cinematic fever dream, an unsettling journey deep into the imaginations of mass-murderers and the shockingly banal regime of corruption and impunity they inhabit. Shaking audiences at the 2012 Toronto and Telluride Film Festivals and winning an Audience Award at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival, The Act of Killing is an unprecedented film that, according to The Los Angeles Times, "could well change how you view the documentary form."

Q&A with director Joshua Oppenheimer to follow the 7:00pm screening on Tuesday, February 11th.2014 Academy Award® Nominee – Best Documentary Feature

"A masterpiece…& a major achievement.” – The Village Voice

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5oMxbMcHM

BPT:http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/566893

FB:https://www.facebook.com/events/223946174455328/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

Albert Maysles and Oscar Buzz Presents: Cutie and the Boxer

Tuesday, January 7th, 7:30pm

Albert Maysles and Oscar Buzz Presents: Cutie and the Boxer

(Oscar winning documentaries, nominees

and shortlisted films.)

Curated by Jenna Bond Louden

Zachary Heinzerling, 2013, 82 mins.

Shortlisted for the 2014 Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Cutie and the Boxer is a reflection on love, sacrifice, and the creative spirit, this candid New York documentary explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of renowned “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara and his artist wife Noriko. As a rowdy, confrontational young artist in Tokyo, Ushio seemed destined for fame, but he is met with little commercial success after he moves to New York City in 1969, seeking international recognition. When 19-year-old Noriko moved to New York to study art, she fell in love with Ushio—abandoning her education to become the unruly artist’s wife and assistant. Over the course of their marriage, their roles shifted. Now 80, Ushio still struggles to establish his artistic legacy, while Noriko is at last being recognized for her own art—a series of drawings entitled “Cutie,” depicting her challenging past with Ushio. Spanning four decades, the film is a moving portrait of a couple wrestling with the eternal themes of sacrifice, disappointment and aging, against a background of lives dedicated to art.

Q&A with director Zachary Heinzerling and subjects Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, moderated by Jenna Bond Louden.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP8_1hcLpdk

BPT: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/551575

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/618052944898140/?notif_t=plan_user_invited