Program Guide - Cleveland International Film Festival

68 FILMS A – Z [D] The 37th Cleveland International Film Festival
AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS
LOCAL HEROES
The Discoverers
Directed by Justin Schwarz
USA 2012
104 minutes
Saturday, April 6 Sunday, April 7
6:10 PM I Code COVE06 12:15 PM I Code COVE07
You know you’re in unfamiliar territory—intelligent comedy
territory—the moment Griffin Dunne (“After Hours”) and
Madeleine Martin (“Californication”) start their father-daughter
verbal jousting. Dunne plays down-and-out history professor
Lewis Birch, who is trying desperately to publish his life’s work
(a 6,000-page tome on the slave who accompanied Lewis and
Clark on their Pacific expedition) with any old academic press.
In a last-ditch bid to salvage his career, Lewis drags his cynical
teenage kids on a road trip to an academic conference. But
Lewis’s mom dies suddenly, and her delusional husband Stanley
disappears into the woods with a troop of Lewis and Clark
historical re-enactors. Lewis and the disbelieving kids don
homespun clothes and coonskin caps and dive into the underbrush
to save Stanley from life as a backwoodsman. As they
embark on their passage West, each member of the dysfunctional
band finds out something new about him-or-herself. Splendid
cinematography and laugh-out-loud repartee make THE
DISCOVERERS one of the best discoveries of the year. —B.B.
Producers~Justin Schwarz, Laura Kleger, Louise Lovegrove Screenwriting~
Justin Schwarz Cinematography~Christopher Blauvelt Editing~Geraud Brisson
Principal Cast~Griffin Dunne, Madeleine Martin, Cara Buono, Stuart Margolin,
David Rasche
Print Source~Quadratic Media / laura@quadraticmedia.com /
www.discoverersmovie.com
About the Director~Justin Schwarz graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
from Yale and received his M.F.A. in Film with Honors from Columbia University.
He formerly worked as a writer and policy analyst, including stints at Bill Clinton’s
White House, The Department of Health and Human Services, and The City of
New York. Filmography~THE DISCOVERERS (2012)
This film is presented with the generous support of
ART and CAROL ANTON.
Do You Know What My Name Is?
Directed by Naomi Kazama, Shigeru Ota
JAPAN, USA 2012
83 minutes
Thursday, April 11 Friday, April 12
7:35 PM I Code NAME11 11:40 AM I Code NAME12
Saturday, April 13
9:30 AM I Code NAME13
Dementia, caregiver John Roodeman reminds us, is an awful
disease. The afflicted can forget things that happened moments
ago, just as they can forget the names of their children. But
since 2011, there’s been hope: Cleveland’s Eliza Jennings
Senior Care Network is the first site in the United States to
conduct research on a program of learning therapy that can
reverse symptoms of dementia. Devised by neuroscientist Ryuta
Kawashima, it has already helped thousands of people in Japan.
But let’s meet some of the residents at Eliza Jennings. Evelyn,
Bea, Mary, and Mae are accomplished women who have
recently lost cognitive function. Their therapy involves reading
aloud and doing simple math problems on a regular basis.
After months of working with cheerful caregivers on “brain
exercises,” they exhibit an astonishing improvement in memory,
focus, and mood. John Roodeman has a question for each
of them: DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY NAME IS? Thanks to
learning therapy, their answer is now likely to be a resounding
“Yes!” —B.B.
Producer~Shigeru Ota Screenwriting~Roger Pulvers, Hiroshi Takeda
Cinematography~Katsumi Matsumoto
Print Source~Sendai Television Incorporated / shigeru@ox-tv.co.jp /
www.ox-tv.co.jp/brain-e/documentary.html
About the Directors~Naomi Kazama is both a producer and director of a number
of international television documentary and entertainment programs. Since joining
Sendai Television in 1998, Shigeru Ota has directed several television documentary
programs. They are currently narrowing their focus to brain science, working
on a program called “The Brain Trainer Exercise.” Collaborative Filmography~
DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY NAME IS? (2012)
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