MFF 2019 Festival Catalog

Films
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
NJ FILM COMPETITION
WELL GROOMED
Director: Rebecca Stern
Producers: Rebecca Stern, Justin Levy, Matthew C. Mills
USA, 87 min.
Competitive creative dog grooming is the most colorful
competition in America, and WELL GROOMED captures
the hearts, minds and imaginations of the artists involved.
Follow four champion groomers and their gorgeous,
vibrant dogs through a year in the life on the technicolor
competition circuit, playfully exploring their creative
process. From South Carolina to California, New York
to Arkansas, these women are revolutionizing the art
of grooming. Director Rebecca Stern has captured an
up-close and revealing look at pets, families, friendships,
and the glory of dog grooming through a bright and
unexpected spectrum of vibrant color.
Saturday, May 11, 1:00 pm, MKA Upper School
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF
PAULINE KAEL
Director: Rob Garver
Producers: Rob Garver, Glen Zipper
USA, 95 min.
For film lovers and filmmakers alike, Pauline Kael
represented one of the most divisive films critics of all time.
As a film critic for The New Yorker for most of her career,
she helped bring to the forefront fresh and bold cinematic
voices such as Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Paul
Schrader, and Steven Spielberg at the beginning of their
careers, and championed films that were panned by most
critics, such as the now cult classic THE WARRIORS. At the
same time, some of her infamous reviews, such as the one
where she pans Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, almost
ended her career. Director Rob Graver uses rare archival
footage interspersed with classic film clips and interviews
to capture the essence of the indomitable Pauline Kael.
Sunday, May 5, 4:45 pm, Clairidge 1
Wednesday, May 8, 8:00 pm, Clairidge 1
FUTURE/NOW COMPETITION
WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE
Director: Emily Harrold
Producers: Emily Harrold, Diane Robertson,
Lauren Franklin, Xuan Vu
USA, 72 min.
In 2006, South Carolina Democrat Bakari Sellers became
the youngest black elected official in America. The son
of a civil rights hero, Sellers undertakes a campaign to
transform the racially divided politics of South Carolina
and become the first African American candidate to
hold a statewide office since 1872. But with the odds
stacked against him, can Sellers make history or will
contemporary divisions, forged by a long history of racial
injustice, conspire to end his candidacy in defeat? WHILE I
BREATHE, I HOPE is a powerful portrait of a fighter in the
battle of his career.
Saturday, May 4, 1:30 pm, Clairidge 5
Sunday, May 5, 5:15 pm, Clairidge 3
THE WORLD IS FULL OF SECRETS
Director: Graham Swon
Producers: Graham Swon, Lio Sigerson
Cast: Alexa Shae Niziak, Dennise Gregory, Ayla Guttman,
Violet Piper
USA, 98 min.
The power of words to haunt our imaginations is at
the center of Graham Swon’s THE WORLD IS FULL OF
SECRETS. The story of young female friendship and
the terrors of growing up female in a world haunted
by the history of violence against women, the film uses
evocative language to deliver horrors without falling
into the tropes of the horror film genre. Stunningly
photographed monologues provide the framework for
the film’s storytelling, and the performances of the young
actors drive home the conflict between innocence and the
tragedy of what yet may come.
Saturday, May 4, 3:00 pm, Clairidge 3
Sunday, May 12, 5:00 pm, Clairidge 3
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