MFF 2019 Festival Catalog

Films
FUTURE/NOW COMPETITION
FICTION FEATURE
JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK
Director: Daniel Laabs
Producers: Liz Cardenas, Judd Myers, Cameron Nelson,
Russell Sheaffer, Adrian Testolin, Jeff Walker
Cast: Robert Longstreet, Tallie Medel, Betsy Holt
USA, 86 min.
In present-day Texas, Maya (Tallie Medel) and her on
again, off again girlfriend Jules (Betsy Holt) total their
car after a night of backwoods raving and teen mischief.
They’re rescued from the wreckage by Freddy (Robert
Longstreet), a divorced oil worker whose stoic facade
crumbles as he comes to see himself, and his repressed
desires, in Maya. As Jules recovers, Maya and Freddy
develop a rapport that dulls the debilitating silence of
their small-town lives. JULES OF LIGHT AND DARK is
Daniel Laabs’ first feature, a moving examination of queer
loneliness and uncertainty.
Friday, May 10, 7:00 pm, Clairidge 3
Saturday, May 11, 5:45 pm, Clairidge 3
LETO
Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Producers: Ilya Stewart, Murad Osmann,
Mikhail Finogenov, Georgy Chumburidze, Pavel Burya
Cast: Teo Yoo, Irina Starshenbaum, Roman Bilyk
Russia, 126 min.
As the political repression of the USSR enters its final
decade, Mike Naumenko (Roman Bilyk), frontman of
the early 1980s Leningrad band Zoopark, welcomes a
new singer that will soon break out far past the reach
of their comparatively underground rock scene. Looking
back at the music landscape of his youth, director Kirill
Serebrennikov has crafted a sprawling portrait of a vibrant
scene alive with the riotous, uncontrollable energy of the
era. Filled with an electrifying soundtrack, LETO provides
a nostalgic, yet un-romanticized look at a period that
seemed to exist almost entirely outside of both what had
come before and was yet to come in its native country.
Wednesday, May 8, 6:30 pm, Clairidge 3
Thursday, May 9, 6:45 pm, Clairidge 3
NJ FILM COMPETITION
FUTURE/NOW COMPETITION
LIFE WITH LAYLA
Director: Ken Spooner, Mike Mee
Producers: Ken Spooner, Mike Mee, Steve McCarthy
USA, 68 min.
The opioid epidemic has destroyed lives and ravaged
communities across America. Growing up in New Jersey,
seven-year-old Layla is well aware of her family’s history
of drug and alcohol addiction. After losing her Aunt
Melissa to a fatal overdose, Layla’s family struggles
to cope with their loss. With her Uncle Greg’s heroin
addiction escalating toward the same fate as his sister
Melissa, Layla and her Mom attempt to bring him home
safely to keep their family from losing another loved one.
Saturday, May 4, 7:30 pm, MKA Upper School
LIGHT FROM LIGHT
Director: Paul Harrill
Producers: James M. Johnston, Kelly Williams,
Toby Halbrooks, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Headington,
Theresa Steele
Cast: Marin Ireland, Jim Gaffigan, Josh Wiggins
USA, 82 min.
Shelia (Marin Ireland) is a hard working, single mom who
begins to experience what she believes to be prophetic
dreams. Richard (Jim Gaffigan), a recent widower, believes
that his East Tennessee farm house is being haunted by
the ghost of his deceased wife. With the help of her son
Owen (Josh Wiggins) and his girlfriend Lucy (Atheena
Frizzell), Sheila undertakes to uncover the source of the
mystery. Writer-director Paul Harrill’s LIGHT FROM LIGHT
is a delicate film that examines loss and compassion, a
search for healing through the power of human connection.
Friday, May 10, 7:30 pm, Clairidge 4
Saturday, May 11, 12:45 pm, Clairidge 5
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