Outrageous! The Greenwich International Film Festival

Posted OnMay 23, 2019

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Brittany Runs a Marathon opens The Greenwich International Film Festival

Outrageous! The Greenwich International Film Festival Why do I always think about the Steely Dan song “Show Biz Kids” when I write up the Greenwich International Film Festival? You know the lyrics: “While the poor people sleepin’ with the shade on the light. While the poor people sleeping’, All the stars come out at night.” You will see them (the Show Biz kids) at the Opening Night party on Wednesday, May 29 at Gabrielle’s of Greenwich that promises the “chance to connect with film talent and VIPS”. You will see them at the Change Maker Gala on Thursday, May 30 at Betteridge where emcee Kathy Lee Gifford will honor actress and activist Eva Longoria Baston. And you will see them at the “Epic” Anniversary Party, featuring a concert performance by Kesha, on Saturday, June 1 at the Capitol Theatre.

“And for the coup-de-gras, They’re Outrageous”

And the song goes: “They got the shapely bods, They got the Steely Dan tee-shirt, And for the coup-de-gras, They’re outrageous, outrageous!” But for cineastes, this is all a sideshow, because between Thursday May 30 and Sunday June 2, GIFF will screen 58 films from 20 countries in five venues including narrative features, documentaries, shorts, kids shorts, and films focused on CT. And if you like movies, Greenwich is the coolest, most subversive place to be on the planet for those four days and nights.

The Films

The festival’s centerpiece films includes the opening night screening of Brittany Runs a Marathon, the 2019 Sundance Audience Award-winner starring Jillian Bell of 22 Jump Street. This too close for comfort comedy, follows Brittany Fogler, a hot mess of a 27 year-old New Yorker who trades in the club scene for training for the New York Marathon after failing to score a prescription for Adderol from a Yelp recommended doctor who puts her on – you guess it, a diet and exercise regiment. (Fri, 5/31: 5:30, Bow Tie Cinema, 2 Railroad Ave., Greenwich)

Other Center Piece films include: Blinded By the Light, a quirky, inspirational comedy about Javed, a British teen of Pakistani descent growing up in Luton in 1987. Jockeyed between the economic hardships of this provincial town known for hat making and auto plants and his ultra-traditional father, Javed breaks his chains when he discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen! (“Revved up like a deuce, Another runner in the night.”) First release and then obsession! (Thurs, 5/30: 3pm at the Bow Tie Cinema, 2 Railroad, Ave. Greenwich)

Brian Banks: The real life story, about, Brian Banks, an All American high school football player, with a scholarship to play at USC, who is wrongly convicted of rape. After spending six years in prison, with the support of Justin Brooks (Greg Kinnear) and the California Innocence Project, Banks fights to reclaim his life and fulfill his dreams of playing in the NFL. (Fri, 5/31: 2:45pm & Sun, 6/2: 1:15pm at the Bow Tie Cinema, 2 Railroad Ave., Greenwich)

Safe Spaces: In this dramedy that debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, Justin Long is a hip young creative writing professor in New York City who unwittingly “triggers” one of his students, turning his classroom into an unsafe space for her. He goes home to reconnect with his family (mistake No. 2) where his dying grandmother has brought out the worst in an already dysfunctional clan. The film, directed by Daniel Schechter (Life of Crime, King of Prussia) also stars Fran Drescher. (Sat, 6/1: 3:30pm, Bow Tie Theatre, 2 Railroad Ave., Greenwich & Sun, 6/2: 11am, Avon Theatre, 8 Sound Shore Dr., Greenwich)

Any One Of Us, This documentary about a professional mountain biker struggling to walk again after a spinal cord injury, begins with a graphic re-enactment of his mountain biking accident. It follows him from paralysis through intense physical therapies and controversial stem cell treatments until he finally regains his mobility. The film includes footage of other spinal cord injury victims including a mother injured from epidural complications during childbirth. Hence, the title, Any One Of Us. (Sat, 6/1: 3pm, Cole Auditorium, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich)

Luce, This family drama starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth about a married couple trying to reckon with their idealized image of their adopted son from Eritrea received a 94 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Nigerian-American filmmaker Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox), Variety described it as “a movie that feels like a play”. It features breakout star from It Comes at Night, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Sun, 6/2: 7:30pm, Bow Tie Cinema, 2 Railroad Ave., Greenwich)

Cold Case Hammarskjold: In this documentary, Danish director Mads Brügger and Swedish private investigator Göran Björkdahl investigate the 1961 plane crash of Dag Hammarskjold, the secretary general of the United Nations. What starts off as an off-beat exploration of some of the conspiracy theories surrounding his death, on his way to oversee a ceasefire in the Congo, uncovers real-time evidence; the pilot’s recording, gunfire and the Ace of Spades… (Sun, 6/2: 7pm, Bow Tie Cinema, 2 Railroad Ave., Greenwich)

Two movies of local interest: Then Came You: Stars Greenwich’s Kathie Lee Gifford as a widow planning a trip around the world with her husband’s ashes to visit the places they loved in the movies. The film co-stars Craig Ferguson. (Thurs, 5/30: 1pm: Bow Tie Cinema, 2 Railroad Ave., Greenwich) And, Pizza, A Love Story, a documentary about Sally’s, Pepe’s and Modern, billed as “the holy trinity of pizza joints” in New Haven. Then swing by Pepe’s in Danbury after the show. (Fri, 5/31: 12:15pm & Sat, 6/1: 6:30pm) And three documentaries that caught our eye: The festival will also present documentaries of three cultural icons of the twentieth century, Making Montgomery Clift (Sun, 6/2: 11am. Bow Tie Cinema) Mike Wallace is Here (Thurs, 5/30: 6pm, Bow Tie Cinema) and Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (Fri, 5/31: 6:30pm, Bow Tie Cinema & Sat, 6/1: 6pm, Cole Auditorium, Greenwich Library, 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich)