PunchingTheClown Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'My Suicide' Takes Top Honors at Gen Art Festival
Filed under: Awards », Newsstand », Gen Art »
The 2009 Gen Art Film Festival came to a close last night with a screening of Finding Bliss followed by a wild party at Blvd. here in New York City, and I'm literally ecstatic to announce that all my favorite films took home awards. My Suicide, which is a film I've been hyping for months now, won the Acura Grand Jury Award, and that film's star, Gabriel Sunday, won the Stargazer Award, which honors break-out talent. My Suicide also took home the festival's Audience Award, joining the fantastic short film Adelaide (which also won the jury and audience awards) in the double-win category. The hilarious Punching the Clown won for best use of music in a film, which was a new award presented by Moby. Check out our reviews of My Suicide and Punching the Clown.
Gen Art's Vice President of Film, Jeffrey Abramson, had this to say to Cinematical: "David Miller (My Suicide) is a pied piper of filmmaking. His immediate and extended family is filled with such incredible creativity and support it's difficult to not catch the fever. The camaraderie that was built across all of this year's filmmakers and talent was infectious and spread to the audience as well. Only at Gen Art can one experience such focused attention and energy."
I was fortunate enough to meet and hang out with all these filmmakers over the weekend, and had an absolute blast. One of the things I love about the Gen Art fest is that it's so damn accessible and intimate; you can watch a short, a feature and then hang out with the filmmakers at the private after party shooting the sh*t about their film, their process and whatever else is on your mind. It's a great festival for film fans, and I'd like to congratulate Gen Art on another successful year. For more, visit the official Gen Art website.
Gen Art Review: Punching the Clown
Filed under: Comedy », Theatrical Reviews », Festival Reports », Gen Art »
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Part comedy, part dive bar concert film, there's a reason why Punching the Clown won the audience award at this year's Slamdance Film Festival (and has a chance to do the same at the Gen Art Film Festival): quite simply, it's just a damn good time. Based on the very real, very uncomfortable and very unfortunate life of up-and-coming comedic folksinger Henry Phillips, Punching the Clown is a low-budgeted ball of squishy hilarity that's easily digestible and destined to become an audience favorite. Following the screening I attended, director Gregori Viens said they were talking with different cable networks about making a deal to air the film on television with it cut up into episodic form. While I'm all in favor of getting this tasty nugget out there for all to see, someone has to pony up a little cash and chuck this sucker into theaters for at the very least a limited run. Punching the Clown is definitely a gotta-see-it-with-an-audience kinda flick.
And it feels awesome to say that without having to next mention some ludicrous amount of effects work, an obnoxious budget or a naked A-list actress. The film is like a buffet of comedy, with the audience member strolling through, sampling a set up, a pay off, a song, a cliched plot device and a little red meat along the way. You'll look at the guy next to you -- mouth full of the previous joke -- and you'll both nod knowingly and possibly high-five. That's the type of film it is; one of those with a tattoo that reads, "F*ck it, you're either with me or you're not"
'Lymelife' to Open 2009 Gen Art Fest
Filed under: Exhibition », Newsstand », Cinematical Indie », Gen Art »
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As a programmer (my first time!) for the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival, I can tell you that finishing this slate was not easy. It required me (and a small group of others) to watch a lot of films ... and I mean a lot of films. The awesome part of this, though, is the discovery. Sure, you'll get the occasional mess -- but then sometimes you stumble across a brilliant piece of work that hasn't been seen by anyone yet, and you just know it's destined for greatness. With that said, the programming is now complete and I'm able to share with you the names of the films playing at this year's Gen Art Film Fest in New York City from April 1 to April 7.
The Sundance and Toronto hit Lymelife (we premiered the poster here) was chosen as this year's opening night film. It's a gem of a family drama starring Alec Baldwin and Cynthia Nixon (watch the trailer on Moviefone), and you should definitely look for it in theaters on April 8. Also from this year's Sundance fest is the romantic dramedy Peter and Vandy, starring my gal Jess Weixler and Jason Ritter. One of the more experimental and cult-ish films screening is My Suicide, which I whole-heartedly recommend as a deep, dark and oddly hilarious flick about the Me Generation. Julie Davis' Finding Bliss (starring Leelee Sobrieski, Denise Richards and Jamie Kennedy) was chosen to close out the fest, while Gigantic (Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel), Punching the Clown (Slamdance audience award winner) and Picture Me: A Model's Diary (doc about a model) round out this year's slate.
As always, I'll be on the ground at the Gen Art fest looking for whatever I can wrap my brain around -- so definitely stay tuned. But, heck, if you're in the NYC area, you may as well check this sucker out for yourself. The fest runs from April 1-7, and you can find out much more (like how to buy tix) over at the official Gen Art Film Fest website.
Full press release after the jump
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