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| The 21st Philadelphia Film Festival runs October 18-28, 2012 |
Now that the 21st Philadelphia Film Festival (PFF) has commenced with a screening of David O. Russell’s Philly-filmed Silver Linings Playbook starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert DeNiro, it’s time to explore the fest’s offerings beyond its opening night.
Along with screenings attended by notable directors such as M. Night Shyamalan (it's the tenth anniversary of Signs) and a closing night event with Robert Zemeckis (for his new Flight film starring Denzel Washington), the eleven-day festival hosts international, national and locally made films judged as part of the Sharon Pinkenson Award Competition.
Over 100 full-length and short films are featured throughout the PFF’s eleven day run. While it’s impossible to run down all the films, there is notable excitement for Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut Quartet, an opera comedy starring Maggie Smith and Billy Connelly. Also focused on music are the documentaries The Zen of Bennett about the legendary crooner Tony Bennett, and Don’t Stop Believing: Everybody’s Journey about one young singer’s rise to frontman status as he replaces singer Steve Perry in the classic rock band.
There is also good buzz around director Jesse James Miller and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini’s collaboration on the boxing film The Good Son, and also the first film from The Sopranos creator David Chase in the coming-of-age dramedy Not Fade Away with James Gandolfini.
While independent cinema mavericks like David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Paul Thomas-Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love are part of PFF 2012’s “From the Vault” series, new Philly-made indie flicks such as Future Weather (starring Lily Taylor) are a healthy portion of this year’s festival.
The PFF is run by The Philadelphia Film Society, an organization helmed by J. Andrew Greenblatt, who is by all accounts, a man who gets things done. Along with the marked innovation of this year’s fest – a partnership with PFF sponsor Comcast Xfinity to launch a Festival Video On Demand (VOD) channel where you can rent films from the fest, some for free, some for cash – Greenblatt spent last week taking over Philly’s venerable film space, the Roxy Screening Room on Sansom Street. Beginning in January 2013, the Roxy will run new independent movies that can’t find a home at other theaters, as well as older cult film and foreign film fare.
21st Philadelphia Film Festival | October 18-28, 2012
For screening times, dates, and locations:
filmadelphia.org/festival
Posted on October 19, 2012, 11:25 AM
