Get ready for a great week of film when the Vernon Film Society returns with its 11th annual Fall Film Festival at the Vernon Towne Cinema.
The festival opens Monday, Nov. 4 at 5:15 p.m. with Canadian-made film The Art of the Steal, starring Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Terence Stamp and Jay Baruchel.
A riotous crime caper, the film follows a part-time art thief (Russell) who lands in prison after a major score goes awry and his brother (Dillon) double-crosses him.
Nov. 4 at 7:45 p.m., U.S. documentary Twenty Feet from Stardom shines a spotlight on the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the late 20th century.
Helping to set the record straight, director Morgan Neville juxtaposes interviews with industry legends such as Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Sting and Bette Midler with the relative unknowns who support them.
Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 5:15 p.m. is writer/director Noah Baumbach’s critically acclaimed film Frances Ha.
The charming, indie comedy, shot in black and white and starring Greta Gerwig in the lead role, is a love story between two best friends, whose platonic relationship Frances describes as: “We’re the same person with different hair’.”
Nov. 5 at 7:45 p.m. comes the Canadian film, Our Man in Tehran, which tells the true story of Canada’s pivotal role in the rescue of U.S. diplomats during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, as dramatized in last year’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, Argo.
Oscar winning actress Cate Blanchett gives another winning performance in Woody Allen’s latest, Blue Jasmine, Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5:15 p.m.
The film follows a high-society New York housewife who is forced to deal with the economic and emotional consequences of her husband’s crooked financial dealings.
Nov. 6 at 7:45 p.m. is the coming-of-age comedy The Kings of Summer about three teenage friends who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and live off the land.
One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, Fruitvale Station will be screened Nov. 7 at 5:15 p.m. The extraordinary feature debut by director Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan (The Wire), focuses on the senseless New Year’s Day 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant, a young black man whose murder sent shock-waves through the U.S.
The last film of the festival, Nov. 7 at 7:45 p.m., is the documentary Watermark.
The film re-teams award-winning Canadian filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) with celebrated landscape photographer Edward Burtynsky and documents the engineered manipulation of water, and the far-reaching repercussions of abusing this valuable resource.
Tickets for each film are $7, or $30 for a five-film pass, available in advance (cash only) at the Towne Cinema and the Bean Scene starting Monday. Patrons are asked to arrive more than 15 minutes before the film starts to be assured of a good seat.
More information is available at www.vernonfilmsociety.bc.ca.
