Rural Route Film Festival
The 2006 Rural Route Film Festival will take place at Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue (at 2nd Street), from Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30. Fest will exhibit 26 hours of rural-themed films to 1,500 people over the three-day event. Tickets are $8.00 for all films. Tickets will be available for purchase at the Anthology box office and will be available 7/14 online at smarttix.com.
Fest Co-Director Alan Weber is thrilled about the 2006 festival. "This year's lineup is our most exciting and diverse ever. From the horror program to "Disappearances" with Kris Kristofferson and the many films by women, this lineup truly expands the notion of rural. I'm especially psyched to have as prominent of a guest as legendary David Sutherland of "Country Boys" and "The Farmer's Wife" with us."
Fest program to include: Opening night will unleash with the award-winning music documentary "HOMEMADE HILBILLY JAM", a rich journey through the Ozarks with a family of mountain musicians (director in attendance). Fest will also offer the New York premiere of "DISAPPEARANCES", starring Kris Kristofferson as an "over-the-hill outlaw" in director Jay Craven's third take on Vermont's "Northern Kingdom" (director in attendance).
Other features include "ASPARAGUS! (A STALK-UMENTARY)" directed by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly of New York City, the story of Oceana County, Michigan, Asparagus Capital of the World, now struggling to maintain an identity and survive against incredible odds (asparagus farmers + Mrs. Asparagus in attendance); an episode of David Sutherland's "COUNTRY BOYS", the acclaimed PBS documentary series chronicling the lives of two Kentucky high school students (director in attendance); "PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA", a wacky look at the failed desert paradise, narrated by John Waters; and Maria De Luca's classic 1989 documentary, "GREEN STREETS", which chronicles the effects of NYC's city gardening movement in the 1970s and 80s and shows an irony in gentrification as relevant now as 25 years ago (director in attendance).
Fest also to include trademark shorts and short feature programs, giving a fresh perspective on rural life in the modern world. Programs include "THE HORROR...THE HORROR...", twisted, macabre, and scary tales from the backwoods; "THE BEAUTY OF THE HUNT", a pair of hour-long films about women who shoot to kill--in orange vests ("Women who Hunt"), and some who compete in a muskrat-themed beauty pageant in Maryalnd ("Muskrat Lovely"). Adding a more abstract aspect of country living is "EXPERIMENTAL ROAD TRIP", a pair of short features (the famed underground documentarian Bill Brown's film "The Other Side" about traveling and Southwest border issues, and Brigid McCaffrey and Danielle Lombardi's "Lay Down Tracks"). Shorts programs also feature a wide array of narrative, documentary, and experimental films coming from Iowa, England, Alaska, Portugal, Canada, India, Texas, and Siberia, along with music videos from The Shins, The Silver Jews, and Federation X. Each program runs 90-120 minutes.
Also, free PBR will also be on hand throughout the festival.
Past Rural Route highlights include Katherine Lindberg's award-winning RAIN, Independent Spirit Award Winner HYBRID by Monteith McCollum, award-winning short film SOBRE LA TIERRA by Maria Florencia Alvarez and a concert performance by popular Brooklyn-based AKRON/FAMILY.
After the New York City debut, the Rural Route Film Fest hits the road every year. Last year's fest hit cities from Seattle to Amsterdam , Bozeman, Cedar Rapids, Pasadena, Athens (GA), Leidan (Holland) and others in between.
VHS and DVD SCREENERS AVAILABLE FOR FILMS UPON REQUEST
2006 RRFF SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, JULY 28 - DEREN THEATRE at ANTHOLOGY
7:00 PM Homemade Hillbilly Jam (Rick Minnich) w/ The Spirit within Us (La Shae Brooks/ Kristine Sorensen) (Q&A w/ director Minnich to follow)
9:30 PM HEY, DAD, THE ICE IS MELTING! shorts program
SATURDAY, JULY 29 - COURT HOUSE THEATRE at ANTHOLOGY
1:00 PM ASPARAGUS! (A STALK-UMENTARY) (Anne de Mare & Kirsten Kelly) w/Making the Connections in Iowa's Food System (Kent Newman) (Q&A w/ ASPARAGUS filmmakers, Mrs. Asparagus, & real Michigan asparagus farmers to follow)
SATURDAY, JULY 29 - DEREN THEATRE at ANTHOLOGY
3:30 PM PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA (Chris Metzler,/Jeff Springer)
5:30 PM WOMEN WHO HUNT w/ MUSKRAT LOVELY (Q&A w/filmmakers from both films to follow)
7:30 PM GREEN STREETS (MARIA DE LUCA) w/ SOUTH CENTRAL FARMERS (Ross Guidici) (Q&A w/ director De Luca to follow)
9:30 PM THE HORROR... THE HORROR... shorts program
SUNDAY, JULY 30 - DEREN THEATRE at ANTHOLOGY
1:30 PM LAY DOWN TRACKS (Brigid McCaffrey/ Danielle Lombardi) w/ THE OTHER SIDE (Bill Brown) (Q&A w/ LAY DOWN TRACKS filmmakers to follow)
3:30 PM COWBOYS 'N ALIENS shorts program
5:30 PM COUNTRY BOYS Episode 2 (David Sutherland) (Q&A w/ director Sutherland to follow)
8:00 PM DISAPPEARANCES (Jay Craven) (Q&A w/ director Craven to follow)
