THE STRANGE ONES is a 2011 short film written and directed by Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein, and starring David Call (TINY FURNITURE, TWO GATES OF SLEEP), Merritt Wever (NURSE JACKIE, MICHAEL CLAYTON), and Tobias Campbell (CONVICTION, SALT).

The film follows two travelers – a man and a boy (David Call and Tobias Campbell) – whose car has broken down,
and who stumble upon a small roadside motel, where a girl (Merritt Wever) offers to help them. At first all seems
normal, but an unseen tension begins to mount between the three of them, leading to a startling discovery. Mysterious and evocative, THE STRANGE ONES serves to strip away the ordinary situation it presents in order to offer a brief glimpse of a complicated, dangerous, and secret world lurking beneath the surface.

The Strange Ones was an Official Selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, and the Clermont Ferrand International Short Film Festival. The film won a Special Jury Prize at the Independent Film Festival of Boston for
Best Short Film 2011 and was the Short Narrative Jury Winner at the Hamptons International Film Festival 2011.

Directed by Lauren Wolkstein, Cigarette Candy tells the story of Eddie Van Buren, a traumatized teenage Marine who is forced to play the role of ‘the hero’ at his homecoming party. In pursuing a rebellious, precocious sixteen-year-old girl, Candy, he sees an opportunity to numb his pain and connect to a fellow lost soul.

Winner of the Short Film Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival.

The Cartagena Film Festival has named Isabella Rossellini as their guest of honor and will be screening a number of the actress’ films, including Animals Distract Me! You can also see Animals Distract Me at FIFE (the International Environmental Film Festival) in Paris, France. The film screens February 8th at 12:15 PM and February 9th at 12:30 PM. Check back here soon for info on where you can get tickets.

Animals Distract Me, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, follows actress Isabella Rossellini as she and her future guide dog Sweety visit Manhattan for the day. But even during a conversation with Vogue editor André Leon Talley and lunch with chef Mario Batali, she finds herself distracted … by the animals around her.

Whether it’s the demodex on her eyelashes, the crickets in Central Park, or her own dog, she is full of questions. Fortunately, she is visited by Charles Darwin, who explains to Isabella his theory of evolution and the behaviors of the animals that fascinate her.

Part auto-biography, part historical re-enactment, and part fantastic imagining, Animals Distract Me is about discovering the joys in nature and asking the deeper questions, the ones that don’t always have an answer.

HOUNDDOG, written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Robin Wright Penn, David Morse and Piper Laurie. A spirited young girl in 1950s rural Alabama struggles to rise above the repression that surrounds her. She finds comfort and safety, as well as a place to put her hurt and rage, in the music of Elvis Presley, but it will be her own voice that gives her the strength and courage to walk away from her past and into her future.

Cinematography by Ed Lachman

Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier, VIRGIN was nominated for two 2004 Independent Spirit Awards. In addition, Kampmeier won Best Screenwriter at the 2003 Hamptons International Film Festival. “Virgin” also garnered Best Feature Film at the 2003 Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, won Best Independent Spirit at the Santa Fe Film Festival and Best Actress at the Sedona Film Festival. The film stars Elisabeth Moss and Robin Wright Penn.

A defiant teen, Jessie struggles to discover her own spirituality despite the strict Baptist teachings of her mother and father. After spending a drug-and-alcohol-filled night with a teenage boy, Jessie has no memory of having sex with him. When she finds herself pregnant, she’s convinced she’s carrying Christ’s child, upsetting her parents and her devout community.

Laurie Simmons’ debut film, “The Music of Regret,” is a musical in three acts starring Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep. Shot on 35mm film, “The Music of Regret” brings the distinct imagery of Laurie Simmons’ photography to life.

Director: Laurie Simmons
Cinematography: Ed Lachman ASC
Producer: Don Faller
Editor: Laura Israel

Ken Park recently screened at the KunstFilmBiennale in Cologne, as part of a retrospective of Lachman’s work as a director and cinematographer. The festival describes Lachman’s work as having “played an invaluable role in the development of cinematic art over the past four decades” while showing “that it is possible to maintain high artistic standards everywhere.”

Directed by Todd Haynes
Cinematography by Ed Lachman, ASC