Ellensburg Film Festival

Well I've survived my trek from western Washington and I am now officially an eastern Washington resident. I'm not quite sure if I should be happy about that last statement... joking, joking. Life at the new college is going wonderfully. But that's not what we're here to talk about.

Next week is the commencement of the annual four day Ellensburg Film Festival. (Or as I like to call it: EFF) Assuming I can request some time off my busy work schedule I'll be there nearly all four days. Ellensburg may be an antiqued, quaint little college town but they've managed to nab a few worthwhile pictures. Last year EFF screened Half Nelson, one of my favorites of 2006. Considering the size and general population of the town I think screening that film alone is an impressive feat.

Listed below are a few highlights I've compiled from the upcoming festival. To view the line-up in its entirety head over to the EFF's official website. Expect reviews and highlights from the festival sometime in the near future.


After the Wedding (trailer)
This year's Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language film is a sweeping-yet-intimate portrait of a family struggling with the fragility of life and the possibility of forgiveness. Far from home, Jacob runs a struggling orphanage in one of India's poorest regions. Desperate to save the orphanage from closure, he returns to Denmark to meet Jorgen, a wealthy businessman and potential benefactor. Jorgen offers Jacob a seemingly innocent invitation to attend his daughter's wedding. What appears to be a friendly gesture sets in motion an increasingly devastating series of surprises, revelations, and confessions that will forever change their lives.

My Best Friend (trailer)
A smart, acidic French comedy about the meaning of friendship in which a successful art dealer, realizing he has no close friends, hires a garrulous taxi driver to teach him sociability and help him acquire a friend. He is a slow learner, so the search provides plenty of witty and thoughtful moments that have enthralled audiences across the globe since its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

This Is England (trailer)
Its 1983 and school is out. Twelve-year-old Shaun is a lonely boy growing up in a grim coastal town in northern England, whose father died fighting in the Falklands War. Over the course of the summer holiday he befriends a group of local skinheads. With his pent-up rage and frustration, Shaun finds exactly what he needs in the gang mischief, mayhem and brotherhood. He also meets the volatile and boorish Combo, an older skinhead who sees himself in Shaun. Adopting Shaun as his protégé, Combo leads the gang down a hate spewing path that culminates in an irreversible act of violence.