Fresno Filmworks

2009 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Audience Awards Results

Best feature-length film: Waltz with Bashir
Best live-action short: Land Gewennin
Best animation or experimental short: Night with Nixon
Best documentary short: The Women’s Kingdom

Friday, April 17

7 p.m. • SKILLS LIKE THIS (with short film OLD DOGS) tickets

“This film is loads of fun and, honestly, isn’t that what going to the movies is all about? Get ready, ‘Skills Like This’ is the movie all your friends — the really cool ones — will be telling you about.” Amelia Cook, The Daily Page

9:30 p.m. • OPENING NIGHT PARTY

Immediately following Skills Like This, join Filmworks for the Opening Night Party, welcoming visiting filmmakers and the public to the festival. The party, catered by The Painted Table Catering Company, will include hors d’oeuvres and champagne. Award-winning local jazz composer and saxophonist Benjamin Boone will provide entertainment, with violinist/mandolinist Eva Scow and friends.

Saturday, April 18

11 a.m. • THE GENERAL (with short film DUKE BAA) tickets

“[Keaton's films] have such a graceful perfection, such a meshing of story, character and episode, that they unfold like music.” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

1:30 p.m. • THE GARDEN (with short film COLORADO EXPERIENCE) tickets

“It’s tempting to call ‘The Garden’ a story of innocence and experience, of evil corrupting paradise, but that would be doing a disservice to the fascinating complexities of a classic Los Angeles conflict and an excellent documentary that does them full justice.”
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

4:30 p.m. • SHORTS PROGRAM 1 (with special filmmaker appearances) tickets

Fresno Film Festival short film category

MISSING THE BOAT
Pieter De Graeve, Australia and Belgium, 14 min.

VERNAYA (FAITHFUL)
Nastia Tarasova, Russia, 27 min.

ONE MINUTE MORE [excerpts]
Guy Livingston, USA, 15 min.

STORSTAD (BIG CITY)
Rafael Deugenio, Sweden, 12 min.

WIG
Todd Holland, USA (LA and Fresno), 21 min.

8 p.m. • THE CLASS tickets

“This is one of the screen’s most rewarding explorations of the teacher/student relationship in any language. Every voice we hear makes sense; every opinion means something.” Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Sunday, April 19

11:30 a.m. • MERMAID (with short film PINK BAG) tickets

“Has abundant charm and digital trickery in the Amelie mold, but also a winning personality all its own. A radiant central performance by Masha Shalaeva is complemented by a strong supporting cast.” Russell Edwards, Variety

2 p.m. • WALTZ WITH BASHIR (with excerpts from ONE MINUTE MORE) tickets

“Waltz With Bashir plays out as one of the most profoundly explosive animated documentaries I have ever seen, and is clearly one of the best pictures of the year.”
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

4:30 p.m. • SHORTS PROGRAM 2 (with special filmmaker appearances) tickets

Fresno Film Festival short film category

COMPACT ONLY
Pamela Greene, USA, 15 min.

GAINING GROUND
Marc Brummund, Germany, 20 min.

ROZ (AND JOSHUA)
Charlene Music, USA (Bay Area), 3 min.

THE CROOKED EYE
D.C. Douglas, USA (LA and Fresno), 18 min.

NIGHT WITH NIXON
Alex Cormack, USA, 4 min.

THE WOMEN’S KINGDOM
Xiaoli Zhou, China, 23 min.

BEFORE THE SEA
Charlene Music, USA (Bay Area), 8 min.

7:30 p.m. • CHE: THE ARGENTINE tickets

“Committed and commanding, slow but stealthy, political and powerful: details are omitted, but ‘Che’ still sees Soderbergh flexing fierce focus and control, while Del Toro leads with tact and muscle.” Chris Hicks, Total Film Magazine

Photos from April’s 5th annual film festival by JA Photography.