LouisvilleKy’s celebrates local films and filmmakers next month

Flyover Film Festival Lands in Louisville July 24 – 29, 2016

The Louisville Film Society launches its 8th Annual Flyover Film Festival July 24 – 29 celebrating Kentucky and our rich heritage in filmmaking, past and present. Two documentaries that honor favorite native sons Wendell Berry (The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry) and Harry Caudill (Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage) open the five day event followed by Bear With Us starring Louisvillian and Walden Theatre alum Collin Smith, a Throw-Back-Thursday 35th Anniversary outdoor screening of Stripes, filmed here in Kentuckflyover film festivaly, and a mixed media finale on the Belvedere, Sound in Motion:  Louisville Music On Stage & Screen, including mini-documentaries from both the Louisville Orchestra and WFPK interspersed with live music performance.

According to Stu Pollard, Chairman of the Louisville Film Society, “Each of these screenings is a Kentucky-connected project and is a testimony to our state’s legacy in promoting industry initiatives across the Commonwealth.”

The first three screenings of the festival comprise two Kentucky premieres and one World premiere and will be followed by Q&A’s with filmmakers from each of the films. The Sunday opening night documentary, The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, which is being co-presented by the Louisville Film Society with the Kentucky Center, premiered at SXSW in March to great reviews. Director Laura Dunn is excited to bring it to Flyover for its first Kentucky screening. “Wendell’s work has helped me to feel more at home in this world so bringing the film back to its true home, the place from which it springs, only makes good sense. We are excited to bring our kids back and reconnect with our very special friends and the inspiring landscapes of Kentucky.”

Monday night ticket holders will be the first ever to see Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage. A fiscally sponsored project of Louisville Film Society, Director Jerry Deaton is proud for the World Premiere to take place as part of Flyover. “I felt it was important that not only a Kentuckian, but that an eastern Kentuckian, make this film about Mr. Caudill. He dedicated his life to our Commonwealth, and I’m certain he would have been honored to know that the Speed Museum and Louisville Film Society are hosting the premiere of his film.”

The Kentucky premiere of Bear With Us will be held at Baxter Avenue Theaters on Tuesday night. Louisville native and actor Collin Smith believes the quirky comedy will resound with a local audience. “It’s such an honor to be bringing Bear With Us to my hometown and I can’t imagine a better audience to share it with than the Flyover Film Festival attendees. I truly feel like this weird and wonderful movie will resonate with the distinct sensibility of a Louisville audience.”

On Wednesday night Flyover Film Festival takes a break encouraging local cinephiles to head over to WFPK’s Waterfront Wednesday but returns Thursday night for an outdoor 35th Anniversary Screening of Stripes at Copper & Kings Brandy Distillery. A second outdoor screening, Sound in Motion: Louisville Music on Stage & Screen, will bring the festival to a roaring close on Friday night on the Belvedere as part of the Family Night Film Series co-presented by Louisville Film Society and Kentucky Center. Live local music will be presented interspersed with short mini docs highlighting Louisville’s music scene. Attendees of this free event are invited to pack their own picnic, blanket and lawn chairs and come early to enjoy the beautiful sunset over the Ohio River. A full service bar will be provided by the Kentucky Center. In the event of rain, both outdoor screenings will be held at alternate indoor location at event sites.

Two after parties with the opportunity to meet the filmmakers will be held as part of Flyover Film Festival. 21c Museum Hotel will hold a reception following The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry open to all attendees including VIPs, sponsors and pass holders; and The Back Door, located in Mid City Mall along with Baxter Avenue Theaters, will host a party following Bear With Us.

LFS Executive Director Soozie Eastman on the venue choices, “For this 8th Flyover Film Festival, we not only wanted to program films with Kentucky connections, but we partner once again with The Kentucky Center, Speed Cinema, Baxter Avenue Theaters and Copper & Kings to spread the events throughout the community and make the festival accessible for all to attend. Capping off the week with the free Sound in Motion event on the Belvedere, we have options for all ages and budgets. We encourage everyone to come out and support the filmmakers, Louisville Film Society and venues that help make this community continually grow the arts-rich landscape we know and love.”

Schedule

The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, Kentucky Premiere, Sunday July 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the Bomhard Theater at Kentucky Center followed by a Q&A with Director Laura Dunn, Mary Berry, and Nick Offerman and an after-party at 21c Museum Hotel for ticket holders, VIPs, sponsors and pass holders.

Harry Caudill: A Man of Courage, World Premiere, Monday July 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Speed Cinema followed by a Q&A with Director Jerry Deaton. Cash bar open at 6:30p.m.

Bear with Us, Kentucky Premiere, Tuesday July 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Baxter Avenue Theaters followed by a Q&A with Director/Writer William Stribling, co-writer/producer Russ Nickel and actor Collin Smith and an after-party for all ticket holders at The Back Door.

Stripes, Thursday July 28 at Copper & Kings. Gates open at 8:00 p.m. with outdoor screening to start at approximately 8:45 p.m.*

Sound in Motion: Louisville Music on Stage & Screen, Friday July 29 on the Belvedere lawn presented as part of the free LFS/Kentucky Center Family Film Night Series. Gates open at 8p.m. Screening and music to start at approximately 8:30 p.m.*

* In the event of rain, there are indoor alternatives at this venue. Attendees encouraged to bring chairs, blankets and picnics for screening.

As of this release date, the 2016 Flyover Film Festival is made possible by the following sponsors: Yum! Foundation, Delta Dental of Kentucky, Republic National Distributing Company, Rabbit Hole Distilleries, 21c Museum Hotel, The Back Door, Heyman Talent and Highland Cleaners.  Additional sponsorships available.

More on the films: 

THE SEER: A Portrait of Wendell Berry is a cinematic portrait of the changing landscapes and shifting values of rural America in the era of industrial agriculture, as seen through the mind’s eye of Wendell Berry. Since its world premiere at SXSW in March, it has won the SXSW Documentary Feature Special Jury Award for Cinematography, the Nashville Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature, and the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital William W. Warner Beautiful Swimmers Award; and was nominated for SXSW Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award and Montclair Film Festival Bruce Sinofsky Prize for Documentary Feature. Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell, Co-produced with Executive Producers Robert Redford and Terrence Malick and co-produced by Owsley Brown, Gill Holland, Elaine Musselman, and Nick Offerman,

Not rated, 83 minutes

Harry Caudill, A Man of Courage chronicles the life of author and social activist Harry M. Caudill of Whitesburg, Ky. In 1963, Caudill wrote, Night Comes to the Cumberlands, a book that would shine light on the desperate situation of impoverished eastern Kentuckians and help President Lyndon Johnson implement his War on Poverty program. Caudill’s work lead to the elimination of unfair mining practices, the regulation of strip mining activities, the preservation of the Lilly Cornett Woods and Bad Branch Falls, the initiation of the Coal Severance Tax and the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission among other things. Caudill was the voice of poor, disenfranchised eastern Kentuckians for more than three decades and has been recognized as one of Kentucky’s top six authors and one of the fifty most influential Kentuckians of all time.

Not rated, 60 minutes

Bear with Us is a modern farce about a vicious bear derailing a romantic marriage proposal. Starring Christy Carlson Romano, Mark Jude Sullivan and Louisvillian Collin Smith, this oddball comedy takes a close look at just how far we’ll go to preserve our relationships. Awards include Gasparilla International Film Festival Audience Award – Best Narrative Feature Film and Jury Award – Best Female Performance, Christy Carlson Romano; Hill Country Film Festival Best Feature Film and Audience Award.

Rated R, 94 minutes

Stripes, now celebrating its 35th anniversary, became an overnight hit comedy success and is one of the better-known films made in Kentucky with scenes filmed in Fort Knox, Louisville, Elizabethtown, Clermont and West Point. Starring Bill Murray, John Candy and Harold Ramis, this iconic blockbuster tells the story of two friends who are dissatisfied with their jobs and decide to join the army for a bit of fun.

Rated R, 106 minutes

Sound in Motion: Louisville Music on Stage & Screen, is a mixed media presentation of live music interspersed with short mini-documentaries on local musicians created by the Louisville Orchestra and WFPK. Presented as the finale of the Flyover Film Festival and as part of the free LFS/Kentucky Center Family Film Series, all ages will enjoy this occasion to highlight our community’s own vibrant local music scene.

All ages.

For more information on the 2016 Flyover Film Festival please visit www.louisvillefilmsociety.com/flyover2016