Hello Everyone,

We’re changing things up this weekend! If you haven’t seen BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD – one of the best reviewed films of the year – then you should hurry down to THE NEON. Thursday will be your last chance to see it with us. On Friday, we will open YOUR SISTER’S SISTER – the new film from Lynn Shelton. In addition, we’ll hold THE INTOUCHABLES…it had a terrific weekend.

Synopsis for YOUR SISTER’S SISTER: “Your Sister’s Sister is a new comedy about romance, grief and sibling rivalry. A year after his brother Tom’s death, Jack is still struggling emotionally. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Tom’s best friend Iris offers up her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. Once there, however, he runs into Iris’ sister Hannah who is reeling from the abrupt end of a seven-year relationship and finds solace in Tom’s unexpected presence. A blurry evening of drinking concludes with an awkward sexual incident, made worse by Iris’ sudden presence at the cabin the next morning. A twisted tale of ever-complicated relationships is set in motion with raw, hilarious and emotional performances from the all-star cast.” (taken from IFC Films) Visit the official website.

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The Greater Dayton Association of Black Journalists will host a community discussion about the Anthony Sowell serial murder case this Saturday at 11am at THE NEON. A discussion of the societal conditions that allowed the murders to go unnoticed will be discussed following a preview of the documentary ELEVEN. The film is about the Imperial Avenue killings in Cleveland’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood in 2009. Stanley Donaldson, a reporter for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, will be on hand along with co-director Khalil Pedizsai. Donaldson wrote newspaper articles about the murders. He is also a producer for the documentary. Please help us spread the word about this free community discussion.

Tickets are on sale for FilmDayton Festival – set for August 24-26. Take a look at their SITE and see what they have to offer. In addition to film screenings at THE NEON, the festival will offer workshops and special events around town. I’m anxious to see quite a few films on their line-up. TRASH DANCE, COMPLIANCE, and THESE AMAZING SHADOWS look great. This is their 4th Annual Fest…let’s help them make it a big success.

And speaking of festivals, The Downtown Dayton LGBT Film Festival has a fresh new website. HERE it is! It’s our biggest and best line-up yet, and we’re now in the process of securing guest artists to attend the festival (I can’t wait to make some big announcements in the coming days). The 7th Annual Fest is set for Sept. 28-30. Visit the site, watch the trailers and mark your calendars…it’s gonna be great!

Thanks for your continued support.
We hope to see you soon,
Jonathan

SHOWTIMES for
Fri. Aug. 17 – Thu. Aug. 23:

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER (R) 1 Hr 30 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1:00, 3:10, 5:15, 7:20, 9:30
Monday – Thursday: 3:10, 5:15, 7:20

THE INTOUCHABLES (R) 1 Hr 52 Min
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 12:20, 2:45, 5:10, 7:30, 9:45
Monday – Thursday: 2:45, 5:10, 7:30

ELEVEN (NR) 30 Min + Discussion
Saturday: 11:00am

COMING SOON:
As always, all dates are tentative.
Many of these dates will change.
In some rare cases, titles may disappear.
Aug 31 FAREWELL, MY QUEEN
Aug 31 CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER
TBD WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Sept. 14 ROBOT AND FRANK
Sept. 21 ARBITRAGE
TBD THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
TBD 2 DAYS IN NEW YORK
TBD SLEEPWALK WITH ME

Director Andrew Garrison

Making people whose work is often invisible feel as if they count is a matter of great concern to Austin Texas filmmaker and former Daytonian Andrew Garrison. In the spirit of showing the dignity and meaning of everyday work most people take for granted, Garrison has collaborated with choreographer Allison Orr to create TRASH DANCE, a 68 minute film documenting the lives—and one extraordinary day in those lives—of 24 Austin garbage collectors. The award winning film is scheduled for a screening and Q and A with director Andrew Garrison at the 2012 FilmDayton Festival on Saturday, August 25 beginning at 5:15 PM.

Trash Dance debuted to rave reviews by audiences and critics at SXSW, where it received a special jury recognition prize. The film also won the Audience Award at the Full Frame documentary festival and most recently took away the Audience Award at the Discovery Channel’s Silverdocs festival. The Silverdocs festival proved to be extraordinary for Dayton, as not only Garrison’s film won, but also Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar’s film Sparkle, a documentary about legendary Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s Sheri “Sparkle” Williams, which won the Short Documentary Audience Award.

Photo by Andrew Garrison

Trash Dance’s main character, its choreographer Allison Orr, with her pixie haircut and wide disarming smile, had become known in Austin and beyond for her choreography of everyday movement like dog walking or roller skating. For this project, she undertook the monumental task of assembling the sanitation workers and their trucks on an abandoned runway and running the mass of garbage trucks through a specially choreographed “dance” spectacle for an assembled audience of over 2000. “It was pouring rain, we had seating for 700, and 2000 people showed up to watch it happen,” said Garrison from his home in Austin. “Nobody expected that kind of response.”

The big event was preceded by a full year of filming, beginning with a serendipitous meeting. “So much of this film, like so many films, depended on luck,” Garrison said. “I didn’t know Allison, but had read about interesting things she had choreographed with unusual performers. Roller skaters, dog walkers… I was ready to do something fun, ready to move my camera around.”

“I was at a meeting one night and a guy asked me what I was going to do next, so I told him I was interested in working with Allison. Turns out he was her husband, and she was due to start her safety training with the sanitation workers the following week…”

Article written and submitted by FilmDayton Volunteer Deb Lukjanovs. Read the full article at FilmDayton.com

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