Award-winning new documentaries premiere at the Fisher Theatre
Sedona AZ (December 24, 2015) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premieres of the award-winning documentaries “Janis: Little Girl Blue” and “Hitchcock/Truffaut” showing Dec. 18-23 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE
Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Berg examines the meteoric rise and untimely fall of one of the most revered and iconic rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time: Janis Joplin. Joplin’s life story is revealed for the first time on film through electrifying archival footage, revealing interviews with friends and family and rare personal letters, presenting an intimate and insightful portrait of a bright, complicated artist who changed music forever.
Janis Joplin is one of the most revered and iconic rock and roll singers of all time, a tragic and misunderstood figure who thrilled millions of listeners and blazed new creative trails before her death in 1970 at age 27.
With massive hits including “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Piece of My Heart,” and such classic albums as Cheap Thrills and Pearl, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Joplin was one of the definitive stars to emerge during the musical and cultural revolution of the 1960s. She delivered a breakout performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, and was one of the memorable acts at Woodstock. Her legacy has only grown since her passing. She ranked high on Rolling Stone’s lists of both the Greatest Singers and Greatest Artists of All Time, and is claimed as an influence by virtually every female rocker who has followed (and many male singers, as well).
Joplin’s own words tell much of the film’s story through a series of letters she wrote to her parents over the years, many of them made public here for the first time. This correspondence is only one element of the stunning, previously unseen material Berg discovered during the seven years she has spent working on “Janis: Little Girl Blue”. New audio and video of Joplin in concert and in the studio, and even footage from her emotional return to Texas for her tenth high school reunion, add depth and texture to this remarkable story.
Variety calls the film “Fiercely Brilliant!” The New York Post raves “A heartfelt, engrossing tribute!”
“Janis: Little Girl Blue” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre Jan. 2-7. Showtimes will be 4 p.m. on Saturday and Monday, Jan. 2 and 4; and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 3, 6 and 7.
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT
Alfred Hitchcock’s singular vision is elucidated and brought vividly to life by today’s leading filmmakers: Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Arnaud Desplechin, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Wes Anderson, James Gray, Olivier Assayas, Richard Linklater, Peter Bogdanovich, and Paul Schrader in the award-winning new film “Hitchcock/Truffaut”.
In 1962, Francois Truffaut persuaded Alfred Hitchcock to sit with him for a week long interview in which the great British auteur would share with his young admirer the secrets of his cinema. Based on the original recordings of this meeting — used to produce the seminal book “Hitchcock/Truffaut” — this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time and plunges us into the world of the creator of “Psycho”, “The Birds” and “Vertigo”.
“Hitchcock/Truffaut” — by award-winning filmmaker Kent Jones — gives a very contemporary reinterpretation of Hitchcock’s cinema. By highlighting the main topics with a large number of clips (legendary and lesser known) from Hitchcock’s films, 10 contemporary cinema greats reiterate the esthetic, technical, and narrative questions at the heart of these conversations with Truffaut. And thanks to the original sound recordings of these discussions, it is as if the book suddenly comes to life: Hitchcock and Truffaut, with their intonations, hesitations, and laughter, resurrecting this fabled one-week encounter and 20-year friendship.
“With this film, my intention is for the viewer to have the visceral revelation of what cinema is in all its most powerful beauty,” said director Kent Jones.
“Hitchcock/Truffaut” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre Jan. 4-7. Showtimes will be 7 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 4 and 5; and 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 6 and 7.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.