Central Michigan International Film Festival
Celebration Cinema, Broadway Theatre and Park Theatre, Mt. Pleasant
March 19-28
$5 per film, or $30 for a book of 10 tickets
cmfilmfestival.com

The focus will be on independent, foreign and documentary films at the upcoming Central Michigan International Film Festival, but moviegoers will also have the chance to catch a little bit of Hollywood.
That's because four of the 20 films scheduled to screen during the eighth annual festival have been nominated for Academy Awards® for either best film or best feature-length documentary. To Stephanie Mathson, one of the event's planners, that's a bonus.

"The film festival arose out of a need that concerned faculty at CMU had that a lot of great films never come our way in Mt. Pleasant," said Mathson, a member of the CMIFF executive board. "The festival is a way to bring in a lot of independent, foreign and documentary films that haven't been released in this area.

"We are pleased to be showing films that are receiving critical as well as popular attention from audiences. It's great to bring in films that have been nominated for Oscars."

Mathson said the executive board tries to have a broad range of films. It works closely with distributors, such as Human Rights Watch and California Newsreel, to identify timely documentaries.

CMIFF will run March 19-28, screening 20 films in three venues in Mt. Pleasant: Celebration Cinema, Broadway Theatre and the Park Theatre on CMU's campus.

Festival highlights include:
• Burma VJ, an Oscar-nominated documentary about the suppression of the media in 2007 in Burma when foreign news crews were banned, the Internet was shut down and the government sought to close off the country from the rest of the world.

• Bliss, a drama from Turkey and adaptation of a best-selling novel that tells the story of a woman who is condemned to death by her village after being raped and the bond that develops with the man who is tasked to carry out the sentence.

•Afghan Star, a film about an American Idol type show held in Afghanistan that deals with controversies of women's dress, performing onstage and other social issues.

• The Headless Woman, an Argentinian drama about a woman who thinks she may have killed someone while driving, and then goes back and pieces together what may - or may not - have happened.

"We think the festival is an important community and university partnership," Mathson said. "It's an opportunity to get people on campus, as one of the venues is in the Park Library. It's also great to have a venue like Celebration Cinema, which is one of our corporate sponsors, as well as a wonderful venue like the historic Broadway Theatre."

Tickets go on sale March 1 and are $5 per film, or $30 for a book of 10 tickets. Seating is on a first-come basis. Sponsors for the event are Celebration Cinema, CMU Charles V. Park Library, CMU College of Communication and Fine Arts, CMU Office for Institutional Diversity, and Pleasant Graphics.

At press time, CMIFF was in discussions to bring several additional big-name films to the festival. More information is available at cmfilmfestival.com.

Other Film Events

UICA
41 Sheldon Blvd SE, Grand Rapids
UICA.org, (616) 454-7000

For the biologically minded, the UICA will premiere Dirt! The Movie on March 2. The documentary will take a closer look at the world's complex relationship with dirt, a vital resource, and how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have led us towards disaster. The best part - admission is free for the premiere. Also showing is Police, Adjective, which opens on March 5. The film focuses on Christi, a young undercover cop who's pressured to arrest a teenager for dealing pot. Not wanting to ruin the life of a young man, Christi must decide whether to burden his conscience or face censure from his superior. Language: Romanian. Opens March 5

Celebration Cinema
Grand Rapids North, Rivertown, Lansing, Mount Pleasant, Muskegon, Benton Harbor

On March 27, Celebration Cinema will present MET Opera: Hamlet at all its locations. An operatic adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet, the prince of Denmark who just cannot make up his mind. Running time: 255 minutes. Also playing: Boondock Saints 10th Anniversary Event March 11.

Riviera Theatre
50 N. Main Street, Three Rivers
trriviera.com, (269) 278-8068

In honor of the Academy Awards, the Riviera is dedicating its March lineup to winners and nominees. On March 5, Oscar Shorts: Live Action will show at 6 p.m. with Oscar Shorts: Animated playing shortly after at 8 p.m. In honor of the 2010 Academy Awards, The Riviera will feature nominees The Messenger (March 2, 4, 7, and 9-11 ), and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (March 9-11, 13, 16, and 18). For an oldie but goodie, stop by the Gone With the Wind, which was an Oscar winner in 1939. It's playing on March 14.

Hangar42 Studios is officially open for business.

At nearly 500,000 square feet, the new Hangar42 is the largest film production facility in the state and could be a boom for the state's film industry.   Owned by a group of Michigan investors, who invested $45 million to buy and renovate the former Lear Corp auto plant in NW Grand Rapids, Hangar42 will house the world's largest sound stage, production studios, office space and post-production studios.   Over the next three years, the new studio expects to create more than 1000 jobs in the film and production industry.

While the studio officially opens today, the studio has been used already, including filming of "The Gun" starring Val Kilmer and rapper 50 Cent.   That film shoot employed about 200 people, including many locals.   The studio's owners are in talks with several major film studios and producers about future projects.

The owners have hired a San Francisco-based Studio O + A to design the interior space with the goal of creating more than 50,000-square-feet of production offices.   The SF firm also designed unique office spaces for companies like Facebook, eBay, PayPal, Williams Sonoma and Levi Strauss & Co.

The studio is the first to take advantage of the infrastructure tax credit Michigan Film Credit, which will give the studio an estimated $10 million tax credit, according to a studio spokesperson.  Since the state passed the film tax credit in 2008, more than 80 major productions have been filmed around the Mitten State.

Hopwood DePree and his team are putting the post-production touches on What's Wrong with Virginia, a star-studded new film shot in Holland - and potentially headed toward Cannes.

DePree, founder and CEO of TicTock Studios, wrapped up shooting in November on the drama, which stars Academy Award®-winner Jennifer Connelly and Academy Award-nominee Ed Harris. Additionally, more than 1,000 aspiring and established actors turned out for the film's open casting call in August. More than 200 West Michigan residents made it onto the payroll for the production, which was "99 percent" shot in the area.

"It was great seeing so many local people cast in this film, with speaking roles and as extras," said DePree, one of three producers on the film. "As a West Michigan native, it's tremendous to see these kinds of opportunities go to our residents. This was really a quality project."

The story focuses on Virginia (Connelly), a charming yet psychologically disturbed woman who has been carrying on a clandestine affair with Mormon Sheriff Richard Tipton (Harris), who has tossed his hat into the race for the state senate. Their secret - and his senate race - promise to unravel when Virginia's illegitimate 16-year-old son, Emmett (Harrison Gilbertson), begins a romantic relationship with Tipton's daughter (Emma Roberts).

The film marks the directorial debut of Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award last year for his screenplay of Milk. Also noteworthy among the credits are executive producers Gus Van Sant, an Academy Award-nominated director, and Emmy Award®-winner Yeardley Smith, who also has some screen time. Christine Vachon, a producer of Boys Don't Cry - which earned a best actress Oscar for Hilary Swank and a nod to Chloe Sevigny for best supporting actress - rounds out the stellar cast and crew.

"I am a big fan of Lance's work," DePree noted. "At the Academy Awards last year when his script was honored, everyone was eager to see what his next project would be.

"The caliber and style of writing for Milk were so interesting and so different that there was a lot of interest in Hollywood to see what he would do next. There were some really wonderful people attached to this film. All of them, coupled with a great script, made this a great project."

After production work is completed on the film, which DePree expects to wrap up in March or April, they will submit What's Wrong with Virginia to the Cannes International Film Festival, among others. DePree said they are already working with U.S. distributors and have begun some talks with foreign distributors.

"For my part, it was exciting working with such a high level of talent," he said. "It was truly exciting every morning to get up and got to the see to see what the actors, directors and cinematographer are going to produce. I was blown away daily."

In Search of Beethoven
UICA
41 Sheldon Blvd SE, Grand Rapids
UICA.org, (616) 454-7000

Filmmaker Phil Grabsky brings a truly comprehensive documentary about legendary composer Beethoven. The documentary is an exhaustive portrait rather than an account of his life. Rather than reveling in the myth that Beethoven was a heroic, tormented, deaf, cantankerous, and loveless man, Director Grabsky brings together leading experts and musicians to reveal new insights into the legendary composer. The film also features 55 performances of Beethoven's music. Opens Feb. 12. Also showing: La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet.

A Prairie Home Companion-Live in HD!
Celebration Cinema North
3728 Rivertown Parkway, Grandville
celebrationcinema.com, (616) 530-7469

The legendary radio program, A Prairie Home Companion, will be broadcast live in high-definition. The original radio program has been broadcast since July 6, 1974, mostly on public radio stations. The program was originally envisioned as a comedy/music variety show for the radio. The show is a significant outlet for American folk music, as well as comedy skits satirizing old radio dramas like gumshoe detective stories. This is a special two-hour presentation with all the regular cast members: creator Garrison Keillor, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Fred Newman, Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, and more. Opens Feb. 4 with an encore on Feb. 9. Also Showing: Met Opera: Carmen, Simon Boccanegra.

An Education
Riviera Theatre
50 N. Main Street, Three Rivers
trriviera.com, (269) 278-8068

In 1961 England after an orchestra rehearsal, a schoolgirl, Jenny (Carey Mulligan), meets a charming older man, David (Peter Sarsgaard). They strike up a relationship and eventually proceed to get married. However, Jenny soon learns about David - and his friend Daniel's - devious schemes as she attempts to salvage her school career. Directed by Lone Scherfig; based on a memoir by Lynn Barber. Running time: 95 minutes. Check Web site for show times.