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A FIDAI FILM
Reclaiming a collection of still and moving images taken by the IDF from the archive collection of the Palestine Research Center in Beirut in the summer of 1982, this poignant exploration of identity, memory, and resistance, uses a unique blend of documentary and experimental filmmaking techniques to create a counter-narrative to loss—a cinematic salvaging to restore looted memories.
Fri, Oct 18 9:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 6:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 7:15 PM
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A REAL YOUNG GIRL
Fourteen-year-old Alice Bonnard returns home from boarding school on summer vacation. Burdened by boredom and her own burgeoning sexuality, Alice’s adolescent desires latch onto Jim, a surly young worker employed at her father’s sawmill.
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AELITA: QUEEN OF MARS
Marc Ribot will perform a live score for Yakov Protazanov’s pioneering 1924 sci-fi film adapted from Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 novella that follows an engineer who hears travels to Mars, leading a popular uprising against the Elders with the help of Queen Aelita (Yuliya Solntsevaz).
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ALL THE KING'S MEN
Willie Stark is a dynamic backwoods personality who rides a wave of populist fervor straight into the governor's mansion, only to fall prey to the corruption he pledged to fight. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Robert Penn Warren, this dynamic political noir took home the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Fri, Oct 18 1:00 PM Sun, Oct 20 12:00 PM
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AN EVENING SONG (FOR THREE VOICES)
In an old house in an unnamed Midwest town, former child-prodigy writer Barbara Fowler and her sci-fi author husband Richard are entwined in a love triangle with their pious maid.
Fri, Oct 18 4:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 3:45 PM
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CINEMATIC POETICS
Poets Hannah Bonner, Julia Anna Morrison, and Perry Janes read from their work and discuss the intersections of film and poetry.
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COMIC BOOK READING WITH EZRA CLAYTAN DANIELS
Ezra Claytan Daniels reads a short selection of comics. Followed by a Q&A and signing.
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EPIGRAPH COFFEE SESSION: IN THE WRITERS' ROOM
A conversation about writing for television with writers David Kajganich, Emily Yoshida, and Susanna Fogel.
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EPIGRAPH COFFEE SESSION: THE ART OF NIGHTBITCH
Rachel Yoder and Lee Running discuss The Art of Nightbitch.
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EVERY LITTLE THING
Inspired by Terry Masear's book, Fastest Things on Wings: Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood, this joyous documentary offers profound truths and moments of wonder in a deceptively simple story. In tending to hundreds of fragile yet resilient hummingbirds, Masear finds a sense of healing from her own past.
Fri, Oct 18 6:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 4:15 PM Sun, Oct 20 11:10 AM
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FILMSPOTTING LIVE
The #1 podcast for the movie buff according to The New York Times, Chicago’s Filmspotting has provided in-depth movie discussions, interviews, and Top 5 lists since 2005. Join co-host Adam Kempenaar (UI professor) and special guest host Marya Gates as they record a live episode.
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GHOST CAT ANZU
This manga adaptation follows 11-year-old Karin who finds herself abandoned by her father in a small Japanese town. Her grandfather asks his jovial but rather capricious ghost cat, Anzu, to look after her, and their spirited personalities collide.
Fri, Oct 18 9:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 7:30 PM
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LA COCINA
Based on the 1957 play of the same name by Arnold Wesker, this comedic drama follows a melting pot of workers at a Times Square restaurant. When money goes missing, all the undocumented cooks are being investigated, and Pedro (Raúl Briones) is the prime suspect. Amidst the pandemonium of the kitchen, he falls for American waitress Julia (Rooney Mara) who coolly keeps their affair hidden until a shocking revelation pushes Pedro to the edge.
Sat, Oct 19 12:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 3:30 PM
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LÁZARO AT NIGHT
A trio of fortysomething actors who happen to be in a mundane love triangle navigate unorthodox auditions for the same film. In discussions they begin to reminisce on an acting workshop that leads into a unique retelling of Aladdin.
Sat, Oct 19 9:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 7:00 PM
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MONOGRAPH SHORTS PROGRAM
A Refocus Film Festival Short Film Block featuring personal works from up and coming directors and anchored by the latest a piece by Leos Carax the reflects on his 40 year career while paying homage to Jean-Luc Godard.
Fri, Oct 18 6:30 PM Sat, Oct 19 1:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 1:30 PM
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MOVING
When her parents split, Renko, a bright and energetic 6th grader, is left alone with her mother, Nazuna, in Kyoto. As Nazuna sets out new rules for their life together, Renko makes plans of her own, seeing to it that any changes happen on her terms. Adapted from Hiko Tanaka's novel, this gem of a film is a breathtaking masterpiece begging for rediscovery.
Sat, Oct 19 11:30 AM Sun, Oct 20 7:00 PM
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NICKEL BOYS
Based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Nickel Boys tracks the experiences of two young Black men who meet at a brutal Florida reform school in the 1960s. After being sent to Nickel Academy as punishment for a crime he didn’t commit, Elwood Curtis meets Turner, a kindred spirit who becomes his closest ally.
Fri, Oct 18 6:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 1:30 PM
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NIGHTBITCH
Adapted from the celebrated novel by Iowa City author Rachel Yoder, director Marielle Heller tells the story of a small city artist-turned-stay-at-home-mom (Amy Adams), trapped by her domestic duties and the weight of motherhood.
Thu, Oct 17 7:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 7:00 PM
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PAVEMENTS
In this unconventional take on the rock-doc, Alex Ross Perry blends performance footage and interviews with a biopic, a staged jukebox musical, and a gallery exhibit to tell the story of the iconic ‘90s rock group Pavement.
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PLASTIC
Jun and Ibuki meet as seniors in high school, drawn to each other by their shared love of 70s glam-rock band Exne Kedy and the Poltergeists. As the demands of adulthood loom, the young couple drifts apart. Years later, the band reunites. Will Jun and Ibuki reunite as well? Inspired by songwriter Kensuke Ide's 2021 concept album Strolling Planet ’74.
Fri, Oct 18 3:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 10:15 PM Sun, Oct 20 4:00 PM
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POSTSCRIPT OPENING NIGHT AFTER PARTY
Mingle with fellow festival goers to celebrate opening night of the fest!
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RACIALISM IN THE MEDIA
A screening of the hour-long film and a post-screening Q&A with Venise Berry and S. Toriano Berry.
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SAMBIZANGA
Pioneering director Sarah Maldoror presents a revolutionary bombshell–an electrifying chronicle of Angola’s awakening independence movement. Based on the novella The Real Life of Domingos Xavier by José Luandino Vieira
Fri, Oct 18 4:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 1:00 PM
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SAVANNA AND THE MOUNTAIN
When the community of Covas do Barroso, Portugal discovers that the British company Savannah Resources plans to build the largest open-pit lithium mine in Europe just a few meters from their homes, they decide to organize and expel them from their lands. Using the people as actors, incorporating footage from their protests, and playing their protest songs, director Paulo Carneiro worked with the villagers to document their resistance as a tool for intervention.
Fri, Oct 18 9:30 PM Sat, Oct 19 7:00 PM Sun, Oct 20 5:15 PM
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SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE
Bill Furlong discovers shocking secrets kept by the convent in his sleepy Irish town that threaten to disrupt his perception of the past and the peace of his community. Adapted from Claire Keegan's award-winning historical fiction novel of the same name by acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Enda Walsh, this powerful drama examines the personal and historical truths that shaped a people.
Fri, Oct 18 12:30 PM Sat, Oct 19 2:30 PM Sun, Oct 20 5:00 PM
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SUBTEXT
Take a break and mingle with other Refocus and Iowa City Book Festival VIPs.
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THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
The target of a sinister plot, young Edmond Dantès is arrested at the altar for a crime he did not commit. After 14 years in an island prison, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo to exact his revenge in this thrilling adaptation that is Alexandre Dumas by way of Mission: Impossible.
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THE FALLING SKY
In collaboration with Brazil’s indigenous Yanomami people, this documentary follows leader and shaman Davi Kopenawa as he fights to return the world to balance in closely observed rituals and trenchant comments on the ruthless logic of a materialistic outside culture. Based on the shaman's book of the same name, the film holds up a mirror to capitalist societies that threaten the survival of humanity as a whole.
Fri, Oct 18 7:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 9:00 PM Sun, Oct 20 6:30 PM
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THE STORM
A young boy dodges monsters, warriors, and natural forces on a rescue mission to save his surrogate father, who has fallen under a mysterious spell while searching for a legendary textile. In this latest film from China’s indie animation auteur, Busifan, traditional ink wash paintings become a vivid landscape for a colorful and fantastical adventure.
Sat, Oct 19 10:45 AM Sun, Oct 20 10:45 AM
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THE TRIAL
After being accused of an unspecified crime, Josef K. (Anthony Perkins) must wade through an increasingly obscure and hostile bureaucratic maze to receive answers and clear his name in this Orson Welles adaptation of Franz Kafka's classic novel.
Fri, Oct 18 3:30 PM Sat, Oct 19 9:00 PM
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THREE PROMISES
Armed only with the family video camera, Suha captures the Second Intifada from within the West Bank at the start of the 2000s. Woven into her images of family life under occupation, Suha makes promises to God to spare her family. Seventeen years later, her filmmaker son Yousef finds the footage and assembles it, excavating his own forgotten childhood in the process.
Sat, Oct 19 12:00 PM Sun, Oct 20 4:45 PM
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TWST - THINGS WE SAID TODAY
Repurposing archival footage from personal recordings and news reports and incorporating diary entries of the time as voiceover, this city symphony starts with the arrival of The Beatles in New York for their August 1965 concert at Shea Stadium. But as the frame of reference steadily broadens, adjacent realities of 1965 are juxtaposed—the New York World’s Fair, the Watts Rebllion filtering through from the West Coast on television.
Sat, Oct 19 5:00 PM Sun, Oct 20 7:30 PM
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UBU
Spurred by the encouragement of his wife, oafish Ubu murders King Wenceslau and takes Poland as his own, sending the country into chaos.
Fri, Oct 18 9:45 PM Sat, Oct 19 4:45 PM
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UNEXPLAINED PRESENCE
Tisa Bryant reads from her collection of essays, accompanied by remixed film clips.
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UNFOCUS AFTER PARTY AT THE GREEN HOUSE
Go wind down at the Green House with drinks, desserts, and music provided by Blake Shaw with Chris Navarrete.
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WHISKEY TANGO FILMSCENE
Join us for a night of storytelling with these guests of Refocus Film Festival and Iowa City Book Festival to hear their war stories about creating art and getting it out into the world while sipping some whiskey!
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WINNER
Emilia Jones stars as the titular translator who leaked classified documents leading to a 63 month prison sentence in this humorous and heartfelt inside look into a public figure known for one courageous act and a funny name. Susanna Fogel (Cat Person) directs this adaptation of Kerry Howley's 2017 profile for New York Magazine.
Fri, Oct 18 7:00 PM Sat, Oct 19 6:30 PM
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WRITING ON FILM
An hour-long conversation between film writers Jonathan Rosenbaum and Marya E. Gates moderated by Ariana Martinez of Little Village.
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YOU BURN ME + DILDOTECTÓNICA
Adapting a chapter of Cesare Pavese’s Dialogues With Leucò, Matías Piñeiro explores a conversation on heartbreak between Sappho and the goddess Britomartis. Paired with Tomás Paula Marques’ short DILDOTECTÓNICA.
Fri, Oct 18 1:15 PM Sat, Oct 19 3:00 PM Sun, Oct 20 2:45 PM
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