While movie theatres and many in-person cinema events have had to take a backseat during the Covid-19 pandemic (even the Oscars had to be pushed back until April), film festivals have gratefully been able to saunter on—and in many cases prosper—by taking their films virtual. At The Movie Buff, we have covered several of these festivals, such as the ‘Women’s Comedy Film Festival,’ the ‘True Colors Film Festival,’ and the ‘Dumbo Film Festival.’ Of course we also saw even larger festivals go virtual, such as ‘Sundance,’ which took place two weeks ago and ‘SXSW’ which is planned for mid-March.
The ‘Reel Love Film Fest,’ in its first year, made an impact under such conditions, with the aim to bring films about love to moviegoers and critics. The festival, running from February 10th-14th, was a success, bringing many film festival favorites and new pictures to viewing audiences.
I was happy to be able to cover the festival for The Movie Buff, and be able to see some of these films, and to explore the themes of love, as brought to life through the festival’s different filmmakers. Below, I highlight some of the films that left an impact in their wake, as well as the festival’s jury and audience awards.
Top Films
Emily Skeggs and Kyle Gallner in “Dinner in America” (photo: Philippe Bernier, courtesy Sundance Institute)
“Dinner in America,” starring Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs is a breath of fresh air. The film, written and directed by Adam Rehmeier, is a fun comedy that has both laughs and its heart in the right place. The film—which follows a punk rocker on the run and a sheltered girl in the Midwest—introduces us to characters we can root for, and channeling a very “Garden State”-esque feel in the leads’ interactions, the movie avoids the standard rom-com tropes and leaves a genuine picture in its wake. In addition, “Dinner in America” also features a definite music vibe, with Skeggs and Director Rehmeier writing the catchy and moving song “Watermelon,” which was a decided hit during the movie’s run.
“True Mothers” was the next picture that stood out at the festival, a slow-burn of a film centering on the topic of teenage pregnancy and plenary adoption, a process whereby parental rights between the mother and the child are wholly terminated at the time of adoption. The shock of the film was two-fold: first, while its description promised a dramatic approach, full of harsh confrontations between adopted parent and biological, the film instantly becomes something more, diverging to tell two stores separately and then together, its aim empathy and not dramatic face-off. The second treasure was the acting by Aju Makita, who plays the young birth mother, who takes us on a tour of loneliness, beauty, and healing that is one of the festival’s most inspiring tales. The film is a hard-watch at times, but wholly necessary, and one of the festival’s bests.
And that finally brings us to “Golden Arm,” the post-divorce healing/buddy comedy film starring Betsy Sodaro and Mary Holland that is a gut-busting good time, and a perfect wrap-up to a festival about love. Both leads present fully-likable characters, and the direction by Maureen Bharoocha is fast and fierce. This is a movie that can make you laugh out loud for most of its run, but still touch your heart and possibly even bring a tear to your eye by the closing scene. It also makes something fun out of female arm wrestling, in a spin on sports films we really haven’t seen since “Over the Top,” but without that movie’s cliché and dramatic approach. You’ll laugh and be moved watching this film, and it should be seen by all.
Other standouts included the Swiss film “My Little Sister” (“Schwesterlein,” original title), which was the official entry from Switzerland for ‘Best International Feature Film’ in the 93rd Academy Awards, and the shorts “Sloan Hearts Neckface” and “Feeling Through.” You can read my thoughts on the shorts here.
Jury Awards & Audience Picks
“My Little Sister” (photo courtesy Reel Love Film Fest)
The ‘Jury Awards’ for the film festival included the following in the features program: ‘Best Feature Film:’ “Dinner in America,” ‘Best Director:’ Emma Seligman, “Shiva Baby,” ‘Best Actor:’ Kyle Gallner, “Dinner in America,” ‘Best Actress:’ Amelia Borgerding, “Lorelei,” ‘Best Original Song:’ “Watermelon,” written by Emily Skeggs and Adam Rehmeier from “Dinner in America,” and a ‘Special Jury Mention for ‘Breakout Performance’ for Betsy Sodaro, “Golden Arm.”
The shorts competition saw the following awards: ‘Best Short Film’ for “Sloan Hearts Neckface,” ‘Special Jury Mention for Excellence in Non-Fiction Storytelling’ for “I’m Free Now, You are Free,” ‘Best Director’ for David Janove, “I Love Your Guts,” ‘Best Actress’ for Emily Tremaine for “Lip Service,” and ‘Best Actor’ for Tommy Dewey, “Your Monster.”
The film also saw two awards for its ‘Audience Award Winners:’ “Lorelei” for ‘Best Feature’ and “Wednesday” for ‘Best Short.’
Congratulations to all the winners and to the ‘Reel Love Film Fest’ for an amazing first festival. Look for them in the future. You can read more about the festival at their official website, www.reellovefest.com.
