CJFF Trailers

We will announce the complete line-up of 2015 Citizen Jane Film Festival films on Sept. 18. Check back for 2015 trailers. In the meantime, check out trailers from our 2014 festival below.

Hellion (Opening Night 2014)

Kat Candler (Hellion [short], CJFF 2012) brings us Hellion, starring Emmy Award winner Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), a powerful feature about a family on the brink struggling to stay together. Set against the haunting backdrop of the refineries of Southeast Texas, 13 year old Jacob is obsessed with heavy metal and dirt bike racing. His behavior begins to raise concerns, especially as it concerns his younger brother Wes. While his widowed father struggles with his own demons, Jacob is left to focus on two things: motocross and his brother.

 

Meet the Patels (Closing Night 2014)

Meet the Patels, was filmed by Geeta Patel about her brother Ravi Patel. Ravi Patel, an almost-30-year-old Indian-American man in a love triangle with the woman of his dreams… and his family. What began as a family vacation video became a hilarious and heartbreaking documentary about the aches and sacrifices and fun of love. Winning the Audience Award at almost every film festival where it’s been screened (Traverse City, LA Film Fest, Hot Docs) Meet the Patels is a genuine surprise of a film with an earnestness, honesty, and charm that you will find impossible to resist.

 

Lucky Them (CJFF 2014)

Directed by Megan Griffiths (Eden), Lucky Them stars Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine, United States of Tara) as veteran rock journalist Ellie, who’s given one last chance to prove her value to her editor (Oliver Platt). The catch: she must hunt down her ex-boyfriend Matthew Smith, the mythical rock god that disappeared years ago. It becomes her job to find out, followed by an amateur documentarian (Thomas Haden Church). This comedy will explore the personal journey of a woman at the end of her rope.

 

Sombras de Azul (CJFF 2014)

Sombras de Azul is director Kelly Daniella’s feature film debut as well as being the first movie filmed by an American female director in Cuba since the embargo. It was also produced by Mari Aixala Dawson, the sister of Columbian Ali Price, whose family owns Boone County Bank. Sombras de Azul follows a young Mexican girl named Maribel, who buys a one-way ticket to Cuba following her brother’s suicide. As she attempts to escape her grief, she bonds with Eusebio, a petty thief. As the pair traverse Cuba, Maribel must decide whether she can open herself up to love and loss once again. Winner of the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival, Sombras de Azul is based on the filmmaker’s own experience of bereavement after the loss of her own brother.

 

LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 (CJFF 2014)

LaDonna Harris was a Native activist and civil rights leader. In this documentary, director Julianna Brannum explores her life from Walters, Oklahoma, to Washington D.C. Harris was assigned to educate the executive branch of the U.S. government on the unique role of the American Indian Tribes and their relationship with the federal government. This course was called Indian 101 and taught members of Congress and the Senate for over 35 years. Held in the highest regard by her colleagues for countless social and historic achievements, Harris is now passing her knowledge to a new generation of emerging indigenous leaders. Harris’ latest venture is a cutting-edge program that trains Native professionals to incorporate their own tribes’ traditional values and perspectives into their work, while building a global, indigenous coalition. LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 explores Harris’ achievements, the personal struggles that led her to become a voice for Native people, and her contemporary work to reshape Indian Country in America and abroad.

 

I Believe in Unicorns (CJFF 2014)

Directed by Leah Meyerhoff, I Believe in Unicorns explores the stunning and complex landscape of troubled young love. Davina is an imaginative and strong-willed girl who seeks salvation in a relationship with an older boy. As she’s swept into a whirlwind of romance and adventure, her lover’s volatile side begins to emerge. Executive produced by Allison Anders (Gas, Food, Lodging; Grace of My Heart) and produced by Heather Rae (Frozen River, CJFF 2008), Meyerhoff is quickly becoming a major new voice in independent filmmaking (which is why you should come see what she has to say at the CJ Summit on Thursday if you’re reading this before the weekend!).

 

Appropriate Behavior (CJFF 2014)

Appropriate Behavior is a comedy by Desiree Akhavan and produced by Katie Mustard, Columbia Native and CJ Alum. A surprise hit on the festival circuit, Appropriate Behavior has a fresh perspective on heartbreak and family. The film introduces us to Shirin, who can’t get over her recent break-up or let her family know who she really is. With her priceless deadpan delivery, Akhavan’s portrayal of Shirin is the film’s true revelation—a woman caught between self-doubt and self-possession, trapped in a web of family mores and societal expectations, with all their accompanying—and often hilarious—complexities.

 

Windstorm (CJFF 2014)

 

Homestretch (CJFF 2014)

 

The Homestretch, directed by Anne de Mare and Kirsten Kelly, follows three homeless teens as they fight to build a future for themselves. Roque, Kasey, and Anthony will surprise, inspire and challenge you to rethink stereotypes of homelessness, as well as taking an unprecedented look at the landscape of the Chicago Public School system, couch-hopping, emergency shelters, transitional homes, and street families. It may surprise you to find out who is really helping our homeless youth. Expect to leave this screening with these striving young teenagers still on your mind.

 

Hotell (CJFF 2014)

This Swedish film is directed by Lisa Langseth about an unconventional way to move past your grief. Hotell follows soon-to-be mother and professional Erika, whose life falls apart in the wake of a personal tragedy. An award-winning performance by Alicia Vikander blends drama and comedy seamlessly, and asks the question: What if we could wake up one day as someone different? This confident and unpredictable story will surprise you and deeply touch you at the same time.

 

This Time Next Year (CJFF 2014)

Directed by veteran Citizen Jane co-directors Farihah Zaman and Jeff Reichert, This Time Next Year tracks the process of rebuilding the resilient community of Long Beach Island, NJ, after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Zaman and Reichert use verite, first-person accounts, and the resident’s own footage to show us what’s left over when the news crews have gone: each other.

 

Drunktown’s Finest (CJFF 2014)

Drunktown’s Finest is a film by Navajo director Sydney Freeland. Inspired by a real New Mexico town dubbed “Drunktown, U.S.A.,” the film follows three young Native Americans: Nizhoni, an adopted middle-class girl exploring her Native American roots for the first time; Felixia, a transgender woman who dreams of becoming a model; Sick Boy, a rebellious father-to-be. These three powerful stories are woven together masterfully to move past the sensationalism and depict the reality of life on the reservation.