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Event
Closing Night Film w/Party: "Sweet Land"
Directed by Ali Selim
110 minutes
"This emotionally powerful love story is fortified by the fresh perspectives of two newcomers - director Ali Selim and his fetching star Elizabeth Reaser and by an appreciation of heartland history that gives it added heft.
An incredibly impressive first feature by writer-director Ali Selim, SWEET LAND is all anyone could want from a movie: it's imaginative, intelligent, emotional (without being manipulative) and is blessed with a truly eclectic cast including producer Alan Cumming as a Norwegian immigrant farmer, no less. But the real find among Selim's cast is ravishing newcomer Elizabeth Reaser, whose performance is an acting tour de force. Selim and editor James Stanger pull off a tricky miracle by opening the film with two (count 'em, two!) flashbacks before getting to the core of the story. An old woman's death inspires her grandson to think back about his grandmother, Inge (an impressive Lois Smith) and the story she told him of her auspicious but often painful arrival in America as a German immigrant just after World War I. As a young woman, Inge is played by Reaser, recently seen in Thomas Bezucha's The Family Stone playing Diane Keaton's elder daughter and in Maria Maggenti's Sundance attraction Puccini For Begginers. She is perfectly matched in SWEET LAND by an affecting, subtle and brilliant Tim Guinee, and the two share extraordinary chemistry. Ned Beatty, John Heard, Alex Kingston, Tom Gilroy, and Patrick Heusinger join Reaser, Guinee, Smith and Cumming to form Selim's stellar ensemble cast. (Philadelphia Film Festival)
Winner of Audience Awards at Sedona, Florida and the Hamptons Film Festivals, SWEET LAND was reviewed in Variety as a triumph of inventive storytelling and by NBC critic Jeffrey Lyons as an unforgettable.
Official Minnesota Premiere
Production: LaSalle Holland in association with Beautiful Motion Pictures and Channel Z
Screenplay: Ali Selim inspired by the short story A Gravestone Made of Wheat by Will Weaver
Producers: Alan Cumming, Jim Bigham, Robin and Ali Selim
Cinematographer: David Tumblety
Editor: James Stanger
Production Designer: James R. Bakkom
Sound: Randy Bobo
Cast: Alan Cumming, Ned Beatty, John Heard, Alex Kingston, Paul Sand, Lois Smith, Elizabeth Reaser and Tim Guinee
Format/screen ratio: 35mm, 1:1.85, Color
Running time: 110 minutes
Language: English
About the Director Ali Selim has directed 856 television commercials and coached 857 little league baseball games. SWEET LAND is his feature film debut.
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LocationRiverview Theater
3800 42nd Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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