Official Minnesota Premiere of
Sweet Land
With Minnesota Director Ali Selim!
Directors: Ali Selim
USA, 2005 – 110 Minutes
ADDITIONAL SCREENING : BEST OF THE FEST
Wednesday May 3, 7:30pm
Oak Street Cinema - Tickets
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 Beginners. 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 “unforgettable.”
Ali Selim, a St. Paul filmmaker, has directed 856 television commercials and coached 857 little league baseball games. Sweet Land is his feature film debut.
Producers: Alan Cumming, Jim Bigham, Robin, Ali Selim Screenwriter: Ali Selim inspired by the short story A Gravestone Made of Wheat by Will Weaver Cinematographer: David Tumblety Editor: James Stanger Sound: Randy Bobo Cast: Alan Cumming, Ned Beatty, John Heard, Alex Kingston, Paul Sand, Lois Smith, Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Guinee
SPONSORED BY:
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Gala to Follow at:
Riverview Wine Bar |
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3745 42nd Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN (612.729.4200) 9:00 p.m. - Midnight Following the 7:00 p.m. screening of the award-winning film Sweet Land, join Minnesota director Ali Slim and festival friends at the Riverview Café and Wine Bar, just a short stroll across the street from the Riverview Theater. Celebrate a successful festival with wine, hors de oeuvres, and good conversation. |
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