New York Lately -- Saturday Matinee Feb 13th at Rams Head On Stage

Tickets Now On Sale!

Click HERE
SNOW BEGONE! We are ON SCHEDULE!

Let us help you shake off the cobwebs of "Cabin Fever." West Street is plowed, the sidewalks are clear and there is plenty of parking at the Gotts and Whitmore garages less than a 1/2 block away. You can enjoy lunch and beverages as food will be served throughout the show and I have confirmed with the filmmakers and cast members, that they will be traveling from New York and present for the screening. Afterward we will have a Q&A. Plan to have fun!

PLEASE COME EARLY, WE WILL BEGIN THE SCREENING PROMPTLY AT 12:30. (Doors Open at 12 Noon)
Street Parking may be available, but here are the details on the nearby parking garages:
Gotts Court Garage - 25 Northwest Street - 410-263-9749


Whitmore Garage - 37 Clay Street - 410-222-1150

Make it a Valentine's WEEKEND!
 
On SATURDAY, February 13th, The Annapolis Pretentious Film Society is proud to present Director Gary King's critically acclaimed independent feature:

NEW YORK LATELY

Matinee Saturday February 13th

RAMS HEAD ON STAGE

Doors Open 12 Noon

Screening 12:30 PM

Q&A will begin immediately after screening.

Tickets are NOW ON SALE!

$8 in Advance, $10 at the Door

The Annapolis Pretentious Film Society is very proud to have such a highly regarded film as NEW YORK LATELY as a part of our ongoing independent film screening series.We are fortunate not only because we have the honor of seeing the film in such a intimate and comfortable setting as the Rams Head On Stage, but New York Writer/Director Gary King will be in attendance with two of the films stars -- Jenn Dees and Mark DiConzo (see below) from his stellar ensemble cast.

This will also be the first Saturday Matinee for our series with the doors opening at 12 Noon and the screening at 12:30. An audience Q&A will begin immediately following the screening. We are excited as this gives indie film fans a weekend opportunity to see what our series is all about. 

And what better film to screen on the day before Valentine's Day, than NEW YORK LATELY...

NEW YORK LATELY is a feature film drama following multiple characters as they weave through their daily lives struggling to find happiness. However, happiness to each of them is defined differently.


Using New York as the backdrop, writer/director Gary King interweaves several unrelated tales into a larger tapestry that not only pulls viewers into these intimate day-to-day lives, but also draws on those interactions to show how we are not all that different from each other.

Here's what critics are saying about NEW YORK LATELY:

“…director Gary King brings out some strong performances from a talented cast.” — OXFORD FILM FREAK


“…an absolutely wonderful piece of work.” — ROGUE CINEMA

“…an original, funny and poignant slice of New York City” — FILM ARCADE

“…breathtaking and emotionally powerful…” — TCWREVIEWS

“…smart, lively and engaging…” — SONIC CINEMA

“I never thought that watching relationships fail could be so heartwarming.” — PULPMOVIES

“…smart camera work…perfect pacing, superb acting…” — FILMFANATIX

“…Gary King breaks back into the independent scene with his best
work to date….entertaining from title to credits…” — KILLER FILM

“…a beautiful film…” — ROW THREE

“…a remarkable achievement…independent cinema at its finest…” — THE INDEPENDENT CRITIC

In attendance from the film for discussion and audience Q&A:

Writer/Director: Gary King (In Person)

Actress Jenn Dees (In Person)

 Actor Mark DiConzo (In Person)

I am also personally pleased that Gary King and his wife Susie will be here to not only to experience the great audience at our screenings and the beauty and hospitality of the city of Annapolis (Especially our sponsors), but it is just going to be good to see them again after spending time with them at the 2009 FLYWAY FILM FESTIVAL in Pepin, Wisconsin.  Here is a picture of me, Gary, and his wife Susie, INK filmmakers Jamin and Kiowa Winans, and INK star Quinn Hunchar at FLYWAY. (The photo is taken by my wife and co-founder Lisa DeLucia Lewnes.) Gary is the nicest and one of the most accessible guys I know in the indie film scene and he is certainly a talented rising star. I look forward to introducing him to you at our event. I am sure that the NEW YORK LATELY actors Jenn Dees and Mark DiConzo will be be just as wonderful.

This will be a fun, one-of-a-kind event and I look forward to seeing you there.

Cheers,

Pericles Lewnes

Founder/Curator - The Annapolis Pretentious Film Society

Please visit our local sponsors.

APFS "Afterglow" -- PONTYPOOL's Annapolis Screening Wrap-Up...

Surprises abounded (especially for me) at the January 11th screening of PONTYPOOL, and in the end it turned out to be a blast.  As I was setting up before the show I got a text message on my phone, it was from PONTYPOOL Producer, Jeffrey Coghlan, who was scheduled to appear at the screening to do a Q&A with the audience. Together, Jeff and I had been working on this for months, since I met him at the FLYWAY FILM FESTIVAL in Wisconsin last October.

PONTYPOOL was slated to be released in the U.S. on January 27 (It is now on sale) and the idea was to screen it at APFS before its release to get some "buzz" going.  I certainly loved the film and I loved Jeffrey, who is a wise-cracking Canuck.  Together with Director Bruce Campbell, Writer Tony Burgess, and a talented group of independent filmmakers, he pulled off an amazing and critically acclaimed.

The text message read:

Fr: Jeffrey Coghlan

01/02 Pericles I'm sorry dude, I'm not going to make it. I woke up SO sick. Flu I think. I tried though. Sitting in a parking lot in Buffalo now but there's
02/02 no way I can keep driving. I feel awful about this. I'm SO sorry.

You see Jeffrey insisted on driving down from Toronto on the 11th, staying over, and returning to Toronto on the 12th.

Now this sounds pretty crazy, but I do stuff like this all the time and I knew we were cutting it close.  Jeffrey was game, but the flu is a game changer, and after taking lots of aspirin and speaking with Jeffrey as he made his way back to a warm bed in Toronto, we came up with a plan...

Jeffrey, if he felt up to it, would do a phone Q&A over the mic/sound system at the Rams Head.

When the sizable audience arrived, we explained our predicament, and Jeff, sounding a bit worse for the wear got on the phone and introduced the movie. The crowd gave him an ovation and after the end credits rolled we called Jeffrey back and had an extraordinary Q&A, over the phone and through the sound system. Those of you familiar with Pontypool, would understand that. It takes place during a blizzard in an isolated radio station and much of the dialog takes place in a radio talk show format with listeners calling in with bizarre tales that cannot be immediately verified, ratcheting up the tension between the movie's characters. As Jeffery's disembodied voice answered questions and cracked jokes, it seemed thematically correct and it was kind of cool. Strangely, unknown to me, it began snowing outside in Annapolis.

The audience seemed very happy when they were leaving and in particular, one of them, Victoria Emmons, spoke to me about doing some volunteer work and helping out with the screenings.  This was her first time attending and she loved the experience.  Lisa and I had coffee with her and she is now on board, helping us out when she can. She is an aspiring writer and after thinking about this blog for awhile, I asked her if she would mind writing down her impressions as a audience member.

This is what she wrote:
----------------------------------------

I came to Annapolis a few months ago and fell in love with the atmosphere, the quaint shops, the art galleries, and of course, the bay. And the more I looked for things to do, the more I missed opportunities: an artist speaking on his work at a gallery (I was a day late), a write up on a play that I would have loved to see (if the paper I was reading wasn’t a week old). So it was just by chance that while I was scouring the Rams Head Live for music, I found something so much more fascinating, a film club: Annapolis Pretentious Film Society, and for once I hadn’t missed boat! The name made me chuckle, and I knew immediately that this would be a great opportunity to reach out to a community of film lovers, appreciators of art in many different forms. APFS was screening an independent film called Pontypool followed by a Q&A with the Producer. I practically fell off my chair with excitement! Ever since my first film festival back in 2005, I’ve been hooked by Indie films and have been aching to go back.  And so it was with great joy that I found Annapolis housed its own screenings right in my backyard, and with that I bought my golden ticket.

On the night of January 11th, I crossed through the double doors of the Rams Head and found a seat in the back. I was taken in by the spacious, yet intimate atmosphere. Instead of popcorn and soda, I indulged in merlot and crab. The warm colors of the room drew me in immediately. I settled in to watch my first Indie Film in Annapolis.

The trailers started right on time, a great little short by Jamin Winans, and a teaser for New York Lately. The screen was clear and visible from the back, and from virtually anywhere in the room.  Pontypool turned out to be a claustrophobic, psychological romp of a zombie flick that left me in thought well after the film ended.
It was a great choice by Peri and Lisa. Producer Jeffrey Coghlan, who’d ended up contracting the flu on the way to the screening, called in to answer questions about the film. I kept quiet in observation as I watched and listened to the audience ask questions and give feedback to Jeffrey.

I’m not sure of the exact moment that I knew I had to be a part of APFS. Maybe it was the when I first saw the ad online, or maybe when I realized that APFS was the real deal. Either way, I was so impressed with the whole experience that I was compelled to offer my assistance in any way possible. I’m very excited to be working with Peri and Lisa, and I’m especially excited for our next screening. I hope to see you all there!

Victoria Emmons
Twitter: @vicachic
-------------------------------------------------

It was really nice for me to read that.  I think in every case, at every screening, I have the toughest time judging how well it went -- I am just too close. Whenever we screen the work of another filmmaker, I sweat it out like it's my own movie unspooling on the screen. I just LOVE doing this so much! I want the image right, I want the sound right and I want everyone to enjoy themselves. I have plenty of emails in my inbox telling me everything went OK and Jeffrey, even though he was sick and miles away was happy.

I got one last text message from him at the end of the night:

Fr: Jeffrey Coghlan

01/02 You really rock man! Thank you so much for doing this tonight and all your amazing work to make it a success. I'm really sorry I couldn't be there.  I was
0/2/02 really looking forward to it. I owe you man!!!

Well, although it's very flattering, the truth is we ALL rock! My wife Lisa, my son Alex, Victoria, the staff of Rams Head On Stage, and our sponsors. But above all -- YOU ROCK. Everyone reading this post, everyone who attends our screenings, makes this a stronger event and by extension supports independent film in a big way. You have no idea how our little club impacts what has become a new independent film movement. We matter. I know this for a fact. That is why we got an on screen shout out from actor Rainn Wilson, from the set of the independent feature SUPER, which just wrapped production this past weekend. People are hearing about us all over the world and if Annapolis adds another feather to its cultural cap because of our film society, then it's good for everyone -- and it's because of YOU.

PONTYPOOL is now on sale in the United States in fine bookstores and online -- http://bit.ly/KillisKiss

Our next movie is by a man I really respect:  Gary King.  Like Jamin Winans, the director of INK, I think he is going to break from the pack and we will be able to say we knew him "back in the day." Gary King is coming to Annapolis with his critically acclaimed indie NEW YORK LATELY. He will be here with two of  film's leads, Mark DiConzo and Jenn Dees. The screening is scheduled as a Saturday matinee, with the doors opening at Rams Head On Stage, January 13 at 12 noon.  The program will start at 12:30. Click HERE for the event page. Tickets go on sale February 1st.

As usual, this will be an experience - a chance to connect with a great film, and the people who made it.  I hope we see you there.