Under the Radar

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michaelmmooree I want to highlight a few genius, hidden gems that Deb and I have found this year. You may not have heard of them, but trust me, you won’t stop talking about them after you leave the theater. You may not normally go to films like these, but I hope you will leave your comfort zone and take the risk to see a brilliant movie. Here are my picks:

still summer of bloodSUMMER OF BLOOD — We all know the “date from hell,” but what if the only way your date was going to be interesting was if he got bitten by a vampire on the streets of NYC?
still manuscriptsMANUSCRIPTS DON’T BURN — For 10 years we have brought brave, bold movies made in Iran to cinephiles in Northern Michigan. This one is the latest and the greatest.
still stil lifeSTILL LIFE — A lonely government employee is assigned the task of conducting the funerals and burials for the unclaimed bodies in the city morgue. A quiet, moving film from the UK with a “Downton Abbey” pedigree.
still bending the lightBENDING THE LIGHT — Michael Apted (“56 Up,” “Coal Miner’s Daughter”) returns to the festival for the premiere of his new documentary about the art and science of photography and cinematography.
still newburgh stingTHE NEWBURGH STING and SILENCED — Two important films about the dangers of our national security state: whistleblowers are jailed, and innocent people are set up by an FBI in search of “terrorists” around every corner.
still stations crossSTATIONS OF THE CROSS — A masterpiece of filmmaking. Need I say more? Ok, I’ll say more. The first shot—not just the first scene—is 17 minutes long. Recovering Catholics, meet me in the park afterward.
still al helmAL HELM: MARTIN LUTHER KING IN PALESTINE — A doc about what happened recently when a group of African American singers and actors took their play about nonviolence and Martin Luther King, Jr. to Palestine.
still fishing withoutFISHING WITHOUT NETS — A drama about Somali pirates, told from the point of view of the Somalis. Think of it as the antidote to “Captain Phillips.”
still dont leaveDON’T LEAVE ME — A truly great film about divorce that begins with a “Waiting for Godot” line: “It is not every day that we are needed.”
still the one i loveTHE ONE I LOVE — I’ve been advised by legal not to comment on this film. Fine. But go see it. There’s nothing else like it in the fest!
still rubberRUBBER SOUL — Wow, just when you’ve thought you’ve seen the story of the Beatles told in every way possible, along comes this canny, brilliant movie. I loved it. 
still i wont come backI WON’T COME BACK — A powerful road movie from Belarus about two girls who decide to hitchhike to Kazakhstan. 
still blindBLIND DATES — Two lonely 40-year-old guys in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia arrange awkward blind dates for themselves. Funny. Sad. Funny.
still the huntTHE HUNT — Nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year, this Danish film tells the tragic story of a teacher who is falsely accused of molestation.
LETTERS TO JACKstills jackieIE: REMEMBERING PRESIDENT KENNEDY — Don’t miss this one. Bring Kleenex.
—Michael Moore