Curtain Up

After many months and weeks of strenuous planning, the 2010 Milwaukee Film Festival is finally here. For the next eleven days, Milwaukee will experience over 100 films from around the world, and many from our own fair city, representing with Milwaukee Film has called “the best of the best” of the festival circuit.  It all kicks off tonight with the premiere screening of Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine, a romantic (or, depending on how you look at it, anti-romantic) drama about falling in — and out– of love. (Ed. note: check back on TCD tomorrow for a review of the film.)

On this week’s podcast, Mark sits down with Milwaukee Film Program Manager T.J. Fackelman to get a sneak peek at what’s to come.

Plus, T.J.  offers up his own picks for this year’s festival — like Arvin Chen’s Au Revoir Taipei, a fast-paced Taiwanese comedy about a young man who unknowingly accepts a job with the local mob in exchange for a free ticket to Paris, where the love of his life awaits. He also recommends the documentary Marwencol, a true story about a man who finds salvation in creating small-scale miniatures of WWII-era towns in order to help regain his memory after a brutal beating.

For tickets and showtimes for the 2010 Milwaukee Film Festival, click here. To subscribe to Backstage with Mark Metcalf, click here.

Mark Metcalf is a writer, professional actor and resident of Milwaukee. He hosts TCD’s weekly podcast “Backstage with Mark Metcalf” and occasionally writes the film blog “Moving Pictures.” Mark is also Milwaukee Film’s Director of Collaborative Cinema, giving area students hands-on experience with film making.