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Pam Grier Opens St. Louis International Film Festival
by Sandra Olmsted
The 26th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) opens with a special reception featuring Pam Grier and premiere of the locally produced indie comedy, Bad Grandmas, which stars the legendary Grier (Jackie Brown) and the late Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch) in her final role. Srikant Chellappa. co-writer & director, and Jack Snyder, co-writer, both from St. Louis, created this tale about the felonious misadventures of senior citizens Mimi (Henderson), Coralee (Grier), Bobbi (Susie Wall), and Virginia (Sally Eaton). Producer Dan Byington, Chellappa, and actresses Eaton, Wall, and Jilanne Klaus will be at the event. For the ticket price of a mere $25 dollars, you can have the movie premiere experience.
SLIFF opens Thursday Nov. 2 and runs through Nov. 12 and offers hundreds of films and events. With 29 categories of films and events happening at 11 location and tickets ranging in price from $25 to Free, there is something for everyone. Comedy today! Drama tomorrow!
In addition to local connection highlighted in the lineup, SLIFF provides St. Louis film lovers the opportunity to see the finest in world cinema and Oscar contenders. From around the world and across the nation, SLIFF brings features and shorts which can only be seen at SLIFF. Children’s films, many of which are Free, internatrional films, documentaries, and American indiesscreen on big screens of the Tivoli, Plaza Frontenec, WashU’s Brown Hall, and Webster’s Moore Auditorium.
The films getting Oscar buzz include The Ballad of Lefty Brown, Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Last Flag Flying, The Leisure Seeker, My Friend Dahmer, Thoroughbreds, and Walking Out. Although some of these Oscar contenders, such as Darkest Hour, about Churchill during WWII, will open here later this year, some of these may not open here in St. Louis at all. To get a jump on your Oscar viewing and to see great films, it only costs $13. Or $10, if you are Cinema St. Louis member or a student with current valid ID. Membership info and its additional perks are available at any of the SLIFF venues.
The St. Louis International Film Festival will screen several films with connections to North County this year! Check it Out!
This year SLIFF honors four significant film figures with their annual awards: Pam Grier — Women in Film Award; Sam Pollard (Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me; ACORN and the Firestorm) — Lifetime Achievement Award; Marco Williams (Tell Them We Are Rising) — Contemporary Cinema Award; Wash U grad Dan Mirvish (the Jules Feiffer-written Bernard and Huey) — Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award.
The Festival also brings an array of Free Master Classes, which this year includes “20 Easy Ways to Ruin Your Great Indie Film,” and “Suspense with a Camera.” Each class is lead by renowned filmmakers, such as directors Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest and executive producer Jeff Truesdell from the St. Louis-shot For Ahkeem. Music lovers can check out “Traditional-Jazz Performance with Mr. Handy’s Blues,” “An Evening with Tom Shipley of Brewer & Shipley,” and “The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra with The Blot.”
SLIFF closes with a party and award ceremonies at Urban Chestnut Grove Brewery and Bierhall at 4465 Manchester Ave. 63110. It is a Free event, so checking a Movie Awards Party off your bucket list won’t cost you a thing! For more information on the 26th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival, including special events, master classes, and shorts programs visit www.cinemastlouis.org/about-festival.
