You may have heard about mumblecore: low-budget films by and about twenty-somethings talking, checking their email, and learning about life and love. This week, Benten Films releases LOL by Hannah Takes The Stairs director Joe Swanberg, previously only screened at festivals. Also new on DVD: Alexandra Lipsitz's surprisingly funny documentary Air Guitar Nation,, a comedy from Iran and a thriller from Scotland.
1. LOL
Benten Films
At the IFC Center in New York, film fans are currently discovering a new movement in independent film: so-called mumblecore. Joe Swanberg's newest film Hannah Takes The Stair is opening the festival and then screening at theaters round the country. But if you happened to miss his previous work at SXSW in Austin, the DVD release of his film LOL is perfectly timed.
A contemporary look at sexuality and the growing influence of technology in our lives, LOL depicts the struggles of three young men who must balance their online obsessions with real life. The DVD, the first title from new distributor Benten Films, is loaded with never seen before shorts, video podcasts, and a commentary track.
2. Air Guitar Nation
Docurama
What won't they make a documentary out of? The air guitar world championships in Finland? Really? Yes. Alexandra Lipsitz's joyful documentary tells the story of the first Americans who participated in the contest. You need a big personality and a sense of humor to be a world class air guitarist. America's best, C-Diddy (David Jung) and Bjorn Turoque (Dan Crane), are charismatic performers, riding a good time as far as it will take them. As one of the Finnish founders of the championships explains, they are promoting world peace through rock'n roll: if you're holding an air guitar, you can't hold a gun. That's hard to argue with, and unlike the video gamers of The King of Kong, these nerds are in on the joke.
3. Offside
Sony Pictures Classics
Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival, Jafar Panahi's Offside is a touching but also funny look at the oppression of women in Iran. The improvised narrative focuses on a group of girls who try desperately to achieve entry into a World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain in a Tehran stadium - despite the fact that it is illegal for woman in Iran to attend sporting events.
4. Red Road
Tartan Films
Andrea Arnold's debut film Red Road won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes in 2006 and screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Kate Dickie gives a fierce performance as a woman seeking revenge in this stark, thriller set in a Glasgow housing project.
