2011 Festival Program

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: John Sayles
STARRING: Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt, Yul Vazquez, Rio Locsin, DJ Qualls

AMIGO, the 17th feature film from writer-director John Sayles, stars Joel Torre as Rafael Dacanay, a village mayor caught in the murderous cross-fire of the Philippine-American War in 1900..When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries not to betray his people. But the situation is complex. Rafaelʼs brother Simón (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local Filipino guerillas, and considers any concessions to the Americans to be traitorous. A devious Spanish friar (Yul Vazquez) is charged with translating, but thwarts communication with his spiteful intrigues. A sympathetic American lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) begins to learn that “hearts and minds” cannot be won at gunpoint. Rafael is forced to make the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. Friendship and betrayal, romance and heart-breaking violence, AMIGO is a page torn from the forgotten history of imperialism and a mirror of todayʼs unresolvable conflicts. Mature content.

Q & A to follow with Filipino-American Foundation of New Mexico.

For more information on the film, visit their website at: www3.amigomovie.com/

Introduced and moderated by comedian T-Gram.
Filmmaker and actor, Michael Bowen (Kill Bill) in attendance.

In New Orleans, the Fontaine family name echoes the streets within both the traditional boxing community and the illegal underground fight world. Charlie Fontaine's unflinching loyalty turns out to be both his greatest strength and his Achilles heel, while Bobby Fontaine's ambitions and shenanigans, driven by a dangerous amount of ego, turn destructive. Charlie suffers a permanent injury when called to battle to defend his little brother. While Charlie is forced to hang up his gloves, Bobby's guilt drags him to new lows. When Bobby finds himself drawn to Charlie's wife, an all-out war of brother vs brother ensues.

Introduced and moderated by comedian Mike Long.
Filmmakers and cast Q & A.

DEADHEADS is a “zombedy” that is sure to impress–pleasing both horror and action-adventure fans alike. Yup, you heard it first. Horror, meets comedy, meets action adventure!

DEADHEADS is a return to the great comedy/adventure films of the 80′s like “Back to the Future” and the “Goonies”. The story follows two zombie slackers, Mike and Brent, who find themselves surprisingly reborn from the dead amid a disastrous zombie outbreak. After discovering an engagement ring in his coat pocket, Mike enlists his new found zombie pal, Brent, to embark on a quest in search of his lost love.

What ensues is a hilarious cross country road trip as these two reformed flesh-eating pals hitchhike cross country as they are pursued by a team of zombie killin’ bounty hunters!

For more information on the film, visit the website at: www.deadheadsthemovie.com

Please join us as we welcome actor MICHAEL MADSEN to the 2011 Albuquerque Film Festival. Mr. Madsen is the recipient of the 2011 AFF Maverick Award and will be honored at the Closing Night Award's Ceremony.

Mr. Madsen will also be presenting MIDNIGHT MOVIES with MICHAEL MADSEN at The KiMo Theatre during the festival:
Don't miss his exciting presentation of HELL RIDE in which he co-starred with AFF Alum, the late Dennis Hopper and Quentin Tarantino's cult classic RESERVOIR DOGS, Executive Produced by AFF Alum Monte Hellman. Joining Mr. Madsen is writer, director and actor Larry Bishop.

HELL RIDE is a raucous throwback to the days of the Sergio Leone spaghetti western, with a heaping helping of testosterone-fueled chopper action thrown into the mix. Writer/director Larry Bishop takes on a third role as Pistolero, head honcho of the Victors, a group of badass bikers who are out to avenge the murder of one of their members at the hands of the 666ers, a rival gang whose actions live up to their hellish moniker. Along with his cohorts, The Gent (deviously portrayed by Michael Madsen) and the mysterious Comanche (Eric Balfour), Pistolero aims to take down The Deuce and Billy Wings, menacing leaders of the 666ers, but a mutiny looms on the horizon when his commitment to profit is questioned by a few of his fellow Victors. An even larger story unravels when previously unknown information about Comanche resurrects ghosts from Pistolero’s past.

Although there is enough sex, violence, and all-out machismo to keep grind-house fans firmly plastered to their seats, Bishop’s take on the genre strays far from exploitation as he weaves a twisting, multi-layered tale of revenge, loyalty, and brotherhood that is brought to life by a superb ensemble cast, with memorable performances by Dennis Hopper, Vinnie Jones, and David Carradine. In the words of Comanche, “The road to hell is paved with anything but good intentions.”
Mature content.

Also showing the short film STUMP: A gruesome grindhouse short about the hatred between a man & his leg.

Filmmaker Ray Griggs in attendance.

Two versions of the American dream now stand in sharp contrast. One views the money you earned as yours and best allocated by you. It champions the traditional American dream, which has played out millions of times through generations of Americans, of improving one’s lot in life and the entrepreneurial spirit of daring to dream and to build big. The other believes that the federal government, using taxpayers’ money, should play a major role in leveling out the nation’s wealth to guarantee outcomes to all, regardless of effort. How America chooses between these two views of the role of government, at this crucial juncture, will have everything to do with the future we and our children and our children’s children will enjoy.

President Barack Obama clearly believes in the larger government view. In his Inaugural Address, he said, “Now there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest our system cannot tolerate big plans…The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works—whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.” With a federal deficit of nearly one and a half trillion dollars for 2009 and deficit projections of not less than a half a trillion dollars over the next ten years, the question of whether government is too big or too small is very relevant, even vital to the future of the nation.

Join filmmaker Ray Griggs in this documentary film I Want Your Money as he contrasts the two paths the United States can take using the words and actions of Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. The film uses interviews from well-known public figures, experts, movie clips, dramatic portrayals, music, graphics and even comedic animation to tell the story in the plainest terms of the choice between the Obama and the Reagan views of the role of the federal government in our society. It also examines how these big government programs have been tried in the past at great moral and financial cost to the nation. California is offered as a case-in-point in understanding what economic challenges might face the nation, if we choose the larger government path. Finally, I Want Your Money is a call to action for those who care about the future of the United States.

For more information about the film visit: www.iwantyourmoney.net/

Introduced and moderated by comedian Brett Hiker.

After being fired, a boozy, derelict small town deputy named Talmadge Mooseman (Marc Shuter) is convinced to run for sheriff by his gruff adoptive father Carlin (Randall Oliver). He enlists the help of his endearing, albeit dim-witted friend Amer (Matt Peterson), and the two devise a Bigfoot hoax to garner attention and votes from the townspeople. Things quickly spiral out of control as the con begins to take on a life of its own and becomes bigger than either of them imagined. Matters get complicated even further when the local mayor (Bruce Holbrook) brings in an alluring cryptozoologist (Ashlee Renz-Hotz) and enlists Talmadge to guide her during her search.

Q & A following with filmmaker.
Showing with "Not on Board" - AFF staff short film (10 minutes)

Introduced and moderated by comedian Jessica Osbourne.
Filmmakers and cast Q & A.

Wes (Dustin Fasching) is a burned out photographer paying the bills shooting weddings. Fi (Sarah Lassez) is the author of a series of zombie novellas called, The Dead Survive. They are lovers who, at one time, were at the top of their creative game, but now have misplaced their muse. When Fi begins to show signs of mental illness, Wes does everything in his power to help her get better. But darker forces lurk inside her, and soon they realize the true horror of the situation. Fighting against a disturbed entity, they rediscover inspiration in the grimmest corners of this musical horror movie.

For more information on the film, visit the website at: www.thedeadinside.com