by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring, Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer and A. Freedman, Contributor

Today officially kicks off the 31st Philadelphia Film Festival! We at MovieJawn couldn’t be more excited to once again attend our home town fest. This year, Ryan, Gary and A. Freedman are teaming up to catch as many movies as they can over the next twelve days. To get things started, each of them discuss 4 films they are most excited to catch at this year’s fest. 

Ryan’s 4 Most Anticipated Films: 

Rodeo (dir. Lola Quivoron)
Showing Friday October 21 at 2PM and Friday October 28 at 6:30PM
Tickets available here

I like speed. You could even say I have a need for it. So any film set in or around things that go fast (cars, planes, even motorcycles) is going to catch my eye. As is the case with this French film about an underground gang in the suburbs of Paris. Lola Quivoron has filled out her debut film with real motocross riders, and this looks to be a thrilling view at a subculture I know nothing about.

Retrograde (dir. Matthew Heinman)
Showing Monday October 24 at 6:30PM and Tuesday October 25 at 1:30PM
Tickets available here

I skipped Matthew Heinman’s The First Wave last year because I didn’t think I was ready to engage with any COVID-related documentaries, but it did win last year’s PFF documentary award. This inside look at the last months of our decades long military operation in Afghanistan is a subject much more to my interest, and even as it was happening felt like a slow-moving blur. As I move beyond looking for heroism in real-life war stories, this ground-level look at the human cost of trying to extract ourselves from occupation seems like it will offer something much richer.

Good Night Oppy (dir. Ryan White)
Showing Sunday October 23 at 2:45PM and Tuesday October 25 at 6:00PM
Tickets available here

Also in the category of documentaries that will make me cry, but from the other side of the spectrum, is Good Night Oppy. I’ve shared some thoughts previously about our relationships with inanimate objects (cue for an In Bruges reference) but I am also a huge space nerd. Stories about NASA in particular always tug at my heartstrings and my sense of wonder. The first Mars rover, the Sojourner left a huge imprint on me as an 11 year old, and I’ve been following these robotic missions ever since. A heartwarming documentary seems like the right place to celebrate this adorable artificial astronaut. 

The Lost King (dir. Stephen Frears)
Showing Thursday October 27 at 3:45PM and Saturday October 29 at 11:00AM
Tickets available here

Sometimes movies at festivals trend toward the serious and uncomfortable, which is good. But for me, having a palette cleanser in the form of a tea-infused British comedy-drama is a form of self-care. So this one, starring Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan, about the real-life discovery of Richard III’s resting place under a parking lot, seems perfect. It’s got historical connections, a gentle vibe, a ghost, and the story of a non-academic who did something not ever expected of amateurs seems both inspirational and fun. Don’t forget your biscuits. 

Gary’s 4 Most Anticipated Films:

The Beasts (dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen)
Showing Monday October 24 at 3:15 PM and Thursday October 27 at 6:00PM
Tickets available here

I have been a fan of director Rodrigo Sorogoyen ever since I saw his nervy 2017 Oscar-nominated short, Madre, which he developed into a very different—and no less compelling—feature, Mother, released in 2019. His new film, The Beasts, also looks intense, as a French couple’s move to a local village and inflames the locals. The cast includes Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs, two actors I love. So, this is squarely in my wheelhouse.

Smoking Causes Coughing (dir. Quentin Dupieux)
Showing Friday October 21 at 10:30PM and Friday October 28 at 8:45PM
Tickets available here

This is another film that appeals to me simply because of the director. As some who prefer Quentin Dupieux over Quentin Tarantino, it has been gratifying to see this absurdist filmmaker’s career only get better and better. 2010’s Rubber was a one-joke film, but his 2012 follow-up, Wrong impressed me with its scene of it raining indoors. His 2018 comedy Keep an Eye Out was as wildly inappropriate as it was deadpan funny, and Deerskin (2019) was a fiendishly clever comedy about obsession that featured an all-in performance by Jean Dujardin. But it was his hilarious 2020 film, Mandibles, that proved Dupieux to be a master of visual humor. I’m ready for whatever he throws at me with Smoking Causes Coughing, and the title alone has me already laughing.

Sorcerer (dir. William Friedkin)
Showing Monday October 24 at 9:00PM 
Tickets available here

I have long heard about—and read about—this Wages of Fear remake. It was a costly failure for William Friedkin after the success of The Exorcist. And the title, which suggests a sci-fi fantasy, not transporting nitroglycerin across dangerous terrain in South America, didn’t help. But I’ve heard pretty decent things about this and given that I admire his very different films, The Boys and the Band, The French Connection, Cruising, To Live and Die in L.A., and Killer Joe, I’m eager to see this on the big screen. Plus Roy Scheider. 

Brother and Sister (dir. Arnaud Desplechin)
Showing Friday October 31st at 11:30AM and 1:00PM
Tickets available here

Are there two more beautiful people than Marion Cotillard and Melvil Poupaud? I can’t wait to see them play estranged siblings who reconnect after the death of their parents. But I may have to, because the festival has scheduled the film to screen on weekday mornings and afternoons. So, unless I take a day off work, I’m likely to miss this one.

A, Freedman’s 4 Most Anticipated Films:

Causeway (dir. Lila Neugebauer)
Showing Sunday October 23 at 3:00PM and Thursday October 27 at 6:15PM
Tickets available here

As soon as Jennifer Lawrence broke into movies with her phenomenal performance in 2010's Winter's Bone, she was scooped up to lead film franchises. When she wasn't doing that, she was leading awards season films from big name directors. I can't wait to see her return to some of her roots here, in a quieter performance in a much smaller film. In Causeway, she plays a veteran who suffers a traumatic brain injury and struggles to adjust to life back home in the states. It's an A24 film co-starring Brian Tyree Henry, and it's 90 minutes long. Sign me up.

Attachment (dir. Gabriel Bier Gislason)
Showing Saturday October 22 at 9:15PM and Thursday October 27 at 9:00PM
Tickets available here

Every year at PFF, I find it important to attend as many of the After Hours selections as possible — these genre pictures nicely mix up the experience, so it's not all two hour French domestic dramas. I also try to be a good Jewish boy and see a film or two that grapples with modern Jewish identity. How lucky that I can do both with Attachment, a queer horror film about two Jewish women whose relationship is stalked by an evil, dark force. Knowing how far behind and oppressive the Orthodox stance on LGBT issues is, I am excited to see how they utilize the horror genre to approach the subject. 

The Picture Taker (dir. Phil Bertelsen)
Showing Thursday October 27 at 8:45PM and Friday October 28 at 4:15PM
Tickets available here

I've taken a special interest this year in learning about the shady history of the 1960's FBI and CIA, who were essentially operating as rogue nations beholden to no authority but their own. I am especially intrigued by this documentary, about one of the most famous photographers of the civil rights era, Ernest Withers...who also happened to be an informant for the FBI. Their targeting of the counter culture, especially amidst the anti-war and civil rights movements, has come under renewed focus in recent years. How was Withers able to compartmentalize? Director Phil Bertelsen will also be in attendance for a Q&A. 

Something In The Dirt (dir. Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead)
Showing Friday October 21 at 9:30PM and Friday October 28 at 5:45PM
Tickets available here

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have proven themselves to be some of the most creative low budget genre filmmakers out there. From the 2012 gem Resolution to the 2014 monster romance Spring, they have always managed to do more with...well, almost nothing. Their new film, conceived of and shot during the COVID-19 lockdown, appears to be no different. I can't wait to see how these two grapple with our modern times, while starring in it and having used their own home as the shooting location.