by A. Freedman, Staff Writer

Starting in 2018, the Philadelphia Film Society added a spring festival to its yearly programming, to highlight the films from places like Sundance and SXSW that would ordinarily miss their fall festival. I remember looking forward to it in 2020 when the world changed, and there was no hope for a SpringFest. While it returned in 2021, this year feels like an even bigger return to form, with a seriously stacked lineup. I got to speak with PFS programmer Trey Shields about what he is looking forward to at this year's festival, and what we should be looking forward to in turn.

A. Freedman: How did SpringFest start, and how do you pick the films?

Trey Shields: The reason why we started it is because our fall festival is a tightly constructed year to date of cinema from around the world. We found that a lot of times there were films we wanted in the fall festival, but they wouldn't fit in the timing. We wanted to bring these films to Philly while trying to still be current. A lot of times in this day and age with streaming, these films premiere at festivals but then get thrown on a streamer. We wanted these films to have the chance to be experienced in the theatrical setting, highlighting the first half of the year. This year is the most robust lineup we have had so far, with two screens instead of one.

AF: Which movie do you think will be the biggest crowd pleaser?

TS: I would say Marcel The Shell With Shoes On. It's a feature length culmination of a series of short films from the last decade, about a little cute seashell voiced by Jenny Slate. A lot of people might ask if it is just for kids, but it also ponders real life adult themes- getting older, friendship, moving on, the state of the world. I think people will be teary eyed and laughing. It will surprise a lot of people.

Then there's Cha Cha Real Smooth, Cooper Raiff's second film which has already been bought by Apple Plus. He really digs in deep and gets to emotion, just like Marcel The Shell. It is an expansion of his first film Shithouse, which was based on Raiff's college experience. Cha Cha is about those limbo years after college. It is about a young college grad (Raiff), back home and living with his parents, who discovers he has a knack for getting a party started, and becomes an MC Hype Man who gets hired for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs to liven them up and make all the awkward tweens feel more comfortable (this is a real thing).

AF: What are you most curious about, in terms of how the audience reaction will be?

TS: I think Olga is going to be a surprise hit. It is a French/Ukrainian film, and of course Ukraine is very much in the news right now. It is about a Ukrainian gymnast who goes to Switzerland to train for the Olympics in 2013, with the background being the conflict with Russia. It is a directorial debut, and it hits hard as a sports/coming of age film. I hope people take a chance on it, because you might not see it in a theater around here when it gets released.

As far as divisive ones go, it would definitely be Resurrection. I think that either people will "stay on the bus" or "violently jump off the bus." It is propelled by the commitment of Tim Roth and Rebecca Hall. It goes places you don't expect, as the filmmaking makes it seem like a movie you have seen before. But then that changes. "Stuff happens."

AF: I am very excited about that one, because I have no idea where it is going to go, but I know that it goes somewhere.

TS: Then there is Flux Gourmet, the new one from Peter Strickland. The Duke Of Burgundy is definitely the one of his I like most, and this new one is fun. It is "homage city", with an obvious love of 20th Century European Cinema. There is a playfulness to it, and it has a light touch

AF: His films are surprisingly sweet and even funny. The Duke Of Burgundy is really just a movie about intimacy and trust in a long term relationship.

TS: Yeah and not having a dominant, static relationship. It can flip, it can turn. In this one, the concept is so much fun- institutions that are dedicated to making sound out of food making. There is even a rival school.

AF: He dabbles in these farcical, elevated worlds.

TS: Kind of like the Yorgos Lanthimos stuff, but more openly fun. Yorgos is funny the second time around, but this one is funny right away.

AF: What's a dark horse of the festival we should keep our eye on?

TS: Not really a dark horse, but the Navalny documentary that was supposed to be on CNN Plus (RIP), is the best. The filmmaker got on the subject right before the poisoning, so he was in the right place at the right time. I watched it at home, in tears, fist pumping, and hugging my partner. As a Russian figure of major political opposition who got his start surging on YouTube, he's so funny- his family is amazing. Russia is a huge, fascinating place with so many different cultures. Trying to bridge all of these people together against Vladimir Putin is hard, and he really does it. It achieves a similar real time news effect that Citizenfour, the Edward Snowden documentary, managed to do. Only here you are trying to figure out who poisoned him, and they're all bumbling idiots. It has the feeling of a Coen Brothers film.

So not necessarily a dark horse, but we made it free and we are going to have guests speaking afterwards who are experts on Russia.

Then there's Down With The King, starring rapper Freddie Gibbs in a sort of alternate version of himself, where he finds himself in rural Massachusetts. It is a nuanced story of cultures coming together, not going exactly where you think. It feels almost like a documentary, but this isn't a "fish out of water" story. He's charismatic, he's a star.

AF: Now I have to re-do my festival plan.