7:00 PM // Harvest Season
DESCRIPTION
Filmed over the course of a single season, the inner-workings of the California wine industry and the people that keep it running are at the forefront of Emmy-award winning filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz's enlightening documentary, Harvest Season. Focusing on the generations of Mexican, Latino, and migrant workers that make-up the industry, the film explores the depth to which the industry depends on their efforts, even as the industry's landscape begins to undergo worrisome changes. With their stories so often left untold, the film illustrates just how deeply intertwined the industry is with the farmers and winemakers that sustain the production of some of the world's most popular wines. While recognition for their work is few and far between, the workers continue even as new threats put their livelihoods at risk–wildfires, changing immigration policies, labor shortages and more.
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY
NY-based filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz has been nominated for two Emmys during his career. After making his feature debut with Reportero (13), Ruiz has earned wide acclaim for his work in documentary cinema. Harvest Season is his latest film.
PRESS
"Far-reaching and compassionate in its scope" - Cinema Tropical
9:30 PM // Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
DESCRIPTION
In this fiery dramedy from English auteur Ben Wheatley, the titular Colin (Neil Maskel) decides to rent a luxurious manor for the evening to celebrate the new year. However, these plans soon take a sour note when David (Sam Riley), Colin's younger brother, arrives. With the eyes of his extended family on him, including that of his parents (played by Bill Paterson and Doon Mackichan), Colin's planned evening of merriment turns into a extended exercise in misery. When David enters the picture, a man Colin hasn't seen in five years, the evening explodes with tension. Certainly not your average story of family and forgiveness, Happy New Year is a riotous character study with a brilliant ensemble cast that asks audience to question how they'd handle familial strife: With grace, or, like Colin, with mayhem?
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY
English filmmaker Ben Wheatley was born in England in 1972 and has worked in film, television, comedy, animation and advertising. He is known for Free Fire (16), High-Rise (15) and The ABCs of Death (12).
PRESS
"Ben Wheatley strips things way back for his nerve-raddled family reunion comedy, and the result is one of his best, most fluid films." - Variety
MSPIFF is Minnesota’s largest film event and one of the longest running film festivals in the country. Showcasing the latest international independent documentary and fiction films from around the globe, #MSPIFF offers audiences countless opportunities to engage with visiting filmmakers and stars from around the world.