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Film fest on SBS

SBS is screening US indie films -and offering 100 movies for free through SBS On Demand.

2014-03-04_1143All this month on Saturday nights on SBS ONE film commentator Sandy George is presenting award-winning US “indie” films.

Last weekend it screened Drive starring Ryan Gosling and this weekend it’s Precious, the breakthrough film for Gabourey Sidibe.

Coming up are Winter’s Bone, Rampart and The Tree Of Life.

Precious (2009)
9.30pm, Saturday 8 March on SBS ONE
Set in Harlem in 1987, Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is a young, poor, angry, illiterate, overweight, unloved and generally unnoticed teenager. Pregnant, for the second time, to her abusive father, Precious lives at home with her mother, whom she must wait hand and foot. However, underneath all of Precious’ impassive expression is a watchful, curious young woman with an inchoate but unshakeable sense that other possibilities exist for her.
Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz.
Awards: Supporting Actress, Academy Awards, Adapted Screenplay, Academy Awards, Supporting Actress, Golden Globes, Supporting Actress, BAFTA, Supporting Actress, Screen Actors Guild, Film of the Year, American Film Institute 2010
Rampart (2011)

9.30pm Saturday 15 March on SBS ONE
Officer Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) is a Vietnam vet and LAPD patrolman with his own sense of justice and morality. He lives with his two ex-wives (Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon) who happen to be sisters, and picks up random women in alcohol-fuelled benders. However, it is an inconvenient time for cops who behave like action heroes; when Brown is caught on tape beating a suspect, his professional and personal lives spiral out of control, and he begins to question his very being.
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Ice Cube, Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon.
Awards: Best Actor, African American Film Critics Association Award

Winter’s Bone (2010)
9.30pm Saturday 22 March on SBS ONE
Her family home is in danger of being repossessed after her meth-cooking dad skips bail and disappears; teenager, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) breaks the local code of conduct by confronting her kin about their conspiracy of silence. The film explores the interrelated themes of close and distant family ties, the power and speed of gossip, self-sufficiency, and poverty as they are changed by the pervasive underworld of illegal methamphetamine labs
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt.
Awards: Film of the Year, American Film Institute 2011

The Tree Of Life (2011)
9.30pm Saturday 29 March on SBS ONE
Director, Terrence Malick traces the evolution of an 11-year-old boy in the Midwest, from his first experiences of joy love and mercy (from his mother), to his introduction to the ‘ways of the world’ (from his father). Each parent contends for his allegiance, and the boy must reconcile their claims. His experience of the world, once a thing of glory, becomes a labyrinth as he seeks unselfish love.
Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain.
Awards: Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival, Film of the Year, American Film Institute 2012

Meanwhile SBS is also offering over 100 films for free through SBS ON DEMAND until March 31. ‘The Film Festival of 100 Clicks’ coincides with the relaunch of the SBS Movies website.

As part of the Film Festival of 100 Clicks, which runs from 1- 31 March 2014, viewers will have their pick of the best of international cinema, carefully selected from the extensive SBS film library. This is the first time a free-to-air Australian broadcaster has ever delivered an offering of this many titles online and for free.

Key to the success of this ‘virtual Film Festival’ is the flexibility and convenience offered to audiences by enabling them to watch the 100 films via the SBS ON DEMAND App, which is now available across 15 different platforms including a range of smart phones, tablets, game consoles, smart TVs and set-top boxes.

3 Responses

  1. Some great sounding films there! Looking forward to seeing some of them.
    Please excuse my dumb ignorance, but could someone explain what “indie” is?
    I thought I had an idea, but probably not!

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