Perrin Brewing Company presents the "iii"film series at Wealthy Theatre, kicking it off with the movie "APE" on Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and again at 10:00 p.m. Tickets available here, and each screening features a Q&A with the director, producer and actors. The event is followed by an after-party at Billy's Lounge.
Locally made, internationally acclaimed independent movie "APE" premieres in Grand Rapids after a worldwide blitz. The "iii film series" at Wealthy Theatre stands for Independent, International and Interactive.
"Welcome to economically depressed Grand Rapids, Michigan, the city of director Joel Potrykus," says the producer's website as an "APE" movie description. "Here we find the listless Trevor Newandyke (a brilliant Joshua Burge), a sociopath, comic failure and arsonist. His efforts to wrestle a smile from his audience with his stand-up monologues lead to one flop after another. His jokes give off a desperate, sarcastic vision, expressing a true punk sense of humour that forestalls any kind of public support. When he’s not trying to invent pathetic jokes in front of his bathroom mirror, Trevor likes to set fire to rubbish bins and gets off on the sound of throwing Molotov cocktails at his neighbours’ homes. Trevor’s life is a concentration of trouble, absurd meetings and discussions, public humiliation, solitary wanderings and long moments of exhaustion spent between the walls of his small room. One day a man dressed as the Devil offers him a deal."
"We're psyched to bring the film back home. So many people in town haven't seen it. Festival politics have kept it outside of Michigan for a long time, and now it's time to party," says Potrykus. "It's an exciting month for Sob Noisse, because not only are we bringing 'Ape' to Grand Rapids, but we start filming our next feature later in the month. 'Buzzard' is going to cap off our animal trilogy, with Joshua [Burge] this time playing a low level scammer who ends up in really dark paranoia. 'Ape' is a fantasy, probably. 'Buzzard' will be the nightmare. Again, it'll be a Michigan movie"
APE has been shown in numerous film festivals around the globe, such as the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, where it earned an award for Best New Director, the Vancouver International Film Festival, the AFI Fest in LA and the Virginia Film Festival where it won Best Feature Film.
"A nightmarish, nihilistic tale," says Olivier Père, from the Locarno Film Festival. "The ultra-low budget Ape has all the qualities to become a standard for a generation that has no future, and is also a political manifesto for the best of new American cinema. Burge’s character is an authentic rebel and Potrykus is an innovator, and should be an example for all proletarian artists who really want to make a 'guerrilla film."
The acclaimed indie movie "Tower" is next up in the "iii film series," on Aug. 24, with the directors traveling from Vancouver, Canada, to be at Wealthy Theatre.
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