Author: Josh Hornbeck

Josh is the founder of Cinema Cocktail, and he is a writer and director, podcaster and critic, and communications and marketing professional living and working in the greater Seattle area.

The Wild Pear Tree (2018) | May 16, 8:00 pm

Sinan, an aspiring writer, returns home after university hoping to scrape together enough money to publish his first novel. He wanders the town encountering old flames and obstinate gatekeepers and finds his youthful ambition increasingly at odds with the deferred dreams of his gambling-addict father. As his own fantasies mingle with reality, Sinan grapples with the people and the place that have made him who he is. – Kanopy

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Cast: Aydın Doğu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yıldırımlar, Hazar Ergüçlü

Country: Turkey, Republic of Macedonia, France

Distributor: The Cinema Guild

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 3 hours, 8 minutes

Platform: Kanopy

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Nofinofy (2019) | May 16, 6:00 pm

In Madagascar, after the municipality tears down his hair salon, Roméo has to leave Tamatave’s high street for the city’s popular districts. He moves into a small shabby shed where he dreams of building a proper salon. – MUBI

Director: Michaël Andrianaly

Country: France, Madagascar

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Platform: MUBI (Not currently available)

Special Programming: Documentary Cinema

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Pin Cushion (2018) | May 16, 4:00 pm

Inseparable mother Lyn and daughter Iona (Dafty One and Dafty Two) are excited for a fresh start in a new town. However, things don’t start out well. As a result, Iona decides to branch out — becoming “best friends” with some girls at school. In response, Lyn tries to branch out herself, but, for both of them, change doesn’t come so easily… – Telescope Film

Director: Deborah Haywood

Cast: Joanna Scanlan, Lily Newmark, John Henshaw, Chanel Cresswell

Country: United Kingdom

Distributor: Cleopatra Entertainment

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Platform: Amazon Prime

Special Events: Filmmaker Conversations

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Filmmaker Conversations

In This Corner of the World (2016) | May 16, 1:00 pm

Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm… – JustWatch

Director: Sunao Katabuchi

Cast: Non, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Daisuke Ono, Mayumi Shintani

Country: Japan

Distributor: Shout! Factory

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes

Platform: Netflix

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Tito and the Birds (2019) | May 16, 11:00 am

Tito is a shy 10-year-old boy who lives with his mother. Suddenly, an unusual epidemic starts to spread, making people sick whenever they get scared. Tito quickly discovers that the cure is somehow related to his missing father’s research on bird song. He embarks on a journey to save the world from the epidemic with his friends. – Telescope Film

Director: André Catoto Dias

Cast: Pedro Henrique, Mateus Solano, Denise Fraga, Matheus Nachtergaele

Country: Brazil

Distributor: Shout! Factory

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour, 13 minutes

Platform: Amazon Prime

Special Programming: Family Films

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Emma. (2020) | May 15, 9:00 pm

Jane Austen’s beloved comedy about finding your equal and earning your happy ending, is reimagined in this delicious new film adaptation of Emma. Handsome, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse is a restless queen bee without rivals in her sleepy little town. In this glittering satire of social class and the pain of growing up, Emma must adventure through misguided matches and romantic missteps to find the love that has been there all along. – Universal Pictures UK

Director: Autumn de Wilde

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Rupert Graves, Gemma Whelan, Amber Anderson, Tanya Reynolds, Connor Swindells

Country: United Kingdom

Distributor: Focus Features

Rating: PG

Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Platform: Video-On-Demand

Special Events: Opening Night Gala, Filmmaker Conversations

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Filmmaker Conversations

Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 17: Comedies on Other Streaming Services

Josh is joined once again by Robert Taylor, screenwriter and critic at The Robert Taylor Odyssey, as they try to “Make ‘Em Laugh” with comedies found on other streaming services.

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 16: Make ‘Em Laugh!

Josh is joined once again by screenwriter and critic Robert Taylor of the Robert Taylor Odyssey as they try to “Make ‘Em Laugh” with comedies that are only available on The Criterion Channel. Plus, Matt Gasteier of The Complete Podcast stops by to discuss entry points to the films of Yasujiro Ozu.

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Criterion Channel Surfing, Episode 15: April 2020 New and Expiring Titles

Josh is joined by screenwriter and critic Robert Taylor of The Robert Taylor Odyssey to discuss April’s new and expiring titles, and Michael Hutchins stops by to discuss the state of Criterion’s permanent digital library.

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      • Robert Taylor: Support Your Local Restaurants (Delivery, Take-Out, or Gift-Cards)
      • Michael Hutchins: Art-House American Campaign
      • Support Your Local Art-House, Independent Cinema (Donations) | Support Your Local Food Bank

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Announcing the Cinema Cocktail 2020 Virtual Film Festival

Every May for the past few years, I’ve taken some much-needed vacation time to attend the Seattle International Film Festival. The festival coincides with my birthday, and what better way to celebrate another trip around the sun than 25 days of incredible film from every corner of the globe? But with the COVID-19 spread necessitating the shutdown of public gatherings, this year’s festival was cancelled. Rather than give up my yearly celebration of cinema, I’ve decided to take the two weeks off and program my own virtual film festival to coincide with the time I’d be taking off under normal circumstances.

So here at Cinema Cocktail, I am pleased to announce the first-ever Cinema Cocktail Virtual Film Festival – May 15-31. Using streaming services like the Criterion Channel, Mubi, Ovid, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Shudder, and more – as well as the occasional Video on Demand title – I’ll be curating a selection of films that include silent cinema, classics, contemporary film from around the world, long form storytelling, family films, and midnight movies. There are a few principles that are guiding my selection as I narrow down the final choices:

      • All programmed films must be films that I have not yet seen, though exceptions will be made if I can track down some films that are exceptionally difficult to see;
      • If at all possible, 50% of all films programmed should be directed or co-directed by female filmmakers. black and indigenous filmmakers, and filmmakers of color; and,
      • If at all possible, programmed films should represent as many geographic regions as possible.

I do know that I am setting myself up for some challenges here and I may not achieve all three goals, but I do believe they’re worthy goals to strive towards nonetheless.

While the full lineup won’t be announced until early May, I am very pleased to announce both our Opening Night and our Closing Night films!

Opening Night Film and Festivities

We’ll kick off the festival with Autumn de Wilde’s Jane Austen adaptation, Emma., a stylized and luminous comedy that’s that been getting high marks from critics. As Justin Chang wrote for NPR, “This is the first feature from the photographer and music-video director Autumn de Wilde, and while she has an obvious eye for beauty, she has an equally sharp eye for the absurd.” We’ll also include a link to a 33-minute Q&A with de Wilde and star Anya Taylor-Joy for anyone who wants to learn more about the film.

Closing Day Screenings and Celebrations

We’ll be closing out the festival with a retrospective on the French filmmaker Céline Sciamma. Throughout the day we’ll view all of her feature films (Water Lilies, Tomboy, and Girlhood), one of her shorts (Pauline), and an in-depth interview between Sciamma and Tricia Tuttle, director of the BFI London Film Festival. Finally, we’ll end the evening with Sciamma’s latest film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire. “Sciamma has a keen eye for the ways that women have always cared for each other under the radar of society, dealing with unwanted pregnancies and building little communities in plain sight.” (Emily VanDerWerff, Vox)

If there’s enough interest, I also intend to host a few panel conversations and group discussions through the festival, and we’ll see what other ways we can build in some aspects of intentional community building that you get with a traditional film festival. I do hope you’ll consider joining me for as much of this two-week festival as you’re able. Stay tuned for more information!