May 10, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stacey Roberts

(617) 510-8269
Stacey@PtownFilmFest.org

PROVINCETOWN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES SPOTLIGHT FILMS AND SPECIAL EVENTS, “THE LIFE OF REILLY” OPENS FESTIVAL JUNE 14

Director Gregg Araki and Actress Lili Taylor To Receive Awards

Provincetown, Mass., May 10, 2006 – The Provincetown International Film Festival, scheduled for June 14-18, enters into its eighth year of showcasing independent American and international films, nurturing aspiring independent filmmakers, honoring industry luminaries, and preserving and sustaining cinema as an art form through educational forums. The Festival will screen over 60 films, including spotlight programming, while hosting special events, parties and award ceremonies. The complete programming line-up will be announced on May 15 and public tickets go on sale May 22. For more information about the Festival, programming, tickets or travel, visit www.ptownfilmfest.org.

“I am proud to say that the Festival’s new programmer, Andrew Peterson, has put together a schedule that expresses the diversity, creativity and independence of the Provincetown community as well as that of the independent film director,” noted Gabrielle A. Hanna, Executive Director of the Provincetown International Film Festival. “And we are pleased to celebrate Gregg Araki and Lili Taylor as true notables in the independent film world, who stand up well against their predecessors.”

As part of the Provincetown International Film Festival’s celebration of independent careers in film, two honors will be awarded at this year’s Festival. The *“Filmmaker On The Edge”* award will be given to director Gregg Araki and the *“Excellence in Acting”* award will be given to actress Lili Taylor. This Festival tribute will include a discussion with the awardees and feature a three-film retrospective of each honoree’s work.

The “Filmmaker on the Edge” award has been a hallmark of the Festival since its inception eight years ago. Araki is the latest in a long line of independent film icons who’ve received this award including director/writer Mary Harron (2005), director Jim Jarmusch (2004), director Todd Haynes (2003), director Gus Van Sant (2002), producers Ted Hope and James Schamus (2001), producer Christine Vachon (2000), and filmmaker John Waters (1999).

One of the most unconventional and relentlessly intriguing voices in independent cinema, filmmaker Gregg Araki emerged on the film scene with a bang with THE LIVING END in 1992, establishing him as one of the key figures in the “New Queer Cinema.” Dubbed by many an American-indie Goddard, Araki’s films serve as a blueprint for American independent filmmaking – ranging from the no-budget, guerilla style of his early works, to the assured skill of a master with his most recent film, MYSTERIOUS SKIN (Best Director nomination at the 2005 Independent Spirit Awards). Provocative, controversial, committed, and singularly gifted, Gregg Araki is a unique voice in modern cinema.

The “Excellence In Acting” award was created to honor excellence and celebrate the independent spirit in acting. Dubbed the “first lady of the indie cinema” by Variety and “irreplaceable” by Roger Ebert, Lili Taylor has helped shape the American independent film movement. During a career encompassing nearly 40 films, as well as notable TV shows and plays, she has worked with today’s most innovative independent directors, from Abel Ferrara and Emir Kusturica to Robert Altman and Nancy Savoca.

The heart of the Festival is its film programming, screening over 60 films from around the globe and including festival favorites from Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, New Directors/New Films and Tribeca. The complete line-up will be announced on May 15, however Festival Spotlight Films include:

Opening Night Film – THE LIFE OF REILLY (Directors: Barry Poltermann & Frank Anderson)
East Coast Premiere
Charles Nelson Reilly, he of game show innuendos and “X Files” guest appearances, takes us through his bizarre, star-studded, tragic, hilarious and ultimately amazing life with a potent blend of tenderness and quick one-liners. A lobotomized aunt, an institutionalized father and a racist mother populate this adaptation of Mr. Reilly’s acclaimed one-man show. First screening after its smash debut at the SXSW Film Festival. (2006, USA, 88 minutes)

Centerpiece Film – QUINCEAÑERA (Directors: Wash Westmoreland & Richard Glatzer)
Sundance Film Festival, Audience & Grand Jury Prizes
As Magdelena’s 15th birthday approaches, fate delivers an unwelcome surprise – she’s pregnant. Immediately expelled from her family, she moves in with her brother, also expelled for being gay, and her great-granduncle. Together they form a makeshift family unit that must stand up against social stigmas and the encroaching urbanization that threatens their Los Angeles neighborhood. With Emily Rios and Jesse Garcia. (2005, USA, 90 minutes)

Closing Night Film – THE OH IN OHIO (Director: Billy Kent)
Northeast Premiere
Married to her childhood sweetheart and quickly climbing the corporate ladder, Priscilla Chase (Parker Posey) seemed to have everything going for her – except that she’d never had an orgasm. When her husband (Paul Rudd) unexpectedly leaves her, she embarks on a wild journey that leads her to satisfaction and love in the most unlikely place. With Mischa Barton, Danny DeVito and Liza Minelli. (2005, USA, 90 minutes)

Friday Night Spotlight Film – 20 CENTIMETERS (Director: Ramon Salazar)
Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision
A narcoleptic transvestite who yearns to become a transsexual, dreams up elaborate musical numbers in which she’s the show stopping star. In Spanish with English subtitles. (2005, Spain, 113 minutes)

Saturday Night Spotlight Film – SWEET LAND (Director: Ali Selim)
Hamptons Film Festival, Audience Award
As Inge buries her husband Olaf on their Minnesota farm in 1968, we relive her life story as she tells her grown grandson about how she arrived from Norway in 1920 as Olaf’s postal bride. With Elizabeth Reasor, Alan Cumming and Ned Beatty. (2005, USA, 110 minutes)

The Festival also features the popular annual traditions:

John Waters Collection – HEAD-ON (Director: Faith Akin)
A special screening hosted by independent film icon John Waters.

A Night at the Drive-In – MYSTIC PIZZA (Director: Donald Petrie) and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Director: Steven Spielberg)
A fun evening at one of America’s last remaining drive-in theatres.

Sing-a-long – MARY POPPINS (Director: Robert Stevenson)
The name says it all. A great family-friendly event at Historic Town Hall.

In addition to presenting films from around the world, the Festival hosts several parties and special events that allow festival goers and filmmakers to interact and enjoy the festivities together. The main events include the Opening Night Party, June 14, 8:00pm at the historic waterfront Crown & Anchor, and the Closing Night Party & HBO Audience Choice Awards, June 18, 8:30pm at the Boatslip.

The eighth annual Provincetown International Film Festival is made possible by the generous support of the Festival’s Presenting Sponsors including HBO, Bacardi GrandMelón, The Advocate, Art House, The Provincetown Banner, and The Boston Phoenix, and is also funded in part by the Provincetown Tourism Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The Youth and Diversity Film Program receives support from the Gay and Lesbian Equity (GALE) Fund of The Cape Cod Foundation. Additional growing support comes from numerous national and community-based businesses. For more information on the Festival visit http://www.ptownfilmfest.org or call 508-487-FILM.

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Provincetown International Film Festival

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