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May-June 2012

Includes Beasts of the Southern Wild, AIDS Documentaries, God Bless America and the films of Bobcat Goldthwait, Spaghetti Westerns, Whit Stillman, Werner Schroeter, HBO Films

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Featured Articles

Issue Details

FEATURES

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
By Scott Foundas
A magical child’s-eye view of Louisiana Delta fringe-dwellers after the flood
AIDS DOCUMENTARIES
By David Ehrenstein
Four films remember the battles and the fallen 30 years on
GOD BLESS AMERICA
By Laura Kern
Stand-up weirdo turned maverick auteur Bobcat Goldthwait targets the toxic state of the nation
SPAGHETTI WESTERNS
By J. Hoberman
How three Sergios transformed Hollywood’s iconic genre into a bloodthirsty anti-American free-for-all
WHIT STILLMAN
By Haden Guest
The writer-director of Damsels in Distress discusses his literary, cinematic, and personal roots
WERNER SCHROETER
By Ulrike Sieglohr
The most important New German Cinema maestro you’ve never heard of
Plus: Chuck Stephens picks five Schroeter must-sees
HBO FILMS
By Michael Sragow
A chorus of approval for the only game in town where quality counts

DEPARTMENTS

EDITOR’S LETTER

OPENING SHOTS
News, Hot Property: Djinn Carrénard’s Donoma by Nicolas Rapold, Alex Cox’s 10,000 Ways to Die, Site Specifics (expanded version), The Trivial Top 20®, David Wain’s Guilty Pleasures

ENCORE
Eight Deadly Shots

FURTHER RESEARCH
Dave Kehr on John Reinhardt

SOUND & VISION
The Phantom Carriage by Andy Battaglia & Jeff Keen by Chris Chang

A FACE IN THE CROWD
Ed Lauter by Chuck Stephens

CRITICS’ CHOICE
Eight critics rate 25 new releases

BRIEF ENCOUNTERS
Nanni Moretti by Harlan Jacobson

FESTIVALS
Berlin by Olaf Möller and SXSW by Mark AschSCREENINGS
The Day He Arrives by Tony Rayns, Moonrise Kingdom by Kristin M. Jones, 5 Broken Cameras by Jennifer Dworkin, Bernie by Kent JonesSHORT TAKES
Bonsái 
by Nicolas Rapold, Headhunters by Ann Olsson, Hysteria by Violet Lucca, I Wish by Chris Chang, Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present by Chris Chang, Oslo, August 31st by Nicolas Rapold, The Color Wheel by Dan Sullivan

HOME MOVIES
A Hollis Frampton Odyssey, Dishonored Shanghai ExpressJ. Edgar, UPA The Jolly Frolics Collection, Domain, Cinema VeriteWalking TallTreme Season 2, Through the Weeping Glass

READINGS
Between-the-Images by Raymond Bellour, When Magoo Flew: The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio UPA by Adam Abraham, Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars by Scotty Bowers, Camera Historica: The Century in Cinema by Antoine de Baecque

CLOSING SHOTS
Who’s who at recent Film Society events