You have only two more days to check out the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. Or do you?
Yes, the fest ends Thursday, with a closing night party at Minneapolis' Riverplace to make it official (and give the folks at MSP Film Society a well-deserved breather). But a bonus festival actually continues through May 4.
Entry to Thursday's closing night party comes with tickets to the final film, the Indigo Girls documentary "It's Only Life After All" (the title comes from their song "Closer to Fine"). The look at four decades in the lives and careers of the folk/pop artists includes home movies, interviews and concert footage. Its director, Alexandria Bombach, will be at the screening and the party afterward. Tickets are $30.
Another filmmaker who will be here to discuss her movie is Laura Gabbert, whose "Food and Country" documentary, featuring food legend Ruth Reichl, screens Wednesday (at 7 p.m., with Gabbert discussing the film afterward) and Thursday.
One of the flashiest titles in the festival is "Mom & Dad's Nipple Factory," Justin Johnson's documentary about his parents, who live in Eau Claire, Wis. When mom Randi had a unilateral mastectomy, dad (and Randi's husband) Brian invented a custom nipple that has become a huge hit in the cancer/prosthetic world. The film about their experience is showing Thursday.
You'll have to hurry to catch "The Accident," which has just one remaining screening Wednesday afternoon, but it encompasses so many hot-button issues that the Brazilian drama may be worth making time for. The titular accident — a pregnant woman is bicycling when another woman's car hits her — touches off a social media, class and privilege firestorm in the dark comedy.
Several remaining titles have already won prizes at previous film festivals, a pretty good indication that there's something there worth checking out. These three all screen Wednesday: Set in Malaysia, "Stone Turtle," a thriller about two people and an endangered turtle, was a winner at the Locarno Film Festival. Twisted, Moroccan family drama "The Damned Don't Cry" took home a trophy at the Palm Springs festival. And the Finnish "Four Little Adults," which is about polyamory, snagged the best actress prize at the Goteberg fest.
Can't make it by the festival's official closing Thursday night? All is not lost. Keep your eyes peeled for the "Best of the Fest," the annual event which extends through May 4 and, which, as its name promises, brings back some of the most popular and interesting movies from the previous two weeks. Check the website for a full list but word is a few titles that will return are "Minnesota Mean," "40 Below: The Toughest Race in the World" and "Joyland."
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
When: Through Thursday.
Where: The Main Cinema, 115 SE. Main St., Mpls.
Tickets: $15, passes available, mspfilm.org.
