SPOTLIGHT ON JOHN HAWKES
Despite working in the movies for more than 25 years, actor John Hawkes seems to be in the midst of a cinematic coming-out party. From homicidal baddies (the Oscar-nominated role of Teardrop in 2010’s Winter’s Bone; Patrick in MVFF 2011 selection Martha Marcy May Marlene) to sympathetic everymen (in Me and You and Everyone We Know and HBO’s Deadwood), Hawkes specializes in soulful, complex characters with deep—usually deeply flawed—humanity. The 53-year-old Minnesota native has been an integral link in many ensembles, often supporting strong leading ladies like Jennifer Lawrence, Vera Farmiga and Miranda July (and we love him for that). But with his funny, sensitive and heartbreaking portrayal of disabled poet-journalist Mark O’Brien in Ben Lewin’s The Sessions, Hawkes finally takes center stage, bolstered by his own superb supporting cast. We predict that soon enough this wonderful actor’s leading-man dance card will be perpetually full, and it’s about time.
Join us for the Spotlight Program featuring a conversation with John Hawkes, a screening of The Sessions, and onstage special guests director Ben Lewin and actress Helen Hunt.
Special Guest Helen Hunt
JOHN HAWKES will be presented with the MVFF AWARD, designed by celebrated artist Alice Corning.
After the event, join us at the stylish Tiburon Tavern, which features elevated comfort food paired with Northern California's freshest coastal influences. This gastropub-inn will tempt you with its farm-to-table dining approach and excite you with its chic vibe.
THE SESSIONS
US 2012 • 94 MINS
Portraying poet-journalist Mark O'Brien, who was confined to an iron lung after being stricken with polio as a child, actor John Hawkes crackles with wit, frustration and anticipation as he attempts to lose his virginity with the help of Cheryl (Helen Hunt), a professional sex surrogate.
PROGRAM AND RECEPTION
Saturday, October 6 • 7:00 pm
Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
Program and Reception: $85. General / $75. Members
TRIBUTE CO- SPONSORED BY
AND
SPOTLIGHT ON BILLY BOB THORNTON
When Billy Bob Thornton encountered Billy Wilder at a Hollywood Christmas party in the 1980s, the master filmmaker counseled the young actor to pursue his screenwriting ambitions. That fruitful career advice led to the fatalist noir One False Move, the swamp gothic The Gift and deft portraits of complicated households in A Family Thing, Daddy & Me and Jayne Mansfield’s Car. Thornton’s most indelible role and dynamic work, however, came in 1996 with Sling Blade, which received an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. As a leading man with the soul of a character actor and a writer-director with the heart of a Southern novelist, Thornton explores the dark, uncanny depths of troubled families, lonely men and desperate opportunists, rendering them genuine and sympathetic. In his acting, directing, writing and music, Thornton draws from the well of his diverse influences and Arkansas upbringing to conjure the past and make it as real as the present.
Join us for a memorable reception at Hawk's Tavern, a locally-owned, neighborhood restaurant serving seasonally inspired dishes prepared using locally sourced, sustainable and organic ingredients.
BILLY BOB THORNTON will be presented with the MVFF AWARD, designed by celebrated artist Alice Corning.
JAYNE MANSFIELD'S CAR
US 2012 • 122 MINS
The thick Alabama air drips with atmosphere in Billy Bob Thornton’s visceral, provocative tale of a strained Southern family meeting distant English counterparts who have come to bury their recently deceased matriarch among “her people,” co-starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Bacon.
PROGRAM AND RECEPTION
Sunday, October 7 • 6:30 pm
Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center
Program and Reception: $85. General / $75. Members
Film Only: $45. General / $40. Members
TRIBUTE CO- SPONSORED BY
AND
