Our “Streaming Surprises” series calls attention to good movies new and old that our board members are watching. Titles are available from various streaming services. “The Brand New Testament” (2015) Submitted by Jefferson Beavers. Streaming on Amazon Prime. The official poster for Belgian filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael’s satiric comedy “The Brand New Testament” gives us…

As we look ahead to our 2019-20 season, Fresno Filmworks wants to give the most loyal cinema fans in Fresno a chance to pick the movie for our September season opener. Our all-volunteer board works diligently to track down first-run independent films that we believe need to be shown in Fresno. We discuss our film…

Our “Streaming Surprises” series calls attention to good movies new and old that our board members are watching. Titles are available from various streaming services. “Cold War” (2018) Like filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski’s Oscar-winning drama “Ida,” “Cold War” is presented in stunning black & white. The dialogue is sparse, but the cinematography and the subtlety of…

German filmmaker Christian Petzold reminds us that the plight of refugees is not constrained by time or events. In his haunting dramatic thriller “Transit,” they are the collateral damage of war. Petzold based his latest film on the 1944 novel “Transit Visa” by Anna Seghers, herself a World War II refugee. This many-layered story, which…

Our “Streaming Surprises” series calls attention to good movies new and old that our board members are watching. Titles are available from various streaming services. “Meru” (2015) Just two months ago, filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin received Oscars for their 2018 documentary film “Free Solo,” the story of Alex Honnold and his historic…

Icelandic filmmaker Benedikt Erlingsson’s second major film, “Woman at War,” is the quirky tale of an environmental activist who battles Iceland’s government. The absurdist tale, which is Fresno Filmworks’ April 12 showing, successfully combines thrills with laughs. There are similarities to Erlingsson’s directorial debut, “Of Horses and Men”, especially the comedic tone and the beautiful…

February 2019 volunteers in the spotlight: The Bell family. Rita, Teule Sr., Teule Jr. and Amara Bell, with Dotty Mora, represent three generations of a family who volunteer with Fresno Filmworks. Rita, who serves as Fresno Filmworks’ vice president and box office coordinator, has volunteered since 2014. Volunteering with Filmworks seems to be a family…

Our “Streaming Surprises” series calls attention to good movies new and old that our board members are watching. Titles are available from various streaming services. “High Flying Bird” (2019) It’s 2019 and Steven Soderbergh has directed a film with a screenplay by “Moonlight” writer Tarell Alvin McCraney about the NBA, shot exclusively on an iPhone.…

“The Charmer,” the heartbreaking directorial debut from Iran-born filmmaker Milad Alami and Fresno Filmworks’ selection for its March 8 screening, captures with stunning realism the agony experienced by many immigrants struggling to find their place in a new land. Unlike some films that may comically deal with the topic of marrying to become a citizen,…

I Heart Film: Joanne Bazarian and Giovanni Pivirotto Joanne and Giovanni own the Perfect Balance Yoga studio and the JoGio Homes real estate firm with London Properties. They are longtime supporters of Fresno Filmworks, sponsoring the movie “Lucky” in 2017 and the Oscar-nominated short films in 2018 and 2019. Where are you both from, and…

Our “Streaming Surprises” series calls attention to good movies new and old that our board members are watching. Titles are available from various streaming services. “Blindspotting” (2018) Collin has three days left of probation. He is working hard to stay out of trouble, which is not easy in his native Oakland where police brutality is…

For more than a decade, Fresno Filmworks has screened all three categories of Oscar-Nominated Short Films in the documentary, live action, and animation categories. Why? Because we believe that short-form cinema is alive and important. Will short films ever regain the popularity of feature-length films? Hard to say, but there’s so much to discover within…

December 2018 volunteer in the spotlight: Rachael Stubbert Where do you go to school and what are you studying? I’m currently attending Fresno State, studying English literature and creative writing. Where are you from originally? I’m from Fresno, but I’ve lived in Arizona and Montana in the past too. Where do you currently work? I…