The 45th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, also known as MSPIFF, starts Tuesday night and runs through April 19. More than 200 films will screen in cinemas across the Twin Cities metro area.
Films range from Minnesota-made — including documentaries “Medicine Ball” by Leya Hale, “The Wild West Bank Sound” by Kevin Dragseth and “Uncle Roy” by Keri Pickett — to international films such as “Calle Málaga” out of Morocco, “Comparsa” out of Guatemala and “Becoming Human” out of Cambodia.
The festival also does educational programming about the film industry and panels with film veterans and newcomers, including an April 12 event with cinematographer Dean Cundey (“Halloween,” “Back to the Future,” “Jurassic Park”).
Also on the schedule: an April 18 post-screening discussion with AJ Schnack, who made “Escalation,” a nonfiction short that documents how law enforcement targeted journalists covering protests, from the uprisings following the murder of George Floyd to the ICE Operation Metro Surge.
Here are a few more picks from MPR.
‘Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story’
6:45 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. screenings on April 8
The festival opens at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday with the film “Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story,” a new documentary by Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley about the comedian who grew up in Duluth, which Bamford calls “a little Monaco, a tiny San Francisco.”
The documentary uses interviews with fellow comedians (Tig Notaro, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, Zach Galifianakis), her father (who has since died) and her sister, as well as archival photography and footage from her childhood in Duluth and her career in stand-up, to create an even fuller picture of Bamford, who is known for her candor.
We see how Bamford developed a love for performance in her youth and developed a singular approach to comedy, including impressions (of her mother, sister and a rotating cast of characters from her life) and explorations of then-taboo subjects of mental health.
Bamford, who is based in Los Angeles, is considered one of the first comics to center her mental health — bipolar disorder, depression, OCD and suicidal ideation — and help make these topics mainstream. The documentary takes a deeper dive into how these conditions manifested in childhood, and some of the parallel experiences of her mother, who died during the pandemic.
“I hope that it is in some way helpful to anybody else who's following an artistic path or whatever life path, where you feel kind of that hopelessness, or saying, ‘Oh, I can't do it because of this thing that is a part of my personality or my physical makeup,’” Bamford says. “It was a great honor to be asked. Judd is a super fan of comedy. He loves what he loves, and I am so grateful to be a part of that umbrella.”
Bamford and Brinkley will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screenings.
‘Woman Land’
7:10 pm April 15 and 6:55 pm April 18 as part of the “Shorts: Labor & Love” programming
Local filmmaker Yasmin Yassin created a coming-of-age film about two Somali sisters in Minneapolis who start a secret matchmaking business. The film short navigates tradition and rebellion, and grew out of a digital zine of the same name.
New film tells a coming-of-age story of Somali American women in Minneapolis
“I grew up in a household that was very matriarchal, and so I wanted to kind of reflect that a little bit,” Yassin told MPR News in March. “I really wanted to play on that idea of the strength and joy, but also, the funny power of the women in our culture.”
In addition to the screenings, on April 17 the festival will host “Woman Land Club,” a celebration of the film and the local cast, crew and community who made it, described as “a night of girlhood filled with charms, discussion and special drinks.”
‘The Travel Companion’
7:10 p.m. April 14 and 9:20 p.m. April 16
Co-directed by Travis Wood and Alex Mallis, “The Travel Companion” brings a humorous look at assessing your life in your 30s.
The film follows Simon, a struggling documentarian in his 30s who has benefited from being the “travel companion” of his friend Bruce, who works for an airline, allowing Simon to travel the world for free. But when his friend begins dating a different filmmaker, Simon becomes both jealous of the more successful artist now in his orbit and fearful that he might lose his airline benefits.
“The Travel Companion” debuted last year at the Tribeca Film Festival, but its Minnesota premiere at MSPIFF is poignant, as Minneapolis is director Travis Wood’s hometown.
After its screenings at MSPIFF, “The Travel Companion” will have additional runs at theaters across Minnesota in the coming weeks and months, including at Pop’s Art Theater in Rochester in May.
‘Ruunta’
1:55 p.m. April 19, presented as art of a short films collection
Following Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Minneapolis during the 2024 election campaign, producer Ryan Stopera and director Abdilatif Hassen wanted to respond to the then-senator’s claims of Minneapolis being “overrun with crime.”
“I went home and started writing,” Stopera said after hearing Vance’s comment.
Stopera says he “started writing an outline of a story that was rooted in Lake Street in south Minneapolis, that embraced the nuance of our community, and immediately reached out to Abdilatif.”
In collaboration with other Minneapolis-based filmmakers, Stopera and Hassen created “Ruunta.” The short film follows a young Somali man who, after witnessing a crime, comes into the possession of a designer purse filled with money.
What follows is a slice of life series of vignettes, showing the young man interacting with members in his Lake Street community — interactions that indirectly influence his decision on what to do with the purse.
