Exclusive: Brooklyn-based indie film distribution and production company Factory 25 has acquired North American theatrical rights on writer-director Kit Zauhar’s sophomore feature This Closeness, which debuted at SXSW 2023.
The film will begin its theatrical run at the IFC Center in New York City on June 7, with further engagements and a worldwide digital release on Mubi on July 3.
The film stars Zane Pais (Margot At The Wedding) and Ian Edlund with Zauhar also starring as she did on her first feature Actual People, which debuted at Locarno in 2021. Factory 25 also released that film. Actress and singer Jessie Pinnick (Princess Cyd) and multimedia artist Kate Williams round out the cast.
Following SXSW, This Closeness screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival, the Champs-Élysées Film Festival, and the Seattle International Film Festival, where it received a special jury mention for best ensemble cast in the New American Cinema Competition.
This Closeness is produced...
The film will begin its theatrical run at the IFC Center in New York City on June 7, with further engagements and a worldwide digital release on Mubi on July 3.
The film stars Zane Pais (Margot At The Wedding) and Ian Edlund with Zauhar also starring as she did on her first feature Actual People, which debuted at Locarno in 2021. Factory 25 also released that film. Actress and singer Jessie Pinnick (Princess Cyd) and multimedia artist Kate Williams round out the cast.
Following SXSW, This Closeness screened at the Philadelphia Film Festival, the Champs-Élysées Film Festival, and the Seattle International Film Festival, where it received a special jury mention for best ensemble cast in the New American Cinema Competition.
This Closeness is produced...
- 4/19/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Toh! has scored an exclusive clip from Berlin premiere "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely," starring Joe Swanberg in an uncharacteristically dark, dramatic role. The film is helmed by Josephine Decker (who previously starred in Swanberg's "Art History"). She has a second film at Berlin, "Butter on the Latch"; both screened in the Forum section. Here's the official synopsis for "Thou Wast Mild and Lovely," which Indiewire described as a portrait of "sexual depravity taking on nightmarish proportions":On a farm in rural Kentucky, father Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet) and daughter Sarah (Sophie Traub) squabble together like young puppies. Over crisp, verdant images of nature, of animals, streams and puddles, a mysterious, sensual female voice tells of her lover, who may be a person or may be the whole world. Enter Akin (Joe Swanberg), there to help out for the summer. He’s left his wife and child at home – and taken...
- 2/14/2014
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
The incredibly prolific Joe Swanberg, whose most recent film "Happy Christmas" recently premiered at Sundance, will be the subject of weekend retrospective at the Museum of Moving Image in Queens, New York. The filmmaker will be present at all of the screenings. The series, titled "A Swanberg Sampler," will feature six of his films: "Hannah Takes the Stairs" (2007), "Nights and Weekends" (2008), "Silver Bullets" (2011), "Art History" (2011), "Uncle Kent (2011), and "All the Light in the Sky" (2013). Read More: Joe Swanberg's New Star-Studded Project Proves No Microbudget Filmmaker Wants to Stay That Way Forever "Swanberg’s film capture the messy, often awkward emotional truths of real life," said Chief Curator David Schwartz, who organized the retrospective. "Much like another great behavioralist director, Howard Hawks, Swanberg’s films are acutely observed, sharply perceptive, and deeply entertaining. While his films may at first seem naturalistic, they also have a...
- 2/13/2014
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
You’ve probably seen his work before.
Director Joe Swanberg is best known for directing “Drinking Buddies” last year that starred Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick. He was one of the collaborators in the cult favorite horror compilation “V/H/S” with the segment called “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger.”
And maybe you’ve seen him on the big screen like the recent horror thriller “You’re Next,” in which he played as one the family victims.
Swanberg made his directorial debut with the 2005’s indie film “Kissing on the Mouth,” a film about recent college graduates on sex. And then he followed up with “Lol,” that starred with Greta Gerwig. With Gerwig, they further collaborated with 2007’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and 2008’s “Night and Weekends.”
In 2010, Swanberg became extremely busy directing seven films with “Uncle Kent,” “Caitlin Plays Herself,” “The Zone,...
Director Joe Swanberg is best known for directing “Drinking Buddies” last year that starred Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick. He was one of the collaborators in the cult favorite horror compilation “V/H/S” with the segment called “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger.”
And maybe you’ve seen him on the big screen like the recent horror thriller “You’re Next,” in which he played as one the family victims.
Swanberg made his directorial debut with the 2005’s indie film “Kissing on the Mouth,” a film about recent college graduates on sex. And then he followed up with “Lol,” that starred with Greta Gerwig. With Gerwig, they further collaborated with 2007’s “Hannah Takes the Stairs” and 2008’s “Night and Weekends.”
In 2010, Swanberg became extremely busy directing seven films with “Uncle Kent,” “Caitlin Plays Herself,” “The Zone,...
- 1/23/2014
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
Chicago – Some of the finest names in modern independent cinema may be garnering their largest audiences to date when the anthology horror film, “V/H/S,” is released on October 5th. It combines five horror shorts with a “wraparound” tale in which an assortment of troublemaking vandals (including “Open Five” director Kentucker Audley) search a spooky house for a priceless VHS tape.
This segment, “Tape 56,” was directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett, two accomplished filmmakers in their own right, who have collaborated on horror films such as “A Horrible Way to Die” and “You’re Next.” Barrett also wrote and co-produced the “V/H/S” segment entitled “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger,” which was directed by Chicago’s own Joe Swanberg (Wingard served as photographer and sound designer). Swanberg’s film stars Helen Rogers as Emily, a young woman who attempts to show her boyfriend,...
This segment, “Tape 56,” was directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett, two accomplished filmmakers in their own right, who have collaborated on horror films such as “A Horrible Way to Die” and “You’re Next.” Barrett also wrote and co-produced the “V/H/S” segment entitled “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger,” which was directed by Chicago’s own Joe Swanberg (Wingard served as photographer and sound designer). Swanberg’s film stars Helen Rogers as Emily, a young woman who attempts to show her boyfriend,...
- 10/1/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
One of the signature events of Fantastic Fest, the Fantastic Debates provoke mixed feelings deep within my soul. On the one side, the spectacle of watching two grown men debate some geeky topic or other before donning gloves and proceeding to punch one another is great entertainment. It's bloodlust on an awkward, ludicrous level. And on the other, it is also an event that I have carried a somewhat uncomfortable association with over the past two years, being the man most associated with the fightiest fight in the Debates' history since my participation in 2010. And so I now extend my thanks to Joe Swanberg for lifting that particular mantle from me in the Fantastic Debates 2012.Swanberg - director of Uncle Kent, Art History and...
- 9/23/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Chicago – Wildly prolific indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg (“Hannah Takes the Stairs,” “Uncle Kent”) will return to his hometown of Chicago on Thursday, July 5th, for a double feature of two new films, “Caitlin Plays Herself” and “Marriage Material.” The event kicks off at 8pm at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark St., and will include a live Q&A with Swanberg himself.
Both pictures center on seemingly content relationships that have reached a potential crossroads. “Caitlin Plays Herself” was one of six films that Swanberg made in 2011 (the others are “Uncle Kent,” “The Zone,” “Silver Bullets,” “Autoerotic” and “Art History”). It stars Caitlin Stainken (of Neo-Futurist fame) as an actress whose provocative performance art pieces cause her boyfriend (Swanberg) to feel uncomfortable. It’s her nude performance inspired by the Bp oil spill that pushes him over the edge. 2012’s “Marriage Material,” which made its viral debut in January, explores the repercussions...
Both pictures center on seemingly content relationships that have reached a potential crossroads. “Caitlin Plays Herself” was one of six films that Swanberg made in 2011 (the others are “Uncle Kent,” “The Zone,” “Silver Bullets,” “Autoerotic” and “Art History”). It stars Caitlin Stainken (of Neo-Futurist fame) as an actress whose provocative performance art pieces cause her boyfriend (Swanberg) to feel uncomfortable. It’s her nude performance inspired by the Bp oil spill that pushes him over the edge. 2012’s “Marriage Material,” which made its viral debut in January, explores the repercussions...
- 6/29/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Live in Toronto and want to pick up a tip or two on Diy filmmaking from one of the best? Well, here's your chance.On Sunday, May 13th Joe Swanberg will be at the Innis Town Hall for an event titled Diy Art & Life: A Weekend with Joe Swanberg. Included will be screenings of Swanberg's Full Moon trilogy (The Zone, Art History, Silver Bullets) followed by a masterclass with Swanberg on Diy filmmaking.Twitch has ten double passes for the event to give out to you, the loyal reader. All you need to do for your chance at one is to head over to the official Facebook event page and post 'Twitch wants me to meet Joe Swanberg' on the event's wall. Winners will be...
- 5/9/2012
- Screen Anarchy
Continuing an extraordinarily prolific phase that has also encompassed his year-long subscription service, Joe Swanberg premieres his latest film, Caitlin Plays Herself, tonight at Brooklyn’s reRun theater. His new star is Caitlin Stainken, a member of the Neo-Futurists Theater Ensemble.
Here’s the description and a clip.
Making its North American debut, Caitlin Plays Herself is the last in a trio of provocative, self-reflexive new dramas premiering at reRun this season from acclaimed auteur Joe Swanberg (Silver Bullets, Art History). Inspired by Eric Rohmer’s The Green Ray and the life of lead actress Caitlin Stainken (a member of the “Neo-Futurists” experimental theater ensemble), the film screens for a week-long theatrical run from December 2 – 8.
Caitlin, a young Chicago artist, struggles to create work that is both personal and political. A piece she performs about the Bp oil spill sends her relationship into a tailspin when her boyfriend can’t...
Here’s the description and a clip.
Making its North American debut, Caitlin Plays Herself is the last in a trio of provocative, self-reflexive new dramas premiering at reRun this season from acclaimed auteur Joe Swanberg (Silver Bullets, Art History). Inspired by Eric Rohmer’s The Green Ray and the life of lead actress Caitlin Stainken (a member of the “Neo-Futurists” experimental theater ensemble), the film screens for a week-long theatrical run from December 2 – 8.
Caitlin, a young Chicago artist, struggles to create work that is both personal and political. A piece she performs about the Bp oil spill sends her relationship into a tailspin when her boyfriend can’t...
- 11/26/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
During a recent three-night stand at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, micro-budget indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg suggested that he's ready to move on from mumblecore-style dramas toward films on adult topics-- perhaps to explore the type of free-form transmedia content spawned by the Internet. Selected as the festival’s Spotlight section director, Swanberg screened a trio of new films from his “Full Moon” trilogy -- "Silver Bullets and Art History," which debuted at Berlin earlier this year, as well as the world premiere of "The Zone." Adopting a loose creative process, Swanberg frequently works with just an outline rather than a finished script, with...
- 11/15/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
"Even Joe Swanberg has to stop to count the number of Joe Swanberg movies out there right now," writes Mark Olsen in the Los Angeles Times. Uncle Kent premiered at Sundance, Silver Bullets and Art History in Berlin. He's collaborating with Factory 25 on Joe Swanberg: Collected Films 2011, a box set of four films on DVD plus an unusual array of bonus material — records, photo books, posters. Autoerotic, made with Adam Wingard, is available on demand from IFC. And the AFI Fest, opening on Thursday, will be screening Silver Bullets and Art History and hosting the premiere of The Zone, which, as Olsen tells us, "traces the interrelationships of a trio of roommates once an outsider enters their dynamic, before revealing additional layers of psycho-emotional complexity…. If one were to make a diagram of contemporary American independent filmmaking, Swanberg would be somewhere near the center, if for no other reason...
- 10/31/2011
- MUBI
Up until last year, film festivals had always been a bit of a mystery to me. I had gone to a few conventions before and been shown advanced screenings of films, but to actually go to an event where all you did was watch films seemed a bit beyond my reach. Didn’t help either that I had never really lived in areas with affordable or frequent festivals. That is, up until last year when I was introduced to AFI Fest. They hooked me in with free tickets and the promise of engaging cinema from around the world. To say I had fun is a bit of an understatement. As the credits to the last film rolled, I decided that I would come back next year in a more professional manner and write about it.
Which brings us to now. AFI Fest 2011 Presented by Audi is a little over a...
Which brings us to now. AFI Fest 2011 Presented by Audi is a little over a...
- 10/24/2011
- by Jonathan Hardesty
- Flickchart
Hollywood's AFI Fest 2011 has already announced that Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar will open the festival which is to be guest directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Today brings word of the the first wave of announced films in the New Auteurs and Young Americans lineup. The fest also announced a Spotlight on Joe Swanberg which will include screenings of his films Silver Bullets, Art History and the world premiere of The Zone. Notable titles in the New Auteurs section include Michael Roskam's Fantastic Fest hit Bullhead (Marshy's Review), Australian serial killer drama Snowtown by Justin Kurzel (Alex Koehne's take), Markus Schleinzer's dark pedophile tale Michael (Marshy's thoughts), and the brilliantly human tale of addiction from true auteur Joachim Trier, Oslo, August 31st (which I loved)....
- 10/14/2011
- Screen Anarchy
The upcoming 25th edition of AFI Fest 2011 announced today the films featured in the event's 'Young Americans,' 'New Auteurs' and 'Spotlight' sections. 'Young Americans' features work by new U.S. talent; 'New Auteurs' is composed of work from first and second-time feature film directors; and 'Spotlight' this year focuses on the films from Joe Swanberg's Full Moon Triology ("Silver Bullets," "Art History" and the world premiere of "The Zone"). Among ...
- 10/13/2011
- Indiewire
The very first shot of “Art History” features a close-up of a woman’s hand placing a condom on an erection. If you needed any further clues that prolific indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg has no intention of going mainstream any time soon, the director has a cock for you to look at. While his “mumble core” allies are moving on to more broad or genre interests (Mark Duplass and Greta Gerwig might as well star in a CBS sitcom at this point), Swanberg soldiers on, approaching the academic depths usually plumbed by late-career artists freed by their lower budgets. Indeed, what’s…...
- 9/27/2011
- The Playlist
[Our thanks to Christopher Bourne for the following review, which is being crossed published at Chris' website The Bourne Cinema Conspiracy.]The filming of a sex scene proves to be no simple process (if indeed it ever is) in Joe Swanberg's Art History, a complex and unsettling examination of the creative process and the materials involved, both human and mechanical, in the making of art, as well as the psychological pressures that go along with it. Film director Sam (Swanberg) is shooting a sex scene that presumably occurs during a couple's one night stand. The film opens both in medias res and in flagrante delicto, with a very explicit depiction of the characters having sex, with full frontal nudity by both participants. We immediately know that...
- 9/26/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Joe Swanberg is collaborating with Factory 25 on Joe Swanberg: Collected Films 2011, which "represents an entirely new way to distribute indie cinema," as the Brooklyn-based independent film and music label puts it in yesterday's announcement.
Filmmaker's Scott Macaulay elaborates: "Swanberg is offering fans a four-film, one-year subscription to his work. For $99.95 subscribers will receive a box that will fill up each quarter with not only DVDs but also bonus material, including 45rpm records, photo books and posters. 'I'm in the nice position right now of having so many [completed] films I'm trying to get out into the world, so I'm taking the plunge and doing something interesting,' says Swanberg. The four films are Silver Bullets and Art History (both of which premiered in Berlin), The Zone, and Privacy Settings. In the latter new film, scheduled to be released Fall, 2012, Frank V Ross plays a peeping tom 'who stumbles into a...
Filmmaker's Scott Macaulay elaborates: "Swanberg is offering fans a four-film, one-year subscription to his work. For $99.95 subscribers will receive a box that will fill up each quarter with not only DVDs but also bonus material, including 45rpm records, photo books and posters. 'I'm in the nice position right now of having so many [completed] films I'm trying to get out into the world, so I'm taking the plunge and doing something interesting,' says Swanberg. The four films are Silver Bullets and Art History (both of which premiered in Berlin), The Zone, and Privacy Settings. In the latter new film, scheduled to be released Fall, 2012, Frank V Ross plays a peeping tom 'who stumbles into a...
- 9/23/2011
- MUBI
Today on indieWIRE, we spoke to Joseph Gordon-Levitt about his RECollection project, covered the imprisonment of several Iranian documentary filmmakers, dropped the trailers for the much awaited films "Wuthering Heights" and "J. Edgar," and more! Review | Joe Swanberg’s “Art History” is Less Cassavetes, More Kevin Smith When Joe Swanberg and other “mumblecore” filmmakers began making waves on the festival circuit a few years ago, many considered John Cassavetes to ...
- 9/20/2011
- Indiewire
Prolific independent director Joe Swanberg announced today a new distribution plan for his next four films. Partnered with Factory 25, Swanberg is offering fans a four-film, one-year subscription to his work. For $99.95 subscribers will receive a box that will fill up each quarter with not only DVDs but also bonus material, including 45rpm records, photo books and posters. “I’m in the nice position right now of having so many [completed] films I’m trying to get out into the world, so I’m taking the plunge and doing something interesting,” says Swanberg.
The four films are Silver Bullets and Art History (both of which premiered in Berlin), The Zone, and Privacy Settings. In the latter new film, scheduled to be released Fall, 2012, Frank V. Ross plays a peeping tom “who stumbles into a mutually beneficial relationship with an exhibitionist.”
Collector’s edition subscriptions are not new, and filmmakers like Gary Hustwit...
The four films are Silver Bullets and Art History (both of which premiered in Berlin), The Zone, and Privacy Settings. In the latter new film, scheduled to be released Fall, 2012, Frank V. Ross plays a peeping tom “who stumbles into a mutually beneficial relationship with an exhibitionist.”
Collector’s edition subscriptions are not new, and filmmakers like Gary Hustwit...
- 9/20/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
When Joe Swanberg and other "mumblecore" filmmakers began making waves on the festival circuit a few years ago, many considered John Cassavetes to be the progenitor of their seemingly lackadaisical improvisatory style. However, Swanberg's alternately blithe, probing and naive approach to sexuality occasionally gives his work the feel of a microbudget Kevin Smith. "Art History" is essentially Swanberg's version of "Zach and Miri Make a Porno," and, within the larger ...
- 9/20/2011
- Indiewire
Updated through 6/10.
Colin Beckett: "Whether by design or circumstance, this June has become Thai Cinema Month in New York, with an array of the city's art houses and museums boasting otherwise hard-to-see gems from the Thai film renaissance that began in the late 1990s. But the biggest cause for celebration is the belated arrival of two films by Uruphong Raksasad — Agrarian Utopia (2009), running at Anthology Film Archives June 10 - 15, and Stories from the North (2006), which plays Museum of the Moving Image on June 5 [this afternoon at 3] — whose formal ingenuity and geopolitical urgency make the familiar generalizations about national cinemas seem quaint, if not willfully narrow."
Updates, 6/10: For Michael Joshua Rowin, writing for Artforum, "here is an undeniably stunning work of visual art, a premiere example of the equal footing hi-def digital video now holds with celluloid filmmaking. Acting as his own cinematographer, Uruphong finds intimate wonder in lush, verdant hills; in twilights...
Colin Beckett: "Whether by design or circumstance, this June has become Thai Cinema Month in New York, with an array of the city's art houses and museums boasting otherwise hard-to-see gems from the Thai film renaissance that began in the late 1990s. But the biggest cause for celebration is the belated arrival of two films by Uruphong Raksasad — Agrarian Utopia (2009), running at Anthology Film Archives June 10 - 15, and Stories from the North (2006), which plays Museum of the Moving Image on June 5 [this afternoon at 3] — whose formal ingenuity and geopolitical urgency make the familiar generalizations about national cinemas seem quaint, if not willfully narrow."
Updates, 6/10: For Michael Joshua Rowin, writing for Artforum, "here is an undeniably stunning work of visual art, a premiere example of the equal footing hi-def digital video now holds with celluloid filmmaking. Acting as his own cinematographer, Uruphong finds intimate wonder in lush, verdant hills; in twilights...
- 6/10/2011
- MUBI
Austin has a number of special screenings and events coming up in the next week or two, so I thought I'd list some of them here. I also recommend checking the Austin Chronicle's weekly Special Screenings listing (updated online on Friday mornings) as well as Austin Creative Alliance's Now Playing Austin site (which I wish would make film event listings as prominent as the other arts, hint hint).
Don't forget to check our Guide to Free (and Cheap) Summer Movies in Austin for a great listing of film series that will fit your budget.
It's a Very Joe Swanberg weekend here in Austin. The Chicago indie filmmaker will participate in an Afs Moviemaker Dialogue on Saturday night at Austin Studios. On Sunday, Alamo Drafthouse Ritz hosts two Swanberg movies, Art History and Uncle Kent (both featuring actor Kent Osborne), with Swanberg attending. And on Monday night, he'll stick around when...
Don't forget to check our Guide to Free (and Cheap) Summer Movies in Austin for a great listing of film series that will fit your budget.
It's a Very Joe Swanberg weekend here in Austin. The Chicago indie filmmaker will participate in an Afs Moviemaker Dialogue on Saturday night at Austin Studios. On Sunday, Alamo Drafthouse Ritz hosts two Swanberg movies, Art History and Uncle Kent (both featuring actor Kent Osborne), with Swanberg attending. And on Monday night, he'll stick around when...
- 6/2/2011
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
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