Pretty Ugly People
Tate Taylor, U.S., 2008, 101 min.
Friday, Nov. 14, 9:30 p.m., Tivoli 3

A sharply pointed comedy, “Pretty Ugly People” proves that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence. After shedding all her excess weight through gastric-bypass surgery, Lucy (Missy Pyle) fakes a serious illness to trick her estranged college friends into gathering together in the Montana wilderness. Lucy wants to show off her slim figure, with the hope that she’ll finally “feel like one of them,” but during four days of arduous hiking, she soon discovers that her friends have become as unfamiliar to her as her newly trim body. Faced with the rigors of the outdoors, these pretty people turn ugly, revealing their deepest fears and secrets. The cast includes Melissa McCarthy (who played Sookie in “Gilmore Girls”) and Alison Janney (“West Wing”). With director Taylor.

The Prowler
Joseph Losey, U.S., 1951, 92 min.
Saturday, Nov. 22, 6:30 p.m., Webster, Free

As part of a special program on the Hollywood blacklist, SLIFF presents a newly restored print of “The Prowler,” one of the last films that director Losey made in the U.S. before fleeing McCarthy-fueled harassment and relocating to England. In this classic film noir, disgruntled cop Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) is called to investigate a peeping-tom case involving Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes), the wife of a popular late-night radio personality. The cop woos the initially reluctant Susan, and when he learns of an insurance policy on the husband, Garwood plots to get both the money and the girl by scapegoating a phantom “prowler” for the murder. Losey and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo – another prominent victim of the blacklist – skillfully convey the pervasive ennui of bourgeoisie life. With an 8:30 p.m. panel on the Hollywood blacklist and film noir.

Shown with
The Grand Inquisitor (Eddie Muller, U.S., 2008, 20 min.), in which a young woman (Leah Dashe) interviews a lonely recluse (legendary blacklisted actress Marsha Hunt), who may or may not be the widow of the Zodiac killer. With director Muller and actress Hunt.

Remarkable Power!
Brandon Beckner, U.S., 2008, 91 min.
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 5 p.m., Tivoli 3
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 9:15 p.m., Tivoli 3

With the plug about to be pulled on his talk show and his wife engaged in a steamy affair, Jack West (Kevin Nealon of “SNL” and “Weeds”) is desperate to restore his fading celebrity. He concocts a wild media stunt, and the elaborate scheme ultimately entangles an eclectic collection of colorful characters, including a plump private eye (Tom Arnold), a macabre Web mistress, a glassy-eyed stoner (Evan Peters), a phony get-rich-quick guru (Christopher Titus), two narcissistic actors (Kip Pardue and Dulé Hill), a peculiar special-effects makeup team, porn stars, a Jewish drug lord and Russian mobsters.

Say Goodnight
David VonAllmen, U.S., 2008, 84 min.
Thursday, Nov. 20, 9:45 p.m., Tivoli 1

In this locally shot romantic comedy, three guys – Victor (Aaron Paul), Leroy (Rob Benedict) and Mason (Chris Gessner) – gather at their favorite watering hole to update mutual friend Bernard (David Monahan) on their recent dating mishaps. Over a cocktail-fueled evening, the friends comically recount chance meetings, awkward first dates, embarrassing personal idiosyncrasies and problematic intimate encounters. Anyone who has ever been part of the bar scene will relate to the raunchy lunacy these characters endure. Carly Pope, Shannon Lucio and Smith Cho star as the ill-treated women in the men’s lives, and familiar St. Louis locations provide the attractive backdrop. With director VonAllmen and producer Joe Farmer.

Shadowland
Wyatt Weed, U.S., 2008, 96 min.
Friday, Nov. 14, 10:30 p.m., Tivoli 1

Laura crawls from a pit at a construction site, beaten and bloody, apparently left for dead. With no memory of who or where she is, she sets off into the night, looking for answers and a way home. She soon finds herself hunted by a mysterious young man named Julian, and it isn’t clear if he intends to help her or kill her. Another of the highly polished homegrown productions featured in this year’s SLIFF, this fast-paced supernatural thriller prominently showcases the talents of St. Louis’ actors and crew members, and the diversity of its locations. With director Weed and producers Robert Clark and Gayle Gallagher.

Sinner Come Home
Blake Eckard, U.S., 2007, 96 min.
Monday, Nov. 17, 5 p.m., Tivoli 3, Free

In a forgotten Midwest town at the onset of winter, Eddie Farnim (Ryan Harper Gray) tolerates a mundane existence while his adoring wife, Jan (Christiana Hansen), prays for a child and a simple life. After working long hours for a stubborn boss, Eddie spends frequent nights drinking with his high-school buddy, whose own marriage is in the gutter. As tensions rise at home, Eddie spends more time out and catches the eye of his boss’ wife, who feeds Eddie bad advice and leads him deeper into questioning his future and marriage. A native of Gentry County in northwest Missouri, Eckard was a senior in high school when he shot his first feature, “A Simple Midwest Story,” which premiered at New York’s Anthology Film Archives. Indie-film guru John Pierson, author of the classic “Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes,” says of “Sinner Come Home”: “I couldn’t stop watching. There’s something totally believable about the performances that doesn’t seem to be part of independent film anymore.”
With director Eckard and star Gray.

Skin
Anthony Fabian, South Africa, 2008, 107 min., English & Zulu
Sunday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m., Frontenac

In this moving true story of apartheid-era South Africa, Sandra (Sophie Okonedo) is born with distinctively African features despite having two white Afrikaner parents (Sam Neil and Alice Krige). When the girl is rejected by the school she attends because of her mixed-race appearance, Sandra’s parents must plead before the Supreme Court to classify her as white. Although the family wins that battle, Sandra remains acutely aware of her difference and defiantly opts to reclassify herself as “colored” when she becomes an adult, causing a painful and seemingly irreconcilable break with her family.

Slumdog Millionaire
Danny Boyle, U.K./India, 2008, 120 min., English & Hindi
Saturday, Nov. 15, 8 p.m., Tivoli 1

Director Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “28 Days”) debuted “Slumdog Millionaire” to serious buzz at the Telluride and Toronto film fests, winning the latter’s People’s Choice Award. At the film’s start, Jamal, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is about to experience the biggest day of his life: With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating, asserting that no street kid could possibly know so much. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal recounts his life, with each chapter of his story revealing the key to the answer to one of the game-show’s questions.
Sponsored by Network of Indian Professionals and SYNERGY

Son of a Lion
Benjamin Gilmour, Pakistan/Australia, 2007, 92 min., Pashto
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2 p.m., Frontenac
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 9:15 p.m., Frontenac

Set in the Northwest Frontier Province of modern-day Pakistan, home to the ethnic Pashtuns, “Son of a Lion” provides vital insight into a region that increasingly affects the U.S. Widowed father Sher Alam expects his only son to follow in his fundamentalist footsteps, and 11-year-old Niaz dutifully obeys, making and testing weapons, just as Sher Alam learned from his father before him. But Niaz doesn’t want to go down this path: He wants to go to school. Variety particularly hails the scenes involving Sher Alam and his friends: “In tea houses and barbershops, the men express a wide variety of opinions on everything from Osama bin Laden to the war on terror and, inevitably, the regional role of the U.S. These illuminating insights into how ordinary people in this region view the world deliver a vital understanding of the cultural factors surrounding Niaz’s desire to look outward and better himself.”

Special
Hal Haberman & Jeremy Passmore, U.S., 2006, 82 min.
Monday, Nov. 17, 9:15 p.m., Frontenac

Comic-book-obsessed Les Franken (Michael Rapaport) leads a painfully unremarkable life, earning his living by writing tickets for parking-meter violations. But when he enrolls in a drug study for an experimental anti-depressant, the drug has unexpected side effects, and Les becomes convinced he is developing special powers. Quitting his job, Les instead takes on a new calling: superhero. “Special” debuted at Sundance, and Box Office Magazine offered a rapturous assessment, describing the film as “an often uproarious and always poignant comedy” and “a moving and pertinent parable for our medicated times.”