Cinetopia begins

continued

Unfortunately, the only new festival film I was able to screen is advance was a clunker, Teddy Bear. This import from Denmark won the best international directing award at Sundance in 2012, so you can't blame the festival for booking it. But not every low-budget indie film has merit, and this is a very dull story of a mama's boy bodybuilder who finds a bride in Thailand. Once you're convinced that--surprise!--a weightlifter doesn't have to be macho, you could lift the plot with one finger.

But you can't judge a festival by a single movie--or even a single year. Cinetopia is a promising project. Let's give it a go.   

[Originally published in June, 2012.]