movspot050908

Movies: Home Grown Cinema Series comes to the Parkway

Last update: May 8, 2008 - 3:08 PM

HOME GROWN CINEMA

Some of Minnesota's brightest independent filmmakers will be featured in the inaugural Home Grown Cinema Series, running every Monday from next week to June 2 at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis. The films are underexposed gems, and the double-feature Parkway screenings should help them reach the wider audiences they deserve. The program opens with "Two Harbors," winner of the Best Feature prize at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival in 2005. The film stars local comedy mainstay Alex Cole in a dramatic turn as a UFO spotter, and Catherine E. Johnson as a young woman whom he believes to have alien connections. It's paired with "Bill's Big Pumpkins" (pictured), which follows the longtime obsession of Wright County farmer Bill Foss: growing Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-sized pumpkins. This affectionate, handsomely produced feature documentary by his son Ryan suggests he's only slightly eccentric in his quest for gigantic fruit. Upcoming films are "Snuff: a Documentary About Killing on Camera" and "Grown Men" on May 19; "It Came From Another World!" and "Mondo Collecto" on May 26, and "Seeking Wellness" and "Wargoon Flishe" on June 2. (First feature at 7:30, second at 9:30 p.m. Q&As with cast and crew follow most screenings. $8 for both films. Parkway Theater, 48th St. and Chicago Av. S., Mpls. Call 612-822-3030.)

COLIN COVERT