The KC FilmFest’s must-sees

This year’s Kansas City FilmFest is going back in time with the man who made time travel in a DeLorean cool.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future, co-screenwriter and producer Bob Gale is presenting a new Digital Cinema Package 2K version of the film at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at Cinemark Palace on the Plaza, as part of the Kansas City FilmFest (April 16–19).

“Having supervised the post-production as well, this DCP looks better than the movie ever looked in the theater,” Gale tells The Pitch. (After the film, Gale will take part in a Q&A with the audience.)

For anyone trapped in a malfunctioning time machine for the last three decades, Back to the Future stars Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a high school student who accidentally journeys back to the week when his parents fell in love and who must play matchmaker.

There will also be a DeLorean on hand. But if you’d rather see a film from the present, here are a few can’t-miss gems, also at Cinemark on the Plaza.

Rolling Papers
Former Sedalia resident Mitch Dickman examines how Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana has affected the state and may lead to change across America. Dickman follows The Denver Post’s the Cannabist, which reveals that legal toking hasn’t led to the predicted horrors predicted by such pundits as former Secretary of Education William Bennett.

Nonetheless, a few unforeseen issues have arisen. For example, what if THC-laced products lack their advertised potency? And do our attitudes about the use of weed reflect other biases in our culture?

Rolling Papers plays at 8 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. Dickman and executive producer Chad Troutwine will be on hand for both screenings.

Actress
Filmmaker Robert Greene follows actress Brandy Burre, best known for playing Theresa D’Agostino on The Wire, as she tries to resume her career after taking time off to raise her children.

Those hoping for glitz and glamour can stick with Entertainment Tonight. Greene, who gave us the engrossing pro-wrestling documentary Fake It So Real, reveals that the residual checks aren’t as generous for a supporting role in an HBO series, and celebrities face the same relationship issues as everyone else. As with Fake It So Real, Actress can be bleak but oddly entertaining.

Actress screens at 9:45 p.m. Friday and 2:10 p.m. Saturday. Greene and Burre will attend the screenings, and Greene will take part in a seminar after the showing Saturday.

Where the Buffaloed Roam: An Ode to the Kansas Budget
Like most Kansans, writer-narrator-producer-director-editor Carson Tappan is troubled by Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax policies and their effect on public education. His concern is partially due to being a 16-year-old high school student. In less than an hour, Tappan explains how Brownback and the Legislature’s attempts to imitate the income-tax policies of Texas and California don’t work here because we don’t have the Lone Star State’s oil revenue, and the Topeka Zoo isn’t as big a tourist draw as the Pacific Ocean. Tappan also persuasively demonstrates that effective schools pay back their communities by providing employers with a workforce that can meet their needs. Tappan is scheduled to attend the 5:25 p.m. Thursday screening

Others to See
Debra Granik made a star out of Jennifer Lawrence in her Missouri-shot Winter’s Bone, and her new documentary, Stray Dog (3:40 p.m. Friday), follows Show-Me State biker Ron “Stray Dog” Hall as he tries to come to terms with his experiences in the Vietnam War. The Sundance hit Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (6 p.m. Friday) is also coming to KC FilmFest as well as Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria, for which Twilight star Kristen Stewart won a Best Supporting Actress Cesar, or French Oscar. No, that’s not a typo. Reportedly, K-Stew is that good in this film. She gets some help from Juliette Binoche and Chloë Grace Moretz.

Rob Riggle
Overland Park-raised and KU-educated comic actor Rob Riggle returns to Kansas City to accept the KC FilmFest award for Outstanding Achievement in Film and Television. The Daily Show veteran appears at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cinemark Palace on the Plaza to pick up the honor and answer questions from Kansas City Live host Michelle Davidson.

KC FilmFest
April 16–19, see kcfilmfest.org