Photo of University Hall

University Calendar

The Film Institute Presents "Stinking Heaven"

April 5, 2016, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location University Hall - 1040
SponsorThe Film Institute at Montclair State, School of Communication and Media, College of the ArtsCostNo cost, open to the publicMore Informationhttp:/‌/‌www.montclair.edu/‌arts/‌the-film-institute-at-montclair-state/‌films-and-filmmakers-series/‌Posted InSchool of Communication and Media

Stinking Heaven is a black as tar comedy charting the dissolution of a commune for sober living in early 90's suburban New Jersey. Married couple Jim and Lucy (Keith Poulson, Deragh Campbell) run a commune for sober living out of their suburban New Jersey home. Themotley members eat, bathe and work together selling homemade "health tea" out of their van. Although there's constant bickering and plenty of fires to be put out, Jim and Lucy have managed to establish a haven for these outcasts.

From the director Nathan Silver about the film:
I’ll never shake the quote: “Hell is other people”. Every movie I make is a wrestling match with this statement. A movie about a commune in the early 90’s seemed like the perfect arena for the latest match. We worked without a script or storyboards. My co-writer and I outlined the story structure; the actors and I developed the characters; and the cinematographer improvised along with the actors. The point was to create an environment that would allow chaos and life to rule the movie. Shooting a period piece, I found it necessary to work with a news camera from the time. In the end, it’s a documentary of a fictional world – one that deals with the need for family, love, and humiliation.

Nathan Silver graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2005. Since then he has written and directed five short films and six feature films, including Soft in the Head (2013), Uncertain Terms (2014), and Stinking Heaven (2015). His films have played in countless festivals around the world, including Locarno, New York, Rotterdam, Viennale, Vancouver, AFI, Torino, Munich, and BAFICI and venues including MoMA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City.

The Film Institute at Montclair State is dedicated to the preservation, growth and experience of the art of film. The Films and Filmmakers series is a weekly program that features filmmakers who come to speak about their work and profession. The series, open to both University students and the general public, welcomes audience questions while being a unique forum to hear inside stories from some of the most innovative filmmakers working in the field today.