10 years ago Bruce Pavlow had a vision to bring to the general public films of political and social importance, as well as innovative films that challenge the complacency of Hollywood. A decade later Leisure Time Features is still providing for our enjoyment, provocative and illuminating films as well as reintroducing some classic films from the past.
The Cannes 50th Anniversary Film Achievement Award went to Youssef Chahine’s “Destiny” which Leisure Time launched at the New York Film Festival to major acclaim. Harriet Eder & Thomas Kufus’ “Mein Kreig/My Private War” brought the audience back to the activities of indie filmmakers during WWII, six German soldiers who shot amateur footage during the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
Black comedies from a variety of countries are a niche they specialize in. Mircea Daneliuc’s post-Communism Bulgarian Oscar Entry “The Conjugal Bed” is a model for the new Eastern European cinema. Daniele Dubroux’s “Diary Of A Seducer” with Chiara Mastroianni (Marcello & Catherine Deneuve’s daughter) and Truffaut’s alter-ego Jean Pierre Leaud, left audiences laughing in the aisles. Cedric Klapisch’s “Un Air De Famille” tipped the lid of civility with a French family having dinner at a small suburban café one evening. Francois Ozon’s “Sitcom” is an outrageous farce featuring a pet rat and a bourgeoisie French family.
Re-issues play a big part and we owe a major thanks to Bruce Pavlow as he has re-released the German classic “Germany In Autumn,” co-directed by Fassbinder, Schlondorff, and Kluge. On the flip side, Leisure Time has championed a number of films considered too controversial by many, and banned by some countries, including the notorious modern genre classics “Nekromantik” and “Nekromantik 2” by Jorg Buttgereit & Franz Rodenkirchen, along with Christoph Schlingensief’s “Terror 2000”.
My personal favorite releases from Leisure Time include: Peter Sehr’s “Kaspar Hauser” (completely different from Herzog’s version), Gerard Mordillat’s “My Life & Times With Antonin Artaud,” (Sami Frey – “Band Of Outsiders”), and Srdjan Dragojevic’s “The Wounds,” his follow-up to “Pretty Village, Pretty Flames.” New releases coming your way include Michael Haneke’s” Code Unknown” (Juliette Binoche), Tsai Ming-Liang’s “The River” (by Taiwanese director on “Rebels Of The Neon God”), and the romantic coming-of-age gem from Australia “Strange Fits Of Passion” (Elise McCredie).
For more information, visit Leisure Time Features online at www.leisurefeat.com, call them at (212) 267-4501 or write them: 40 Worth Street Suite 709 New York, NY 10013 bpleisure@aol.com.