The film that intrigued and fascinated me more than any other at this year’s festival is Arcadia Lost, directed by the acclaimed cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Sideways, Walk the Line, 3:10 To Yuma, The Pursuit of Happyness). Haley Bennett, who was wonderfully odd in her film debut inMusic and Lyrics plays Charlotte, a teenager who demonstrates her resentment of her mother re-marrying after her father’s death by being disruptive and promiscuous at the couple’s honeymoon in Greece while ignoring her same-age stepbrother Sye (Carter Jenkins). When sightseeing with their parents the car runs off the road and crashes into the ocean where, apparently, the two teenagers survive. As they search for help they meet Benerji, an intelligent but somewhat flaky spiritual guide played by Nick Nolte. (Go figure.) That’s when things begin to get strange. Did they really survive the crash, or are they in some sort of transitory realm of the afterlife? Benerji doesn’t elaborate but, instead, takes them on a journey that is both beautiful and disturbing. Sye and Charlotte become more consumed with exploring their identities than they do in finding help. Bennett expertly reveals the sensuality of Charlotte as she alternates between searching for answers and just going with the flow, When she meets and follows an attractive young man he suggests that she’s on a journey of discovery. “No, it’s not a journey of discovery,” she says nonchalantly. “It’s just a journey.” Shot on the Peloponnese peninsula we are exposed to the grandeur of the Greek countryside. Sometimes it feels like a modern travelogue; other times there’s the feeling of being dropped into an historical Greek myth. Filmmakers are always dabbling in various methods of revealing the world of our dreams, and in Arcadia Lost the journey of its revealing is as satisfying as its ending.

If you’ve ever been curious about the story behind the story of Disney Animation see Waking Sleeping Beauty. Focusing primarily on the time period of 1984-1994 we see how the famed studio that had fallen into a devastating decline rises again to become the gold standard in animation. The lowest point comes with The Black Cauldron which was embarrassingly knocked out at the box office by The Care Bears Movie. But Walt Disney’s nephew Roy takes dramatic steps to turn things around. The film focuses on the impact made by Roy and the three men he hired, all instrumental in stirring things up: Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Frank Wells. During those ten years Disney cranks out box office successes like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. The film’s director Don Hahn, who produced a few of those animated hits, has created a documentary that plays out like the story of a washed up boxer who suddenly turns things around and fights back to become champ of the world. You’ll find yourself cheering for the comeback. The film reveals the dedication and sacrifice made by the studio’s employees. Yes, they come back. But it comes at a monumental cost to the animators and their families.