“Natural Selection” to open 2011 Friars Club Film Festival

The Friars Club has announced the lineup for its third annual Friars Club Comedy Film Festival, which opens Oct. 12, 2011, with a screening of Natural Selection, starring Rachael Harris.

Director Robbie Pickering will attend the screening of Natural Selection, which won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Narrative Feature at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, and win the Friars award for breakout comedy filmmaker of the year.

Other films screening from Oct. 12-16, 2011, include:

  • Prairie Love
  • A Beginner’s Guide to Endings, starring Harvey Keitel, Scott Caan, Jason Jones
  • The American premiere of Danish film Alle For En (All For One), which stars Rutger Hauer
  • Phunny Business: A Black Comedy, a documentary about Chicago’s comedy scene which offers a peek into the Chicago comedy scene
  • Dying to Do Letterman, the inspiring quest of comedian Steve Mazan
  • The Other F Word, which follows Jim Lindberg of Pennywise and other punk rockers as they enter fatherhood
  • Adventures in Plymptoons, a revealing look inside the life and mind of renowned animator Bill Plympton.

The short film selections will include winning entries from the FrISC competition (The Mantzoukas Brothers and Onassis), the premiere of a Funny or Die exclusive, Lake Bell’s Worst Enemy, and Little Horses, directed by Levi Abrino and co-written by 2011 Academy Award winner Luke Matheny.

Klovn: The Movie (Clown: The Movie), a film version of the popular Danish sitcom starring Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam, will close the festival at the Clearview Cinema in Chelsea on October 16.

Friar Brett Ratner also will be honored by the Friars for his achievement in comedy filmmaking.

Tickets are on sale now.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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