Film fest will screen at Libertine, Tibbs Drive-in, Eiteljorg and more

When the Indianapolis International Film Festival gets rolling on July 18, it not only will have a Bigfoot-like sidekick known as Filmsquatch, it also will expand beyond the borders of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

While most of the films will be screened at the IMA, the 10-year-old fest will also stretch out for five evenings of site-specific showings. Most interesting to Indiana audiences may be "Medora," a documentary about one of the losingest high school basketball teams in the state. It will be screened in the gymnasium at the Harrison Center on July 19.

On July 22, the upstairs room at Libertine will be host to the documentary "Hey Bartender." July 23 could be the first time a film with subtitles ("Lost for Words") has been shown at Tibbs Drive-In. July 24 brings a free screening of the documentary "Out of Print," about changes in the publishing world, to the Central Canal outside the Indiana Historical Society. The Eiteljorg Museum terrace will host the environmental documentary "Fall and Winter," which involves Native American philosophies and their contemporary applications. Finally, the drama "Detroit Unleaded," set at a gas station, will screen at the Big Car Service Center near Lafayette Square Mall.

While stars aren't promised at the screenings, the opening- and closing-night features do include some familiar names for movie buffs. The opener, "Drinking Buddies," a romantic comedy set in a brewery, stars Olivia Wilde (TV's "House"), Anna Kendrick ("Up in the Air" and the "Cups" video), Jake Johnson (TV's "New Girl") and Ron Livingston ("The Odd Life of Timothy Green"). Tickets include an after party at (where else?) Sun King. 

Closing the fest will be "Don Jon." Set for a wider release in October, the film was written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who stars opposite Scarlett Johansson.

Hoosier Lens films, involving Indiana subjects or Indiana-connected filmmakers, include "They Wore the Red Suit," a look at men who make a living as Santa Claus.

I'll be pre-screening as many of the films as possible and will share my favorites in the July 15 IBJ.

Your thoughts?