Trailer for THE ROMANTICS

One of the best parts of programming a festival is the crack research you get to do on movies your average Joe audience member haven't heard a peep about yet. There's something fun about being ahead of the curve like that.

Which was the case back in February when I discovered that Galt Niederhoffer had adapted her own novel, THE ROMANTICS, into a crisp, windy independent film starring Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Candice Bergen, Elijah Wood...the list goes on.

Back then, I'd just finished the book, about a group of college friends who reunite on the occasion of two of them getting married. Set at a seaside estate (and all the posh that implies), the single night these friends spend together before the wedding drums up all kinds of complicated history - the stuff that makes us human and our relationships interesting.

The book's also got one of the best last scenes I've read in recent memory, so when I discovered the movie'd been made, I knew immediately it was one I would've welcomed to the festival had they been interested in screening with us.

Alas, that part of the plan didn't work out. (But I think we managed to have a pretty stellar festival regardless.)

But now, an official movie site has been launched, and Apple's got the trailer up and running. The film's looking at a September 10 limited release, and after checking out the trailer (I had some initial doubts about the casting, I'll admit), the next month can't go buy quickly enough.