* Antônia, a Brazilian film about the rise of a four-girl hip-hop group. It’s not as much a making-of-the-band as a straight-ahead drama, and the music is awesome.
* Hula Girls was one of my favorites of the festival, which shouldn’t be a surprise, as it’s your standard “underdog group moves towards successful performance” story, and I am a sucker for that. A group of Japanese girls learn hula dancing for the Hawaiian-themed tourist center to save their town economy. It may not be original, but it is utterly charming. On a technical level, it looked very much like it had been filmed in the 60s, which was a nice touch.
* The Big Combo and The Damned Don’t Cry made up the noir double feature, and both were well-worth seeing with a full house. Good times.
wicked jaws 
On a technical level, it looked very much like it had been filmed in the 60s, which was a nice touch.
That’s what I found charming as well! Plus, I’m a total sucker for that sort of film. There were tears.
It is the genre guaranteed to get me every time. It’s why I love all those cheesy dance movies, even though I know better.