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September 2003 Next Cinema LoungeThe Cinema Lounge meets Monday, September 8 at 7:00pm for "Summer Review/Fall Preview." Join us for our annual look back a the films of the summer and a look ahead to the films of the fall and holiday season. The Sundance Film Series 2003
Announced by Robert Redford at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Film Series has been developed as another extension of the overall Sundance mission to support the work of independent artists and offer opportunities for audiences to discover that work. It brings full circle the cycle of support that Sundance can offer filmmakers ranging from the programs of the Sundance Institute, including the Filmmaker Labs and the Film Festival, to Sundance Channel and its home entertainment line. Any proceeds from the program will go to the filmmakers and to support the programs of the not-for-profit Sundance Institute. Charlotte Sometimes--An Interview with the DirectorBy Linda Posell Looking for Filmmaking Talent: Are You the Next Kiarostami?By Jim McCaskill Report from the 57th Edinburgh International Film FestivalBy Jim McCaskill EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. They have rolled up and stored the red carpet
away. The 57th Edinburgh International Film Festival has come to an
end and all those films that had their premieres here have moved on
to other festivals and, with great luck, to a general release. The EIFF
richly deserves its place as the UK's number one film festival and Shane
Danielsen in his sophomore year as Artistic Director has selected films
that engage the mind as well as the eye. In the Rosebud section he has
given 36 new directors an opportunity to display their talent while
attracting veterans like Mike Hodges, Peter Greenaway, Oliver Stone
to the Scottish capital. A Brief Conversation with Alexander McCall SmithBy Jim McCaskill Report from the 30th Telluride Film FestivalBy Nance Granese There are no awards. The outline of the weekend's schedule is announced only 24 hours before the first film is shown. Final schedules for each day are rarely available before 1 am. 2003 marks the first time an honoree was announced in advance. There are no naked starlets, evening gowns or trashy jewels. And it takes place in a town with an airstrip so small that almost no one is brave enough to fly there. It's the Telluride Film Festival and it's terrific. The weather is perfect, the mountains are gorgeous, the movies are great, and the popcorn is always stale (go for the brownies and the Mesa Quesadillas instead). It is 9,000 feet above sea level, and the altitude isn't the only thing that takes your breath away: the mountains are spectacular. TTF takes place from the Friday before Labor Day through Labor Day. It's not quite a movie marathon, but its close. Films start at 5 pm Friday, then as early as 8:30 on the other 3 days, and you can see films until 1 am each day. The largest theater is in the local high school's gym; the smallest, in the high school's cafeteria. It's not as horrible as it sounds. All the venues enjoy state of the art projection and sound facilities. Except for the lack of stadium seating, they're better than most commercial houses. The least expensive pass (Acme) is $300 - it entitles you to all the shows at one of the largest theatres, and two films of your choice at the smaller theaters. There's a $600 Festival pass which lets you into any theatre, and then Patron ($3,500, of which $1,500 is tax deductible) and Sponsor ("major contribution") passes. The last two categories get freebies and mingling privileges, I guess. You don't need a TFF pass to see films. You can stand in line, hoping to get in after all passholders are seated, at $20 per film. And there are several free screenings, including an outdoor screening each night. I've always opted for the $300 pass, but am sorely tempted to upgrade. Next year's passes may well cost more; check the website as you make plans. Or, you can stick around after the festival ends and go to the 'After the Festival' festival and see six of the films for a $50 pass ($35 for local residents) or $15 each. Getting to Telluride is tough. The Telluride airport is good for small private planes, Hummers, and not much else. The closest "real" airport is at Montrose, about 90 minutes away, and it's not much. Denver is a 7-hour drive. Once you get to Telluride, you can park your car and walk. Accommodations vary from expensive to outrageously expensive, but if you start planning early enough, you may be able to luck into something affordable. Food is abundant and cheap or abundant and expensive; I usually opt for the former. Check the website for travel and accommodations information. There are several themes common to each TFF: Filmmakers of Tomorrow - Student Prints (sponsored by the otherwise much-maligned Tom Cruise), Calling Cards (short films from four non-American directors), Great Expectations (filmmakers to watch). Honorees - this year, actress Toni Collette, Krzysztof Zanussi (a leader in 80's Polish film), writer Budd Schulberg, and Ted Turner (for film preservation, not colorization). And a Guest Director this year - Stephen Sondheim. The most important common theme: movies, lots of them, some shown several times, depending on audience reaction. A partial schedule is available the day before TFF opens, and an official program appears at noon on opening day. However, only the first day's screenings are fixed in advance; most of the remaining screenings are To Be Announced. At the end of each day, the festival's organizers decide what films to show at each of the seven venues (ranging in size from 135 to 700 seats) the following day. Filmgoers scramble to the venues each chill morning, coffee in hand, peering at the bulletin boards, filling in their programs with the day's "TBAs." Every film is "presented" by a prominent film figure, usually someone associated with the film (if alive): directors and actors predominate. In addition to Collette, Turner, Schulberg, and Sondheim, this year's luminaries included Gus Van Sant, Chloe Sevigny, Sofia Coppola, Peter Sellars, Leonard Maltin (like Ken Burns, a regular), Peter Bogdanovich, Errol Morris, and at least a dozen directors from all over the world, talking about their films. In addition, panel discussions and Q&A sessions are scheduled throughout the festival. I saw 13 movies in 4 days. That's actually a wimpy standard, because I could have seen 4 or 5 more plus student films. If I weren't one of those people who insists on staying until the absolute end of the credits, the number could climb higher. The films I saw, in alphabetical order, were. ALEXANDRA'S PROJECT. It's Steve's birthday and after an early-morning family celebration, Alexandra sends Steve off to work with the promise of a birthday surprise that evening. And what an elaborate surprise she has in store. Alexandra has plotted a savage revenge on Steve, one that works quite effectively on him and on the audience. I've always thought of Australia as a kick-ass place, and couldn't believe that any woman would put up with a guy she hated for 14 years, but that seems to be the case with Alex. Truth be told, Steve doesn't seem like such a bad guy; a little bit of jerk, but no more so than normal. I hated this movie, and so did most of the other people I spoke with. Men were terribly defensive about it, and most women went out of their way to assure them that Alex was (1) overreacting, and (2) unnecessarily sadistic. Still, it was impossible not to watch, but I was so glad it was only 103 minutes long. Excruciating. THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS. A sort of Canadian Big Chill, this is the story of a group of fifty-ish friends who converge at the bedside of a dying friend. The film is not only about reminiscing, but also about what it takes to die well, which seems to include, among other things, unfettered access to heroin. This film revisits characters from an earlier film (DECLINE OF AMERICAN EMPIRE, 1986) which needs to come out on DVD and maybe INVASIONS will make that happen. Marie-Josee Crose won the Cannes best actress award for her performance in this film, though she could just as easily have won the most beautiful young woman on the planet award, too. A funny, warm, touching film, certain to be successful in the U.S., even though it's in French. This was one of the films that was universally liked, and that everyone was trying to see. ELEPHANT. One of the two movies at the festival eliciting the most widely divergent reactions. People either loved it or hated it, with a clear generation gap - kids liked it. This is Gus Van Sant's latest, a re-enactment of Columbine, filtered through Van Sant's peculiar lens regarding young boys. I found it trite (the three cool girls each eat one lettuce leaf for lunch and then go to the ladies' room to throw up) and exploitive (the killers share a kiss in a shower), but two very articulate teenagers convinced me that the film had merit for them. In a post-screening discussion, Van Sant said that he spent a lot of time playing video games with kids in an effort to understand what happened that day at Columbine High School; the problem with the film is that he doesn't provide any insight into what he may have learned. It was one of the kids at the festival who pointed out that the film showed no adults, other than one teacher, who engaged with the kids, "and no matter what kids say, they want their parents to take an interest in what they do." What is obvious is that all those video games colored Van Sant's film-making so that much of the film is filled with tracking shots following individual scenes' protagonists. The technique was ultimately boring, but apparently excruciating boredom is what Van Sant is trying to convey. The film was made without a script - Van Sant gave the kids an outline and had them improvise their dialogue - and Van Sant himself said that the tracking shots were "a substitute for a story." Last year, Cannes gave the top awards to THE PIANIST and Roman Polanski; this year, ELEPHANT and Van Sant. Go figure. FOG OF WAR. Robert McNamara, the Defense Secretary most closely identified with the American buildup in Vietnam, talks to Errol Morris, documentarian extraordinaire, about what he's learned. Subtitled Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert McNamara, the film is a reflection on the life and times of McNamara, and is in the same class as Morris' other brilliant work, THE THIN BLUE LINE. This film elicited strong reactions, regardless of age or political philosophy. All agreed it was up to Morris' usual standards, but some were incensed by it, believing that it was too easy on McNamara. I thought it was the best film at the festival. Another note: the film's introducer read a quote from Roger Ebert, likening Morris to Fellini and Hitchcock, among others. FOW demonstrates that Ebert is exactly right. It'll dominate Washington dinner parties for months, and is likely to be the full-length documentary to beat at the Oscars. GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING. For those of you who've been under a mushroom, or who just can't read, Tracy Chevalier's speculative novel of the great 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer (remember the show at the National Gallery the year of the Gingrich-Clinton government shutdown/showdown?) and his most famous painting is now, as they say, a major motion picture. The film stars Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson, both perfectly cast, but it is probably too slow to please anyone who (1) hasn't read the book, or (2) doesn't love Vermeer's paintings. I didn't read the book, but loving Vermeer's work, felt the film was so visually successful, that I didn't care that, as one woman said, "it doesn't have much of a story." Lovers of the book were disappointed because much is omitted. First-time director Peter Webber announced that "Tracy has seen it and likes it" even as he apologized for his changes. Due out theatrically in December, this film may have one of the biggest openings of the year, if all the book's and the painter's fans show up on opening day; the four festival showings of the film were all packed to the rafters. It may be this year's ENGLISH PATIENT - I don't think Elaine would stay awake, but I did. INTERMISSION. A few feckless buddies decide to commit a crime for wildly different reasons. Each character has a different storyline, all of which thankfully come together at the end as neatly as a Dickens novel. Directed by John Crowley, an award-winning Irish stage director, and starring several recognizable Irish film actors - Colin Farrell, Kelly MacDonald, Colm Meany, Cillian Murphy - and several not so recognizable but still wonderful, this was one of those surprises that make film festivals worthwhile. Funny, profane (they're Irish, after all) and violent (Farrell doing what clearly comes naturally), this is a movie that is sure to make it to an art theatre near you. Don't miss it. THE MORE THE MERRIER. I only saw this because I stayed around for Gus Van Sant's Q&A after ELEPHANT, and didn't have time to run to another theatre to catch LOST IN TRANSLATION (absolutely no seating once the film begins), but what luck! This film was the personal pick of Stephen Sondheim, this year's Guest Director. Directed by George Stevens, TMTM was nominated for Best Picture in 1943 and lost to Casablanca. I still won't quibble with the choice, but what a choice! Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, and Charles Coburn (who DID get an Oscar) may not be enough to get you to see this movie, but "Capra described [McCrae and Arthur's] heavy-petting porch scene as the funniest and sexiest in Hollywood history" so maybe that will help. Or what about this: 500+ people laughing out loud simultaneously at a 60-year-old comedy which seemed absolutely contemporary. It's only available on VHS, but maybe Telluride will convince someone to upgrade the print, re-issue the flick, and bring it out on DVD soon. Oh yeah, it's about the housing shortage in wartime Washington - Coburn plays Cupid for two youngsters who desperately need the help. Find it and see it. It's terrific. NOI ALBINOI. Noi is a teen-aged boy in a small town in Iceland, who'd probably be diagnosed as ADD and given drugs in the US, drifts from one boring event to another. He lives with his shotgun-toting grandmother because his father is an unreliable alcoholic cab driver. Noi doesn't get along too well at school because he shows up late, sleeps through classes, and doesn't take any of it seriously. But he's clever enough to get spending money by hot-wiring the one-armed bandit at the gas station. Suddenly a pretty girl appears in town, giving Noi a purpose in his life. Watching him figure out how to catch her attention and convince her to change her life is charming. The movie is either slow moving or leisurely paced, depending on whether you liked it. I did. OSAMA. Made in post-Taliban Afghanistan, this is a scathing depiction of life under the Taliban - more precisely, the life of women. A widowed doctor is not allowed to work, yet forced to provide for an aged mother and a pubescent daughter. She decides to dress her daughter as a son and to send her to work. The consequences when the girl is dragooned into a Taliban training school for boys are devastating. It's not a perfect film, but it's so engrossing and moving that its narrative flaws don't matter. Apparently the State Department wouldn't approve a visa for its director, Siddiq Barmak, to come to Telluride. Big mistake, because the Bush Administration need only show this film; it might unearth a great deal more support for his foreign policy. LES TRIPLETTS DE BELLEVILLE. Only the crabbiest of curmudgeons could dislike this fabulous animated film. It's funny, sly, tense, touching and charming. A joint project of Belgian, Canadian and French animators, Triplets was one of the best films at the festival. I don't recall hearing a negative comment about it. Champion lives in a tiny house with the world's most perfect grandmother. She devotes her life to finding things to engage her grandson's interest, and finally, she figures out that his primary interest is cycling. Years pass, and little Champion has grown into a Tour de France participant, with Grandmama's help, of course (every athlete should have such an inventive and devoted trainer). Champion is so talented that he is kidnapped in the midst of the race. Grandmama comes to the rescue, but only after a series of adventures of her own, during which she never loses her cool or her focus. Backed by a wonderful score, infused with subtle anti-Americanism (we're all fat and some of us are completely evil scoundrels), but never offensive, TRIPLETTS was one of the highlights of the weekend. SHATTERED GLASS. The story of Stephen Glass, the enfant terrible of The New Republic who made up stories, quotes, characters, and excuses. This is Hayden Christensen's bid to be taken seriously, and he certainly should be. He got the role because he told someone who told someone else that he was interested in playing Glass even before there was a script. Billy Ray, who was writing the screenplay, was ultimately asked to direct, and he picked Christensen after several meetings. The crucial performance in the film is that of Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Glass' boss, Chuck Lane. He's understated, controlled, not showy, and pitch perfect. I liked the film a great deal, finding it filled with tension, even knowing the story and the outcome. Some thought it was a "movie of the week" treatment that revealed nothing new. In the post-screening panel, the real Chuck Lane (now at The Washington Post) fielded the most questions, rather than Ray or Sarsgaard, because people just can't resist the opportunity to ask Washingtonians why we're all corrupt jerks. STRUGGLE. An Austrian film is a rare phenomenon; apparently Austrians only see 1.5 films per year. If this is the typical Austrian film, one can see why. The film has two stories (and several loose ends). The first half focuses on a Polish immigrant, working illegally, who is trying to make a life for herself and her daughter. The second half follows a lonely man seeking intimacy in all the wrong places (among them, a seedy sex club). The first half was interesting, the second uncomfortable, to watch. I'd be surprised if this makes it into theatres. Most people were interested in the beginning and then either left or slept. TOUCHING THE VOID. Two young (21 and 25) Brits decide to climb a Peruvian mountain that hasn't been climbed before (or since). They get happily to the top, but have the mother of all disastrous descents. One climber leaves the other for dead. The dead climber isn't dead at all, he just has a savagely broken leg, and he's in a crevasse. Joe Simpson, the climber, introduced the film, so I'm sure he's alive, but it made no difference to the degree of tension: it was unbearable. This brilliant documentary-cum-re-enactment will have you on the edge of your seat, hanging on, lest you fall. Afraid of heights? Hate the cold? See it anyway. This is one of the Cinderella stories of the festival: it was shown at the free Abel Gance outdoor theater on the first night of the festival, and a distributor picked it up. Lucky you. Other films at the festival which I didn't see, but which had some kind of buzz: DISTANT. A Turkish film about two men dealing with personal issues. One man told me, "Maybe it would have made sense to me if I were Turkish." DOGVILLE. Lars Von Trier's latest, with Nicole Kidman, among many others. The festival screened what will be the director's (3-hour) cut; it's being edited for theatrical release. Cutting may be a good thing, as there were many complaints that nothing happened in the first hour of the film. Most people didn't like it at all ("don't waste three hours of your life like I did"), but it had a few champions. THE GENERAL. A Buster Keaton silent that everyone loved, shown in honor of Ted Turner. Maybe it will have a new release - certainly Turner will show it on TCM. Everyone who saw it raved about it. I'M NOT SCARED. A young, impoverished Italian boy is confronted by shattering evil. Universally liked, this film was directed by Gabriele Salvatores, who won the 1991 Oscar for MEDITERRANEO. LOST IN TRANSLATION. Very well received, though some criticized the ending. It will have opened in DC by the time you read this report, so you may already have made up your own mind. RECONSTRUCTION. A bored husband creates a fantasy that his wife is unfaithful, and then she sort of is, isn't she? Reports were mostly confused and unenthusiastic. YOUNG ADAM. A new Ewan McGregor movie in which McGregor falls in love with someone else's wife, they have a lot of sex and a lot of people get hurt. No one said anything nice about this film, though some people said it was laughable. That wasn't a compliment. That's my report. Looking forward to next year and to seeing FOG OF
WAR, TRIPPLETS, and TOUCHING THE VOID in a theater near me. Calendar of EventsFILMSAmerican Film Institute Silver Theater In September the AFI concludes its Akira Kurosawa films, the Alain Delon series and the tribute to Gregory Peck. The 3rd Annual DC Labor Filmfest will be held at the AFI from September 4-7. Beginning September 18 is the annual Latin American Film Festival. Special shows include Baraka (Ron Fricke, 1992) in 70mm, The Animation Show (Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt) and The Same River Twice (Robb Moss, 2003). Freer Gallery of Art Films from Central Asia is the theme for September. On September 7 at 2:00pm is Tenderness (Elyer Ishmukhamedov, 1967); on September 12 at 7:00pm is The Daughter-in-Law (Khodjakuli Narliev, 1972); on September 14 at 2:00pm is Kairat (Darezhan Omirbaev, 1988) shown with July (Darezhan Omirbaev, 1991); on September 26 at 7:00pm is The Fierce One (Tolomush Okeev, 1973) and on September 28 at 2:00pm is Takhir and Zukhra (Nabi Ganiev, 1945). See below for more Central Asian films at the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art Films from Central Asia include Without Fear (Ali Khamraev, 1972) on September 6 at 2:00pm; Orator (Yusup Razikov, 1998) on September 6 at 4:00pm; Jylama (Amir Karakulov, 2003) on September 7 at 4:30pm; My Brother, Silk Road (Marat Surulu, 2001) shown with The Fly-Up (Marat Surulu, 2002) on September 13 at 3:00pm; Boys in the Sky (Zoulfikar Musakov, 2002) on September 20 at 4:00pm; The Swing (Aktan Abdikalikov, 1993) shown with Assan-Ussen (Aktan Abdikalikov, 1997) and The Dog Was Walking By (Aktan Abdikalikov, 1989) on September 27 at 2:30pm. Jean-Luc Godard's latest film, Eloge de l'Amour (2001) is on September 20 at 2:00pm and September 28 at 4:00pm. On September 21 at 4:30pm is Go West, Young Man (Peter Delpeut and Mart Dominicus, 2003). National Museum of African Art On September 11 at 7:00pm is a program of four short films by Ethiopian filmmakers examining the turmoil of Ethiopia's recent history, issues of police brutality and interpersonal relationships. Several of the filmmakers will attend to moderate a discussion. On September 18 at 7:00pm is Door to the Sky (1989) about a Moroccan emigree, who returns home for her father's funeral and turns his palace into a shelter for women. On September 25 at 7:00pm is Cuban Roots/Bronx Stories (2000), about the Cuban American experience. Museum of American History The stories of Asian Americans in contemporary America: the son of Chinese immigrants, Washington State Governor Gary Locke talks about the benefits and burdens of being "the first"; Filipino immigrant doctors in Oklahoma talk about rural life; actress Lela Lee. A discussion will follow with the filmmakers and some of the featured individuals. September 10 at 6:30pm. DC Jewish Community Center On September 9 at 9:00pm is My Terrorist (Yulie Cohen Gerstel, 2002), a video about a member of the El Al flight crew who was attacked by a terrorist and her attempt to find out what made him do it. A discussion will follow the show with Laura Blumenfield, author of Revenge: A Story of Hope and Rabbi David Blumenfeld, a victim of a terrorist shooting in Jerusalem. on September 23 at 7:00pm is Back to Gombin (Minna Packer, 2002) a video documentary about a group of 50 children survivors of the Shoah who return to their parents' village in Poland. Pickford Theater The Pickford Theater continues its series of "Rivers, Edens and Empires" films with Westward Ho The Wagons (1957) on September 16 at 6:30pm, Man in the Wilderness (1971) on September 18 at 7:00pm; and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) on September 19 at 6:30pm. A new series about flight begins with The Dawn Patrol (1938) on September 23 at 7:00pm and Only Angels Have Wings (1939) on September 26 at 7:00pm. Check the website for others. Goethe Institute Two programs of films by Lotte Reiniger are on September 8 and 16 at 6:30pm. The first program of shorts includes Carmen (1933), Papageno (1935), Sleeping Beauty (1954), Caliph Stork (1954), The Grasshopper and the Ant (1954) and Dr. Doolittle and His Animals (1928). A longer film and a documentary are on September 16 at 6:30pm, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), and The Art of Lotte Reiniger (1971). For those unfamiliar with Lotte Reiniger, her pioneering silhouette films are quite unique, animated from cut paper images, with 300,000 individual shots required for one film. A series of films by Turkish directors working in Germany begins in September with Sevda Means Love (Sinan Akkus, 2000) shown with Foreign Tour (Ayse Polat, 1998) on September 22 at 6:30pm. The series continues through October and November. FILM SEMINARS Smithsonian Associates On September 14 at 2:00pm is a half-day seminar "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break: The Life and Art of W.C. Fields" presented by James Curtis, author of a new biography about W.C. Fields. Call 202-357-3030 for more information. FILM TALKS Smithsonian Associates On September 18 at 7:00pm is "An Evening with Barry Levinson" presented by Murray Horwitz, director of the AFI Silver Theater who will interview Mr. Levinson and screen clips from his films. Mr. Levinson's first novel Sixty-Six will be available for signing. Call 202-357-3030 for more information. FILM FESTIVALS The Georgetown Indy Film Festival The Georgetown Film Festival starts September 18 and runs through the 22nd. See the website for more information. This on-line version of the newsletter was last updated on September 4. Please check periodically for additions and corrections. Previous Storyboards
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