Recently in Festivals Category

Eugene Hernandez, Brian Brooks and Peter Knegt of indieWIRE hard at work on my couch on the eve of the 17th Hamptons International Film Festival.

William Shatner poses after receiving the Nashville Film Festival's 2009 President's Impact Award, a specially designed Gibson guitar hand-painted by artist Mandy Lawson. This year's fest saw the world premiere of "Willian Shatner's Gonzo Ballet" from director Pat Buckley. Shatner was playful during the pre-screening presentation, remarking that in the 1950's, he used to travel around with a fretboard, always intending to learn how to play. He never did, but at the screening he promised....himself, he'd learn. Alas, a rumored performance of Shatner and Ben Folds at the screening's after party at the Gibson Guitar HQ never unfolded, as Folds was a no-show and Shatner only stuck around for 15 minutes. That said, word had it he was due back in LA at 10am the next morning, so I was disappointed but can't be pissed at Bill! That said, I really would have liked to meet the legend, as his CD "Has Been" was in my top ten albums of 2004. More on the film in my indieWIRE Nashville Film Festival round up!

Long time friends Jon Voight and Burt Young share a moment during the often moving tribute to the late, great director Hal Ashby (Coming Home, Harold and Maude) at the 2009 Sarasota Film Festival. Voight and Young co-starred in Ashby's 1982 film Lookin' to Get Out, the director's cut of which was recently discovered in the UCLA Film Archives and world premiered in Sarasota the night before the tribute. Ashby's daughter Leigh MacManus was on hand to accept the SFF's Master of Cinema award on her father's behalf and gave a stirring thank you speech wherein she spoke of never knowing her father and how much the closing moments of Lookin' to Get Out meant to her. I won't spoil the film for you (director's cut out soon on Warner Home Video!), but suffice to say, there wasn't a dry eye in the house and both MacManus and Voight were brought to tears during the evening.

One of my favorite nights of the year on the festival circuit is the annual Texas Film Hall of Fame cocktails and dinner and auction. Don't ask me why I love it so much, I just do. Part of it is because it is a benefit for the Austin Film Society and I think they're a very worthy group. Also, the indieWIRE guys and I, along with other friends, like UT prof John and new SXSW Film Festival & Conference honcho Janet Pierson get to mingle, have some drinks, a dinner and watch a better than average awards ceremony and auction, which is cool, too. Last year Law & Order SVU's Mariska Hargitay was moved to tears when accepting for her mother, Jayne Mansfield.

This year's honorees include Wes Anderson's Rushmore, which is receiving the Tiffany & Co. Star of Texas Award, Larry Hagman, Powers Boothe, Catherine Hardwicke and Billy Bob Thornton. About Boothe a friend of mine once said: "They should create a TV channel for him and just call it Powers Boothe." I kind of agree.

Other expected guests for the evening include Dennis Quaid, Keith Carradine, John Cusack, Linda Gray, Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Brad Leland and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson who will host a new feature for the evening, Party in the Red Room with actor and writer Paul Saucido. This year's host is Thomas Haden Church.

From 2002-5, the event was hosted by former Texas Governor, the late Ann Richards who passed away in late 2006. In 2007 the award was emceed by Richards' close friend and 2001 inductee, Liz Smith and in Richards' honor, the organizers handed out some special party favors:

A week into the Berlinale and the general critical response ranges from "meh" to bloody awful. I'm more in the so-so camp, having seen a few films that spoke to me in certain ways, but not having seen anything that blows me away. Nothing like The Counterfeiters from 2007 or Hallam Foe from the same year or Offside, from 2006. So far nothing makes me say "Wow!"

Bertrand Tavernier's In the Electric Mist suffers from a number of maladies which combine to turn a potentially gripping murder cum supernatural thriller into a slightly muddled minor disappointment, albeit one with enough acting, direction and meaty plot to make it an interesting and worthwhile disappointment with much of that let down coming in the form of a rather unsatisfying reveal of the killer.

The film centers around Tommy Lee Jones, who is treading familiar territory as Dave Robicheaux a hard boiled police lieutenant in New Iberia Parish, Louisiana. Jones has a strong moral core, a laconic disposition and a troubled past (this time it's alcoholism) and Jones could play this role in his sleep but to his credit, Jones rarely phones in a performance and this one is no difference. He's compelling to watch for the duration.

After sixteen years of festival going, you'd think I'd understand about opening night films. In short, they suck. For every Four Weddings and a Funeral, there are about 400 Enemy at the Gates and for every Good Night and Good Luck, there are a few dozen stinkers like this year's Berlinale opener, The International, directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). The thing is, that's ok. The German public will likely be charmed by the film's many Euro locals (included Berlin) and it's quite possible that the subtitled dialog is better than the original English, although somehow I doubt it. Screen Daily's Fionnuala Halligan has it right when she writes "the dialogue itself seems to come from Karate Kid." One of the choice "mal mots" being "Sometimes you have to know which bridge to cross ... and which to burn." Ugh.

I recently spent and all-too-short 4 nights at the 2008 Denver Film Festival, my favorite fall fest, and as usual, it was a whirlwind of friends old and new, films, panels (I was on one), food and of course, booze. Those of you who know my boundless and wholly justified affection for this festival know that one of my favorite places to be is the nightly example of drunken debauchery known as the Late Night Lounge. Alas, I was not in the running for the Richard Turner Perfect Attendance Award and never got up to any real debauchery, so I'll have to make up for it, next year!

Here's me at the LNL during this year's Democratic National Convention, feeling appreciated and being flattered by one of my favorite people. I know, not actually germane to the matter at hand, but Jenny wasn't there this year and the more pix I can post of beautiful women kissing me, all the better, I say!

This year there was an added attraction at the Late Night Lounge...Karaoke. Of course, knowing that Michael Lerman was attending with the Canon Brothers I should have known that Lerman would figure out how to get karaoke going at the LNL and sure enough, a borrowed patch chord later, Lerman had his laptop hooked up to the projector and varied song stylings ensued. No judgments here, only pictures. As you might expect, it's a little Lerman-heavy....

Speaking of...at one point Lerman commandeered the mic during the DJ set by He who will not be named and did a rocking version of one of his karaoke staples, "One Night in Bangkok." The DJ didn't like it, but he was a douche, so no harm, there.

I have recently made myself a promise (that I hope I will not break, like many others) to pay attention to and post about, the wonderful film-related events going on in NYC. Not like the Reeler did, of course. I ain't that NY centric, nor could I hope to be that disciplined or comprehensive. But since I (for now) live in NYC and New York is a magnificent city for viewing world cinema.... Why not shine a little light on it, every now and then?

For such a tiny (and new, founded in 1991) country, Macedonia has already developed a rich film history, and this year the Macedonian Film Fund and International Film Circuit are presenting a Macedonia Film Festival in New York, unspooling 10 features and an Academy Award nominated short from November 20th through the 23rd. Among those on offer are Venice Golden Lion winner Milcho Manchevski's Before the Rain (1994) which will close the fest and Sergej Stanojkovski's Kontact and Stole Popov's Happy New Year. Manchevski and Popov will be on hand at the fest for Q&A sessions.

For more info on the films screening at the fest, check out the festival website.

There are several films I wish I could see, here but alas, I am on my way to Denver for their festival, which I will of course be covering here!

I love coordinated clothing....

Stambler, Goldwyn & Quinn at the party for Sascha Paladino's Throw Down Your Heart.

Cinevegas & Sundance's Trevor Groth & Denver Film Fest honcho Britta Erickson, later that same evening.

One of the highlights of SXSW was a screening of Steve James & Peter Gilbert's IFC Films release At the Death House Door, a doc about Texas Pastor Carroll Pickett who served as the chaplain at the "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville, TX where he presided over 95 executions. It's as compelling an argument against the death penalty as I've seen and Pastor Pickett's transformation from supporter of capital punishment to staunch opponent is well chronicled against the backdrop of the execution of Carlos De Luna, a convict Pickett believed was innocent. The film follows Steve Mills and Maury Possley, two Chicago Tribune reporters who uncover evidence strongly suggesting De Luna's innocence.

Pastor Pickett and Steve James following the screening:

Cinelan Filmmaker Advisory Board members Morgan Spurlock and Steve James outside the SXSW screening.

Well, I'm only 7 1/2 months late, but better late than never, right? Here then is the first of a series of photo posts from the 2008 SXSW Film & Music Festivals!

Spoooookey Hotel! The historic Driskill Hotel as seen from 6th St. (I hear it's haunted!)

Agnes says "Hello!"

Happy-Go-Lucky
Director: Mike Leigh
Screenwriter: Mike Leigh

Producer: Simon Channing-Williams
Cinematography: 
Dick Pope

Editor: Jim Clark
Music: Gary Yershon

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Samuel Roukin 
U.K., 2008, 118 minutes

Mike Leigh is one of my all-time favorite filmmakers and I recently had the pleasure of making his acquaintance. I mentioned in a brief conversation just prior to a press conference for the 2008 New York Film Festival screening of Happy-Go-Lucky, that I had been obsessively watching his BBC "television plays" from the 1970s (Abigail's Party, Nuts in May). While he expressed his appreciation, he also expressed some rancor. He was very frustrated with the quality of those tele-plays we have over here, complaining that they were unauthorized and of terrible quality. Attempting to be as upbeat as possible, I exhorted how the impact of the dramas shown through and, really, who cared about the quality. He thanked me tersely, and I could tell that he was somewhat less impressed. When moments later I asked if I could take a quick photo of him and his star, Sally Hawkins, they politely looked my way and I could hear him mutter to her, "he writes for a web site."

Perhaps the most original and technically striking films I saw at Rotterdam was Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. A truly original style of documentary, the filmmakers trained 17 cameras of various type on one man during a football (soccer) match between Spanish giants Real Madrid and their league opponents Villareal. That man was Zinédine Zidane, the French maestro of the midfield who is one of, if not the greatest, players of his generation.

Read the rest of my review from the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival, here.

The following is a review of Matthew Bonifacio's Amexicano which played at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and recently played a run at New York's Quad Cinemas. Check here for upcoming screening information as it becomes available.

Director: Matthew Bonifacio
Screenwriter: Carmine Famiglietti
Producers: Matthew Bonifacio, Carmine Famiglietti
Cinematography: 
William M. Miller
Editor: Morty Ashkinos, Ilya Magazanin
Music: Kerry Muzzey
Cast: Carmine Famiglietti, Raúl Castillo, Jennifer Peña, Michael Aronov, Manny Perez
U.S., 2007, 84 minutes

Amexicano tells two stories, the first a light hearted ethnic comedy about the growing friendship between an Italian American and a Mexican immigrant both struggling with their co-dependency for each other and the stronger need for a paycheck. The second story is a much darker one about just how precarious the life of an illegal immigrant can be. While this often charming indie film presents a vivid and convincing portrait of both sides of the coin, its turn in narrative might feel abrupt to some. If that's the worst that can be said about director Matthew Bonifacio's film which premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival last year, then he should feel proud of the outcome.

So it's that time again. It snuck up on me because I was unable to make it up to Toronto this year which is in and of itself, a minor tragedy. I love the Toronto International Film Festival and all its attendant studio pomp and circumstance. But that's no matter. What's passed is past. It's New York Film Festival time and for pure film geek glee, it's right up there. Sure, some films suck and the program is often lacking in real surprises, but honestly, that's not what I really look for in the festival. Should it take more chances? I think so, yeah. For example, the omission of Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York has ruffled a few feathers this year and the the overall predictability of the selection from year to year has been bemoaned on the circuit for years. That said, it's not an industry event. It's for the public and none of these films have played in New York. All in all, it's one of my favorite film events of the year and not just because I love the opening night party/after party.

I don't always go to Cannes or Toronto and as a result, the NYFF often has 15-20 films I haven't seen and this year, it's got more than that. Not only that, but almost every film in the main selection has a full press conference following the press screening, something which only a handful of festivals provide. It has also provided me with one of the more surreal moments of my life in the form of John Ritter in 1996.