September Festivals,
Learning Experiences

by David Kleiler

Going to film festivals and markets is as much a political act as running for office. It's good to get to know the wide range of industry professionals in an environment that combines business with pleasure. In Toronto, it was possible to see five movies, two seminars, and go to five social gatherings a day. At the IFP Market in New York there was a free happy hour after a days worth of seminars, presentations, screenings, and panel discussions. A genuine camaraderie develops, and one forms the kind of relationships that put a face to those emails and long-distance phone calls. It is essential whether you're in the business or a filmmaker who might have a film shown in the near future, just to learn how it all works, and to develop a support base. Filmmaker Dennis Lanson said that the IFP Market was one of the best learning experiences he's ever had.

This September's events, The 25th Annual Toronto Film Festival (Sept. 7-16) and the 20th Independent Feature Film Market (Sept. 14-22), were wonderful events.

It all begins in Toronto, the Thursday after Labor Day. This year it was the 25th annual edition of the Western hemisphere's largest film festival, comfortably settled in one of North America's most cosmopolitan cities. Augmented this year by the sight of over 500 plastic moose on the streets, the festival was truly festive. With almost 330 films to choose from, there was something for everyone's taste. To be sure, the festival served as a launching pad for Hollywood films like Cameron Crowe's ALMOST FAMOUS, and more specialized films like Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND and Robert Altman's DR. T AND THE WOMEN. And there were far too many press junkets. But there are many films shown that are not likely to get domestic distribution, like the hauntingly beautiful Indian film THE WRESTLERS, which won the director's award at the Venice Film Festival, and the difficult films from French producer Marin Karmitz, the experimental CODE UNKNOWN with the beautiful Juliette Binoche, and Jonathan Nosssiter's SIGNS AND WONDERS, one of two films at the festival starring Stellan Skaarsgard and Charlotte Rampling.

And there the usual films filled with sex Ð the most graphic, startling, disturbing, being banned in its native France was BAISE-MOI, a sort of porn version of THELMA AND LOUISE. It is one of the most kinetically fascinating films I've seen in years. Equally riveting is the unrated film by Harvard-grad Darren Aronofsky, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, based on a work by Hubert Selby Jr., author of LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN. These films may polarize audiences, and they both may be over-the-top, but in their portrayals of nightmare worlds they show that filmmaking is alive and kicking.

Aronofsky was the only New England trained filmmaker in Toronto. But it was great to see producer Sarah Green's two films, the Sundance acclaimed GIRLFIGHT and the Manchester-by-the-Sea filmed STATE AND MAIN, a witty, Preston Sturges-like satire of Hollywood by David Mamet starring Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker, William H. Macy, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. What is interesting is that both of these films played in Toronto, but neither of them played at the Boston Film Festival.

Another treat was a tribute to Brookline born and raised filmmaker Robert Beavers, who had been a longtime companion to the late experimental filmmaker Gregory Markapoulos. A retrospective of his extraordinary work was shown in three installments. In attendance at these screenings were two local programmers, John Gianvito of the Harvard Film Archive and Bo Smith of the Museum of Fine Arts. Bo has been going to Toronto for over 15 years. In fact, many Bostonians regularly choose Toronto over Boston. Journalist/programmer/teacher Gerald Peary goes every year. It was good to see Peter Keough of the Phoenix there Ð he was a juror for the international competition. Joe Zina of the Coolidge Corner Theater was there, as were Amy Geller and Alicia Potter. Why were so many influential New England film community members in Toronto while the Boston Film Festival was going on? The answer is obvious to anyone who understands what festivals are about Ð celebration, discovery, and interaction, as well as business and politics.

And there were some ex-New Englanders like Ari Newman, Susan Johnston (who knows how to a good time), Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman, who worked at the Phoenix for almost ten years, and Robin Alper, no longer at Echo Lake in Venice, California.

Other New Englanders present were entertainment lawyers Joel Shames and John Ives; Waterville, Maine's Ken Eisen of Shadow Releasing, The Railroad Square Theater, and the Maine International Film Festival; and Garo Nagogasian, the Boston area's premiere Hong Kong film specialist.

If Toronto's Film Festival had an incredible number of Boston area programmers and writers, New York's Independent Feature Project Market drew a lot of New England filmmakers.

In fact, three Connecticut filmmakers, Daniel Fine, Michael Harner, and Carla Stockton helped with the registration and volunteers in the preparation for a staged reading of their work, THE BAGEL KING.

There were three screenings of works-in-progress. First was Stefan and Christian Pierce's MARAKOSH INSALLAH (with Brad Anderson assisting in the editing), an intriguing look at Moroccan culture through the eyes of a young boy. Former Boston rock photographer BC Kagan was there with the largely Boston-shot MY LUCKY PORN STAR, a portrait of Randy West. My favorite was photographer Tom Curran's ADRIFT, an examination of his relationship with his Irish-American father. It promises to transcend the often narrow limits of personal documentary to achieve an universal appeal. Of course, all work-in-progress were looking for completion funding from buyers in attendance.

Dennis Lanson's road movie PITSTOP, which is making the regional festival rounds, was available at the video library as well as Ted Cormey's (WHAT I DID WHEN I WAS AWAY) script UNCOMFORTABLE.

The best film, and one of the best films of the year (and the market isn't known for having great feature films), was far and away New England filmmaker Kate Davis' documentary on southern transsexuals, SOUTHERN COMFORT. In the process of filming three couples, she discovered a love story unfolding, and the result was a film with a dramatic arc that is better than most narrative features have Ð one that is extraordinarily moving. It will open at New York's Film Forum in February.

While there were the regulars Ð Nina Adams for Film Fest New Haven, Robin Dawson and Tim Grafft of the Massachusetts Film Office Ð it was fun to see some first timers. Although Michelle LaMura Meek had been to the Market before, for the first time she had a booth for BuyIndies.com and Newenglandfilm.com. It was well attended.

Judy Laster and Garth Campbell from the Woods Hole Film Festival and Kat Thomas and Ed Slattery from Local Sightings and the Boston Underground Film Festival were also attending for the first time. For Judy and Kat they were able to see the New England film representatives function on a national scale, as well as scout films. In fact, the tireless Kat accounted for 49 films during the weekend she attended.

For anyone who has been fortunate enough to attend these two events (as I have for the last 9 years) one sees them as providing a professional experience that is both stimulating and rejuvenating. It is also necessary in the effort to build filmmaking in New England, an effort that is both economic and political.