Cinequest Wrap Up 06

'06
16th FESTIVAL WRAP-UP by Hester Schell.
(San Jose, CA)
March 15, 2006

Cinequest threw themselves one heck of a sweet 16 party. This year was awesome with truly wonderful programming, easily matching audiences with specific interest areas and categories of film content: National and International; Experimental and Commercial. Everyday I faced challenges as to what to see next, what to leave out, what to send another writer to cover. And for hospitality, and ease getting around the venues, pleaseant times waiting in line, access to after hours parties, Cinequest puts on the best show. Standing in line is the best place to meet and greet, I ran into several friends, fellow film makers, former students, new friends. The volunteers kept us well herded into the many screens going full tilt bogie for nearly two weeks. Certainly the weather drove us indoors. Perfect film weather. While a few years ago we had record heat, this year we were surrounded by stunningly gorgeous snow capped peaks for a week. Yes, it was perfect weather for going to the movies. And everyone in San Jose did. The downtown pedestrian mall was alive. Parking was abundant or scarce depending on the time of day. My parking karma is in check, so I was thrilled to park my car for the weekend and walk everywhere, from hotel to screening room to special event. Next time I'll take the train. Zero emissions weekend, something we all need to participate in. Next year, let's put bicycle generators on the main floor and we can all sit and spin while we chat and schmooze. Spin your way to a grand prize: butt relief from sitting in the dark for days on end. So many movies, so little time.

This year's festival was a home run. I saw over 30 shorts and features, and loved most of them. Shorts are totally in, man, like, man, the bomb. Hot ticket into festivals. Remember when a feature was proceeded by a cartoon? No? Well, some of us do and I hope the theatre owners and distributors sit up and take notice at just how much audiences are seeking out shorts. Cinequest programmers added shorts to most of the features programs, at times pairing a one-hour piece with a half-hour short. Just about all of the shorts programs, and there were a lot, were sold out. I counted 9 various short programs with anywhere from 8 to 15 shorts per screening. A huge amount of work with an enormous number of artists working on them. Ask your local movie house to add shorts to the features programming and we can create markets for all the genius bursting about out there. So much fun, so much creativity. Potential income for filmmakers.

ARTISTIC LICENSE.
by Michael Wohl
A really fun ride through the DMV. This clever little film has charm, humor, and a chorus number at the DMV!
23 minutes of hilarity. This is a hysterical comedy by former Bay Area filmmaker, Michael Wohl (WANT). Now living and working in Los Angeles, Wohl sets this piece in the Department of Motor Vehicles. The guy who takes the drivers' license photographs sets out to make a positive change in the world AND find creative fulfillment in his job - no matter what. Complete with a musical theatre style dancing chorus number, working at the DMV isn't the end of the line for mundane jobs. His creative photography melts the heart of an over bearing boss. Ah, If only we all had a DMV photo we really liked. A really fun ride through the DMV.

ADDISON'S WALL. by David Waingarten
Shot in Portland, Oregon, ADDISON'S WALL, (61 minutes) by David Waingarten, is about an emotionally distraught 9 year old boy trying to get through the grief after his father's suicide. Traumatized, the boy has chosen to stop speaking. While his mother struggles to bring him back to a normal life, his classmates tease him. Teachers have enough of his note writing. The boy skips school rather than be confronted or forced to speak. His mother tries the best she can to bring him back to life after dad's death. The scenes between the mother and son are heart wrenching: her fear she of loosing him, grief at her husband's suicide, the challenge of being a single mother. Shot in black and white, this film is gorgeous with brilliant performances by Ritah Parrish as the mother and Colton Lasater as the son. The film is tight, suspenseful in the style of Hitchcock. Remember his name: David Waingarten. We'll be hearing again from this talented young man. At the "Q & A" following the screening, David mentioned he auditioned over 150 boys to find his lead.

DAILY SPECIALS. by Rebecca Salzer
This film succeeds as a film, as a dance and, most enjoyably, as dance on film.

Local dancer Rebecca Salzer has created a wonderful film with DAILY SPECIALS (9 minutes). Shot by local DP Svetlana Cvetko, the film is set in the produce section of a supermarket. We shop for children, partners and spouses the way we pick out fruits and vegetables. Poignant and funny, shot on super 16, Cvetko's color capture is perfect. My favorite moment was when a young couple, looking for children, place two well behaved darlings in their shopping cart. The children tease and bicker with each other, and the couple puts them back on the shelf. Rejected by other suitors, a lonely guy sits like a rotting melon when his perfect match finally finds him and their new love spins and leaps through space and time into their future. Choreography, also by Salzer, is stunning. This film succeeds as a film, as a dance and, most enjoyably, as dance on film.

BEST OF THE 48 HOUR FILM PROJECTS.
Well, frankly, it's getting old. You know the format, one line, one prop and one location. Ready, set, go. After several years of the same formula, I think this genre has run it's course. Too much repetition and not enough wit. It's been done, proven...a team of really smart, creative film folks can get together and make a movie from start to finish in 2 days. Cut.

THE RACIST BRICK. by Adrian Brodie and Dave Derewlany
Celebrities are in the shorts action as well. Academy award winner, Adrian Brodie, collaborated with Dave Derewlany on this poignant and moving short. When a brick is thrown through the living room window of a white man, he attempts to give the "racist" brick to his next door neighbor, a black man, whom he assumes is the intended victim. But is he? This film, at about 3 minutes captures rampant racism in a middle class urban neighborhood. Watch for this at other festivals. Celebrity recognition and great filmmaking should translate into other festivals screening this little gem.

VOICEMAIL. by Michael Wilde
Sound moves the plot and pulls the action.

Michael Wilde's 19 minute short is really clever, as sound moves the plot and pulls the action. The sound track is composed entirely of this guy's voicemail messages. We follow him through a time in his life where he's lost his job, his dignity and does what he needs to do to survive, including betraying his friends. Keep an eye out for more from this talented writer/director. Great car shots around San Francisco. Thoroughly entertaining and innovative.

ON TO THE DOC. FEATURES -

Two documentaries form Bay Area filmmakers really stand out.

Kari Nevil's highly entertaining CAR STORIES does for stock cars and classic care enthusiasts what "American Choppers" has done for motorcycles. The project is a pilot for what Nevil hopes becomes a cable series. When you feel the need for speed, this doc delivers. See the box to the right for more from BACN critic, Candy Campbell:

SOUND MAN by Don Hardy is the story of Jack Mullin, who developed magnetic recording tape based on an invention he picked up in Nazi Germany during World War II. Rock musician Stephen Stills credits the entire rock and roll recording industry on this one invention. This is an informative, well made documentary that needs to be included in film
history programs. One piece of technology changed everything.

AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.
This is a modern adaptation of the classic play by Ibsen. In Norwegian with English subtitles. Seek it out at other festivals. Really well made and well acted. If you haven't read this classic, get to the library. Written in the 1880's, the play exposes corporate greed and individual responsibility to protect public health and safety. This modern adaptation moves the play to a modern village in Norway, and uses contaminated water as the foil. Extremely well done, beautiful cinematography. And when was the last time you heard Norwegian?

WALKOUT.
HBO strikes again. And this time it is a direct hit. Edward James Olmos accepted the Maverick Spirit Award following a screening of his new feature, WALKOUT. This feature film will broadcast starting this Sunday, March 18th, 8pm on HBO. Shocking in content, based on true events, this film will go far. This is the story of Chicano high school students staging walkouts in the late 1960's following the Watts riots and Vietnam war protests. The students demand access to bathrooms during the lunch hour, and equal access to books and facilities that the high schools in more affluent white neighborhoods already had. They want fair and equal chance at getting into college. Did you know that the police beat the kids when they walked out of class? Olmos has the original news footage, suppressed for decades. And now it's out and the LA police department has more to answer for. Despicable and shocking. Racism is alive and well in Los Angeles schools. Don't miss this.

CHALK.
Watch for it at other festivals.

It's tough being a teacher. This Texas comedy by Mike Akel, lets us in on why so many teachers don't make it past 3 years on the job. This film takes us inside a suburban high school as we follow three teachers throughout a school year. And it's brutal. Anyone who comes back year after year to take the abuse hurled at them by high school students deserves a congressional medal of honor. This feature earned additional screenings at Cinequest due to it's popularity with audiences. This film has a very broad comic appeal and is commercial enough to get distribution. It's funny and tragic. All of us need to see this one.

WEST WITTERING AFFAIR.
No one writes it better than the Brits.

David Scheinmann brought us a British sex-comedy of errors. Extremely well acted, well written. But alas, the camera work and lighting just didn't add up. It was frustrating to watch the unintentional digital rack focus combined with too much hand held, made this viewer nauseous. Otherwise this would be a fun film to catch. Mistaken identities, miss matched lovers; All the great ingredients of great sex-comedy. Would love to see some of it re-shot. This script is fantastic. Human sexuality is funny beyond funny.

ASYLUM
a film in English and Kurdish with English subtitles
Written, directed and produced by Nigel Roffe-Barker
Reviewed by Candy Campbell

No Place To Hide

-Genocide vs NIMBY...is there no place to hide?
-The law vs compassion...where is the line?
-Yahweh vs Allah....is there a difference?
-Marxism vs Democracy...is there a perfect political system?Do two wrongs make a right?Why do bad things happen to good people? For that matter, is there such a thing as a ‘good’ person?These and so many other questions are poured into one full length film, based on yet another tragic saga from the news.

In true Indie Film style, this sensitive work raises as many questions as it answers. We are introduced to the plight of the Kurds, target of genocide by the Arabs for decades. And why? They are ‘different’. The animosity echoes the complaints of Catholics vs the Protestants in Ireland, the blacks vs the whites in US or S Africa, both groups having the professed belief in the One True God, whatever name He is given. An excuse for base behavior ? It is racism, pure and simple. The hate spills over as the refugees become pawns in the UK immigration system: they wait in line for 6 hrs and unwittingly give their application papers to the wrong person. Said papers are then ‘lost’ by the Home Office and a warrant goes out to arrest these men, who have dutifully registered their addresses with the police, in an attempt to immigrate lawfully. Clearly, these men are guilty of no crime other than seeking political asylum. They run. They hide in a church. They find a temporary solace.

Because the film is based on true events, there is no point in critiquing the story line. Yes, it drags occasionally, but so did the inevitable police standoff in north London drag on for nearly 2 weeks. This is a compelling and emotionally truthful film, well-acted by an international cast, filmed in color with a noir flavor.Considering the complex subject, it would be more difficult to cut any of the 112 min.

If I were a political science, history, philosophy or theology teacher, I would introduce this film as a catalyst for discussion for students high school and up. A deeply moving film.

      What Is Freedom?

      Filmmaker Michael Rogers, who played water polo at Stanford under the coaching of a member of the 1956 Hungarian team, began with an idea of doing a piece on freedom. He succeeds by defining it in terms with which everyone can identify: family, friends and their favorite sport. FREEDOM'S FURY deals with the Water Polo playoffs between the USSR and Hungry at the 1956 Olympic Games. Sound dull? Not on your life.
     Newspapers the world-over followed with three inch headlines the game elicited. Blood gushing from the head of a Hungarian player mirrors the blood gushing in the streets of Hungary the same year. It is as if the fate of the Hungarian people were being decided in the pool that day. But the actual game is the climax at the end of act two. The lead-up is a fascinating expose’ on Hungarian life and times in and around 1956, expertly researched and retold with ample archival footage, voice overs and interviews by the teammembers. Act three deals with the recent reunion (sponsored by Sports Illustrated) between the remaining team members from both sides, and of life changes since the fall of the iron curtain.
     Anyone who doesn't remember, or who is too young to know, should see this film to get a feel of what the Cold War was all about. One teammember talked about the Russian “People’s Democracy," laughing sardonically. “Every word was a lie. It was not of the people, and it was no democracy!” These Cold War survivors value freedom in a way many in the USA have never known, simply because they lived without it for so long. One relates how he marveled at the newspaper articles in the West; he’d never read so many sides of an argument. If you love democracy, you will love this film.

What Is Man?

        Talented James Franco directs, stars in, produces and co-authors (with Merriwether Williams) an interesting new work. THE APE is a tale about the easy decent of man into animalism.
        Our hero is named Harry. (Ironic, as he becomes physically more and more , well...hairy, but less like Harry.) Harry dreams of becoming the next Dostoyevsky. So,he separates from his wife and son, ostensibly for 6 months, in order to write the great American novel. And the twist: he finds his NYC walk-up flat is also home to, you guessed it, an ape. Er, gorilla, to be exact...a foul-mouthed, cigar-smoking, porno-loving, Hawaiian shirt-and-tennis-shoe-wearing gorilla (played wonderfully by Brian Lally).
        At first, this film comes across as nothing more than a sitcom pilot, and a very funny one at that. But don’t judge too quickly.   By the end of Act two, Harry assumes many brutish qualities: he drinks to oblivion, he swears (like an animal?), he bathes infrequently, he screws his boss (on her desk, for all to hear), he takes up smoking and porn and he writes day and night without sleep, thinking he has become the King of Beasts. In reality, he’s taken the road to Loserville. This narcissism sabotages his marriage, of course. Left with only his alter-ego, the comedy becomes dark, very dark.
      THE APE was first produced in 2003 as a stageplay at Playhouse West Repertory Theatre in North Hollywood, and it probably works better as such, since the realism of film thwarts our viewers suspension of disbelief with this obtuse premise. And although Franco gives an exceptional performance, if this film gets picked up by the Big Boys, I’d suggest casting our hero a decade older. This would serve to extend the tragedy and pathos of the drama. Overall, the Franco-Williams team writes with great understanding of the seriocomic. Look forward to more good times in Franco’s next feature: “Good time Max."

ADVENTURE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CAMERA

In MILK AND OPIUM, filmmaker Joel Palombo escorts us to a set right out of the Arabian Nights. Starting with a small village in the desert of norththwest India, in the state of Rajasthan, outside the ancient carved sandstone walled Fort surrounding the city of Jaisalmer. (And what a difference film makes over dv ! You can almost smell the air and taste the food.)
The story is part reality-show ( people arrived or never showed up and events happened synchronistically) and part fiction, as the story morphs to fit the weather, the talent available, and the intrinsic wealth of possibilities that arise from the fact that the stars of the show are actual wandering minstrels.

Our hero here is a 14 year old Sufi boy named Swaroop. ( Swaroop Khan, who plays a version of himself, and wins our hearts in the process.) He wants to be a Manganyar singer like his uncle (Nizam Khan). Uncle Nizam reluctantly agrees to take him on one of his minstrel journeys and we get to tag along. But this is no Disney adventure. They walk, through the desert, on foot, to a village where Nizan’s two musician friends live . (Mohamad Khan, a real-life notable Manganyar vocalist and Manjoor Khan,recognized as one of the most outstanding Manganyar drummers.) Here, Swaroop is told to wait with the ancient grampa while the big guys smoke pot and chew some opium and plan their other trip. Not surprisingly, details get lost in the planning, but as the sun rises, they start off. There is a powerful lot of walking and less water-drinking and eating than what Americans would expect on such a trek. And this is just the first leg of a very loooong journey. One can not possibly guess where it will lead. Such musing make up a large part of the wonder and delight of this film. It is so different. While Palombo sticks to the three act form, the layers of sights, sounds and wanderings, even when tedious, serve this unusual subject.

Also featured is an Indian guitarist of great report, Deepak Castelino, who helped compose part of the score and some of the end vocals.

One of the exhilarating parts of attending a film festival is getting up close and personal with so many of the filmmakers. Joel Palombo lives in New Delhi and teaches high school fine art classes several months of the year. Naturally, as an artist, he has a need to express his view on what life reveals to him. He also has the need to challenge himself as an artist. He recalls that for some time he had an ‘itch’ to make a film, but he wasn’t sure about what. One day, he attended an Indian folk-music concert in Delhi and was so impressed by some of the talent, he rushed backstage to talk them into being in a film he hadn’t yet written. And that is how Joel Palombo became a filmmaker. Of course, that begs the question: what’s up for this year summer vacation?

WHAT RICH KIDS CAN DO
Andrew Jenks was 19 when he ‘found himself’. He did this with the help of his extended family, who presumably fronted him money for professional audio/dv equipment, and a couple of friends who agreed to accompany him on a most unusual journey for a person his age. Andrew Jenks, Room 335 (catchy title)is a video journal of Jenks’ month-long stay in a retirement home, in order to look at life from both sides and ask the Big Questions.

According to the press release, 'Andrew Jenks was a young man with no direction, taking antidepressants and consistently seeing psychiatrists and therapists, in a continual, fruitless search for meaning in his life.' This fact was only once briefly mentioned on camera, when Andrew’s psychiatrist shook his head and stated he wouldn’t recommend such a course of action for the boy. His antidepressant therapy was never mentioned. It would be interesting to note if he quit cold-turkey (not recommended), or needed more or less of the mood-altering substance during/after his stay. So much for establishing conflict.

Tension builds,of the comic kind, as Andrew faces a considerable number of rejections when attempting to book a place for the film’s action: “You say I ‘m 45 years too young?” (This could have been a very short film!) But he finally finds a place savvy enough to know a good PR move when they hear it, and he sets off south to enjoy an assisted living facility in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

The next 70 minutes or so is no surprise to anyone with an elderly relative in such a facility. The cross-section of Americana reside here. Some are grumpy, some are optimistic, some are clearly non compos mentis. As sincerely as I was tempted to be fed up with this movie, I kept getting pulled back in when deeper layers of connection began to happen between the octogenarian set and the young whippersnappers. And then, as if by Divine Appointment, one of the key players in our game of life, dies in hospital. Okay, that is a cold-hearted comment, especially for a nurse. But as a filmmaker, I marveled at the luck of having a perfect act two climax. I shared this with my brother (not a nurse), who said it was ‘predictable’. (And added, ‘That’s why there’s an ambulance waiting with it’s motor running at all of those joints.’ )

Through it all, Andrew and friends interact wonderfully well with all the folks they meet. Room 335 has a sweet sincerity that begs for a sequel. The audience wants to know what happens next!

PAPA OOO MAO MAO
In The Passion Of The Mao, filmmaker Lee Feigon creates a mockumentary that melds the styles of Mel Brooks with the Monty Python crew . This zany, yet equitable, look at the dictator of China attempts to shed new light on his foibles as well as his triumphs. (‘Triumphs’ was Feigon’s word, not mine.)

The life and times of Mao Zedung (pick your favorite spelling) covers all his 76 years and concentrates on the 25 years of his iron rule, using interviews, stock footage and animation. Just when you think the film has settled down to business, another hysterically funny cartoon animation bursts through the archival portrait or inanimate object. It really is a laugh a minute.

In a more pensive sense, the distinctions between where Mao started (humble beginnings) and who he became (through hard work and good hit-men) are quite impressive. Feigon makes a case that Mao is different from other heinous dictators and the mentality that got them there. He tries to show the ‘softer side’ of Mao, the man, using Chinese propaganda footage from Mao’s heyday. To hear Feigon tell it, the Cultural Revolution in mainland China (civil war, then intellectual/entrepreneurial genocide) was equal to the 60’s advent of race-riots and flower-power in the USA. Further, he seems to postulate that the character of Mao could better be framed in a cult of worship (although tongue-in-cheek)instead of disdain, since he did so much to elevate the status of The (poor) People (all who were left after everyone else had been killed). Hence the reference to the Passion of the Christ, which, based on the after-chat among viewers who are not religious, found off-kilter, to say the very least.

Another terrific part of the Film Fest experience is the Q+A period following. This one had a distinguished panel of University professors, all experts in the field of History and / or China. Three were American by birth, one was a 40-something Chinese. The Chinese professor had lived though the Cultural Revolution as a boy, and had wonderful memories of going to the country each summer to work. He said they made friends with the villagers and did “Peace Corps-like projects” and that more Americans should be thinking of doing such activities, instead of “just getting a nice house and car.” Score one. Several elderly Chinese in the audience took offense to his naive position. One man, who escaped to Taiwan and now lives in San Jose, stood and rebutted his recollection. He reminded the young man that he was not yet born when the creeks in those villages were red with the blood of every teacher or merchant who opposed Mao. The Chinese professor debated that by the time the elder man had left the country, and a few years had passed, the people really were happy, and they did have freedom of speech... “except you just couldn’t say anything bad about Mao.” That line got a bigger laugh than any of the farce on film.

WHO'S THE GOOD EGG?
The first clue that this film is worth watching is the talent involved. Kurtwood Smith (the father on That 70’s Show) stars as Benno, an ex-con, who has adopted Alice’s Diner as his post-penitential cell. He’s quite happy here, working with Alice (Beth Grant) and Scotty (Richard Edson), the ex-juvenille hall grad. They comprise his surrogate family. But no sooner does Benno really start to appreciate what a good thing he’s got going, than Alice decides she can’t afford to continue this run-down urban relic.

Joe (Eyal Podell) makes the fourth player in this tight ensemble cast, as the businessman-wannabe. He dislikes his lowly status, especially within the group at The Diner. By day, Joe works as the delivery man in short pants. By night, he attends school to realize his aspirations. He’s not too bright, but he’s a good student. He has a plan and he knows how to use it.

By the time Benno finds out about Alice’s plan to close the diner, Joe already knows and has made her a cash offer. (Seems his relative wants to help him up the ladder of sucess.) Hurt, angry and frustrated, Benno feels the squeeze of having no money of his own to save The Diner from Joe and his ‘friendly Rat’ themed restaurant scheme. The walls of Benno’s world start to close in, so he reverts to survival mode. One call for help to the familglia of his jailhouse past (Thomas Kopache) whom he has, until now, so valiantly avoided, solves the problem. Or so it seems...

David Scott Hay first produced HARD SCRAMBLED as a stageplay at the Jump-Start Theatre in San Antonio, where it garnered several regional awards, including Best Play in 1998. This film-version utilizes the same low budget set (basically one-room). First time filmmakers could take a lesson from the pros: it doesn’t have to be elaborate to be effective. (Think “Twelve Angry Men” or “The Caine Mutiny” .) In the tradition of Hitchcock and Mamet, this psychological thriller will keep you squirming til the end. Way to go, Mr Hay.

A`COLUMBIA is one of many new indie films blending a skeleton plot with actors’ improvisation. Our un-hero-like protgonists, Duncan (played convincingly by Terrence Bergeron) and Jay (well-acted, as well, by Ryan Byrne) are two twenty-eight year old Americans who, for lack of any specifics, take off one day to see Columbia and maybe score some righteous cocaine. They have no expectations of doing anything as entrepreneurial as dealing drugs. They are just a couple of party-guys who just want to have fun.

Preparation isn’t a biggie with them. They take along a bag and a backpack each, none of which contain a map, a guidebook or a plan of any sort. Add to that the not-so-small problem that neither speaks Spanish (well, a few words, maybe) and the set-up is ripe for complications.

Next follows the first real bump in the soon-to-be rocky road, when Duncan absent-mindedly loses his backpack containing his passport and credit cards. This part of the plot is necessary for the angst and conclusion that follows, but it comes across pretty lame to anyone who’s ever travelled internationally. The absurdity of their just taking off without hardly an effort to reclaim the lost essentials, serves to show how immature these characters really are. When they reassure each other with, “It’ll be fine,” the red flag appears. We now know nothing is going to be fine. Far from it.

So begins the odyessy that ends in disaster. The boys (it would be presumptuous to call them men) go from town to town in search of drugs and women. (In fact they find so much cheap coke that one night they go through four grams between the two of them.) As for the women, their search turns up nada. But there are plenty of nubile teenage girls. The fellas pick one each with which to become romantically involved. (Except for one drugged up night when Duncan, the antagonist, has a fling with three nubile teenagers.) The classic parental restriction of the 17 and 18 year olds is shown as the blockade against true love, but truly, this is no Romeo and Juliet. The secret Duncan reveals at the end of Act Two serves to explain his odd behavior, in an attempt to justify his untimely end, all in true melodramatic fashion.

Ryan Byrne succeeded in winning an Audience Choice Award from the fans at Cinequest for A` COLUMBIA, his first film. While the sights of a place like Columbia is a feast for North American eyes, sadly, he says it’s based on a true story. Perhaps that’s one of the core problems? Even when the dialogue is improvised, it reads on the nose. Despite a worthy first effort, this, like so many other indie films, want the meat of talented screenwriters. Please, give us something besides “Dude” and “Fuck”! Give us lines we can take home and press in a book. Thankfully, editor Tom Gould made sense of it all. He gets my vote of praise.