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Has Anyone Seen "In The Family"?

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:13:54 GMT

Earlier today I was chatting with a friend about the state of movie journalism. We compared notes on how we find out about new films and filmmakers today, often relying on friends and those we follow online to share interesting perspectives on new and old movies. News outlets, movie sites and blogs often cover the same general crop of films coming from a handful of distributors that keep the marketplace jammed with dozens of new releases weekly. Even though there are so many more movies being made, where do you look when you're hoping to discover something fresh and new or reconnect with something old or just a bit off the beaten path?

I hadn't heard of Patrick Wang or his first feature "In The Family" until about an hour ago while I was walking home from a screening at the Film Society. Scanning social media, I caught a Tweet from Filmmaker Magazine linking to Paul Brunick's New York Times review of the film. It opens with a note that the movie was rejected by more than 30 film festivals before finding a home at the Hawaii International Film Festival and then traveling to the San Diego Asian Film Festival where it won the best narrative prize.

Intriguing.

Brunick, a champion of Andrew Haigh's "Weekend" with a stellar Film Comment review earlier this year, was truly taken with "In The Family." In tomorrow's review in the paper of record, he writes, "Mr. Wang’s slow-reveal psychological drama isn’t just a showcase for his excellent ensemble cast. Beautifully modulated and stylistically sui generis, 'In the Family' is also one of the most accomplished and undersold directorial debuts this year."

"This is a career to keep an eye on," Brunick underscored. Ok, this is getting interesting. Paul is a friend whose taste I trust.

Perhaps skipping a wider fest strategy, the filmmakers decided to book the film themselves. A quick Google search when I got home revealed a few loving reviews of Wang's self-disributed "In The Family." Variety called it "a remarkable debut," in a review from the Hawaii fest. The film runs 169 minutes and is composed of just 300 shots, many of which are more than 10 minutes long, the review says.

"Every once in a while, a movie comes out of nowhere and hits you like a ton of bricks," praised filmmaker Dave Boyle, who was at the San Diego Asian fest with his own film. He was so moved by "In The Family" that he wrote a review for Hammer to Nail that surfaced in Filmmaker Magazine as part of a partnership between the two sites. "This is a monumentally ambitious film," Boyle enthused, "that tackles some of the biggest themes imaginable — identity, family, sexual politics, life itself — but presents itself in such a modest and unassuming way that its emotional wallop feels genuine and earned."

"In The Family" opens tomorrow at New York's downtown Quad Cinema with four showings daily. Fortuitously I'm scheduled to have lunch with Paul Brunick tomorrow where I expect we'll talk more about this new American indie. I'm already sold on it and will be at the Quad at some point on Sunday to see it for myself.

Thanks!

NOTE: There's a major redesign of the indieWIRE website coming soon and I've decided to send this blog into (perhaps an eternal) hibernation. Since joining the Film Society of Lincoln Center one year ago this week, I've found it harder and harder to devote the time and energy required to keep this particular blog alive. It's had a most vibrant seven year and a half year life since debuting in March of 2004 and I really enjoyed writing here as a more personal extension of my work on the main indieWIRE site. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook anytime, along with my contributions to FilmLinc.com. Cheers!

Telluride 2: Class of '11

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:52:25 GMT

Actors and auteurs, critics and programmers gathered for Telluride's annual group photo yesterday outside the Sheridan Opera House, but Alexander Payne nearly missed his call time for the photo. He rushed over right after the rousing Saturday morning screening of his latest, "The Descendants," joining Lynne Ramsay right up front nearly George Clooney and Tilda Swinton as official photographers and local fans alike snapped shots on cameras and cell phones. "The Descendants" played big in Telluride yesterday, stirring a lenghty standing ovation. More on that movie soon.

Photo by Eugene Hernandez

Telluride 1: Patience

Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:28:49 GMT

The script for Bela Tarr's latest, "The Turin Horse" (co-directed with Agnes Hranitzky), was 35 pages long and 10 of those were about wind. At least that's how one of the producers introduced the film yesterday at the Telluride Film Festival. (After the screening she told me that the script was actually 56 pages long and 20 of them were about wind. You get the idea.)

"The Turin Horse," a slow, two and a half hour, black and white film by a master of challenging cinema, was the first film to screen on the opening day of the Telluride Fest. About 450 people settled into the Palm theater at the town high school for the showing and the fest's Jason Silverman warned them that after seeing "The Turin Horse," they'd view the rest of the Telluride Film Festival through an entirely new set of eyes. Undaunted by an art film with a thin narrative, just a couple of folks seemed to bail out during the showing.

I have friends who are dying to catch a glimpse of what may be Tarr's final film, while others warned me that it is a bore and a waste of time. A famous European festival head apparently called the opening twenty minutes of "The Turin Horse" among the finest ever seen in a movie.

On the big screen at The Palm theater yesterday, "The Turin Horse" was a knockout.

Save for the howling sound of a treacherous wind, the "The Turin Horse" (Hungary's contender for the foreign language Oscar) is essentially a silent movie. It unfolds over six days inside a modest rural farm house that protects a monstrous carriage driver and his dutiful daughter from what is described as "an apocalyptic windstorm."

"The Turin Horse" will test your patience and challenge the way you watch movies. It may also make you crave boiled potatoes. My advice, give it a try, see it on the big screen, and judge for yourself.

Graham Leggat. Farewell, Pal.

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:29:13 GMT

The passing of Graham Leggat yesterday is not just a loss for his family, friends and the city of San Francisco. Graham's death at the young age of 51 is a blow to the burgeoning art house cinema movement in this country.

You can't sum up someone's life in a blog post. But, does that mean you shouldn't try to offer some insight?

"We're interested in healthy film culture," Graham told me simply last Spring during a conversation in the Bay Area. From his base in San Francisco, he was working with a dynamic team to support and engage communities of cinephiles with that clear goal. And their work has been inspiring others at film societies and organizations all around the country. It is some comfort to know that his impact will be felt for a long time and he has colleagues who will continue to carry out his vision.

I was serving as a juror at the San Francisco International Film Festival last May and prior to the extended on the record conversation for indieWIRE, Graham told me that he was battling cancer. We'd been friends dating back to when our professional paths first crossed in the mid 90s in New York, all the way through his work at the Museum of the Moving Image, MoMA, Gen Art, AIVF, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and ultimately at the San Francisco Film Society, including our collaboration on SF360.org.

Graham had this impeccable ability to instigate creativity, bring clarity to a situation and move people. He was an important advisor and collaborator for me and my colleagues over many years. His loss leaves a profound void.

"If we can figure out what our essence is, and we're getting closer and closer to it, that's going to be something that is meaningful for many people," Graham related last year, sitting alongside colleague Rachel Rosen during our SF conversation. I'd asked him to reflect on the dramatic change he'd instigated at the San Francisco Film Society and he summed it up right off the bat as, "Having a daily impact on the community and cultural life of the city that you're in."

"I think what we do is a massive benefit for society," Graham continued broadly. "I say sometimes that we think of ourselves as a machine for the creation of pleasure. We're out there to give people pleasure. Discriminating taste is a vehicle for the delivery of pleasure. Good service is a vehicle for the delivery of pleasure. Warmth, compassion… We like people to have a good time in many, many different ways."

The official announcement from SFFS today (the full press release is posted below) was a piece of news that so many of us have been dreading since the day just a few weeks ago when Graham resigned his post atop the San Francisco Film Society. The pain of Graham's passing is not just the hurt of losing such a terrific guy, but realizing that he won't be part of continuing to reap the harvest of his hard work.

"I'm sore that things have gone this way (towards mortality, that is) as I have so many things I still want to do at SFFS, but there it is," Graham wrote to me in an email message last month. "I can't do the job anymore...so I have no choice but to get out the way." The following day we traded email again. "You know how much I love my work, have always loved what we do, and I'm sorry it has to end like this," Graham told me. "Still the work will go on, [Film Society of Lincoln Center] and [San Francisco Film Society] will go on, and it will be glorious for all to behold (but for the inevitable dumb mistakes, that is).

There's so much more to say, but I'll leave it there and to conclude, I'll just quote Graham:

"Thanks, pal."

---

Press Release:

GRAHAM LEGGAT (1960–2011)

San Francisco, CA – Graham Leggat (b. March 12, 1960), executive director of the San Francisco Film Society, a national leader in exhibition, education and filmmaker services and presenter of the San Francisco International Film Festival, died at his San Francisco home on August 25, 2011, after an 18-month battle with cancer. He was 51.

“For nearly six exciting and transformative years, Graham Leggat led the San Francisco Film Society with irrepressible determination, dash and design,” said Pat McBaine, president of the Film Society’s board of directors. “His vision, leadership, passion, work ethic, tenacity, imagination and daring along with his colorful language and wicked Scottish sense of humor have indelibly marked our organization with a valuable legacy and left it in the best shape—artistically, organizationally and financially—in its 54-year history. Graham was fiercely proud and appreciative of his years at the Film Society and frequently referred to them as the best years of his life. It’s no accident or coincidence that those years have also been the best years in the life of the Film Society. Our board and staff are deeply saddened by the loss of our leader, colleague and friend but inspired by his example and memory to carry on his work and build on his accomplishments and vision.”

“Graham’s boundless energy and intellect made him just the person to inspire and excite the staff and board to reach new heights and develop our assets,” said Melanie Blum, former president of the Film Society board of directors, who organized the executive director search that led to Leggat’s appointment in 2005. She remembers writing to Graham that the Film Society was about to celebrate its 50th anniversary and was at a critical juncture in its history. It needed an enlightened leader who could grow the organization into a new and powerful year-round cultural institution. She found that leader in Leggat. “He was a true visionary and a wonderful friend.”

Leggat was appointed executive director of the Film Society October 15, 2005. He immediately architected a strategic plan that enhanced the Film Society’s reputation with both filmmakers and audiences, and produced remarkable results. In the five years that he was executive director the staff grew from 11 to 35. The board of directors nearly doubled, from 12 to 22. The operating budget expanded from $2 million to $6 million and was balanced each year. Contributed income increased from $1 million to $3 million. Membership rose 98 percent, ticket sales rose 62 percent and receipts for Film Society Awards Night, the organization’s largest annual fundraising event, rose 42 percent. The San Francisco Film Society was transformed from a two-week-a-year film festival producer into a year-round cultural institution with an increasingly national impact, providing programs and services in three areas of activity: exhibition, education and filmmaker services. An article in the San Francisco Examiner in October 2010 noted that the Film Society “has made a transformation worthy of an adventure movie.”

In exhibition, the International is the crown jewel and the longest-running festival in the Americas. In the past five years SFIFF has honored a plethora of illustrious guests including Kevin Brownlow, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Duvall, Roger Ebert, Ed Harris, Werner Herzog, Spike Lee, Mike Leigh, Peter Morgan, Errol Morris, Walter Murch, Robert Redford, Walter Salles, James Schamus, Terence Stamp, Oliver Stone, Tilda Swinton, Christine Vachon, Elijah Wood, Evan Rachel Wood and Robin Williams.

Under Leggat’s leadership, the Film Society expanded year-round programming and now presents a robust Fall Season of seven focused festivals including Hong Kong Cinema, Taiwan Film Days, the NY/SF International Children’s Film Festival, French Cinema Now, Cinema by the Bay, the San Francisco International Animation Festival and New Italian Cinema.

Earlier this year, Leggat finalized a long–sought goal when the Film Society announced a historic lease-signing that will enable the organization to offer its acclaimed exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs and events on a daily year-round basis for the first time in the organization’s storied 54-year history. On September 1, San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema will open its doors in the supremely stylish state-of-the art 143-seat theater located in the ultra-contemporary New People building at 1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan) in Japantown.

The Film Society now has a year-round education department that offers media literacy programs to over 10,000 K-12 students, college and university programs to help students transition into the professional filmmaking arena and more than 120 classes and workshops per year in film craft and film studies for filmmakers, filmgoers and cinephiles of all ages and skill levels.

Leggat spearheaded the signing of an agreement with Film Arts Foundation in 2008 that led to the creation of the Film Society’s Filmmaker Services, which offers a full suite of programs and activities designed to foster creativity and further the careers of independent filmmakers. Filmmaker Services oversees one of the largest film grant programs in the country and through 2013 will have dispersed more than $3.5 million to narrative and documentary filmmakers. In addition, through a partnership with the San Francisco Film Commission, production office space has been provided for dozens of local filmmakers, while several hundred more have benefited from a vibrant fiscal sponsorship program, which provides production and development assistance.

Leggat’s vision also encompassed publishing the nation's only regional online daily film magazine, SF360.org, founded in 2006 in partnership with indieWIRE. The publication now features more than 1,000 pieces of original arts journalism and serves a broad audience of filmmakers, industry professionals and aficionados from around the world who visit the site, subscribe to the weekly newsletters and participate in the growing SF360 community. A variety of stories on Leggat will be appearing on the site in the coming days; reader thoughts and tributes can be posted in comments at SF360.org.

Graham Charles Alexander Leggat was born March 12, 1960 in Epsom, Surrey. Born of Scottish parents, he grew up in England and Scotland. His father Graham was a renowned international soccer player and later TV commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. His mother Marilyn was a teacher and later a human resources executive at a financial company. Following the end of his father’s playing career in the mid-’70s, the family immigrated to Toronto, Canada, where Leggat attended high school, excelled at athletics and captained four high school teams (soccer, football, basketball and rugby).

Having discovered the Beat writers, and through them Zen Buddhism, Leggat decided to trek to Northern California for college. After a Beat-like cross-country bus ride, he started at Stanford University in 1979, “looking,” he said, “for enlightenment, but instead found preprofessional determination and high school–like anxiety, so dropped out, not once but twice.” The first time, after his sophomore year, he backpacked across Europe and picked oranges on Crete. A year later he dropped out again, moved to Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and studied for three years to become a Buddhist priest before returning to Stanford where he edited the campus literary magazine, played varsity soccer, won the outstanding undergraduate in the creative arts award and graduated in 1987 with a BA in modern English, American literature and American studies. That fall Leggat enrolled in the master’s program at Syracuse University to study fiction writing with Tobias Wolff. He graduated in 1989 with an MA in English and creative writing.

After graduate school Leggat worked as a freelance journalist then landed his first film job working with Richard Herskowitz and Mary Fessenden at Cornell Cinema, one of the country’s best college film exhibition programs. The day that he walked into their office he knew, “that (he) had found (his) career, vocation and joy.” As coordinator for the Central New York Programmers Group he organized screenings and conferences, curated film packages and arranged for filmmakers to tour exhibition venues throughout upstate New York.

A temporary job at the New York Film Festival in 1994 drew him to New York City and led to executive positions at the American Museum of the Moving Image (director of public relations), the Museum of Modern Art (assistant director, department of communications) and the Film Society of Lincoln Center (director of communications). Leggat served on the boards of Media Alliance and the Association of Independent Film and Videomakers, was a programmer at the New York Video Festival and the Shorts International Film Festival, and helped found the Gen Art Film Festival. He was the associate publisher of Film Comment magazine, contributing editor for Filmmaker magazine and columnist for the New York Daily News. His first novel, Song of a Dangerous Paradise, was published in January 2007; rare copies of this sci-fi adventure sell for nearly $200.

At the 2009 International Film Festival Summit, Leggat received the Director Excellence Award, presented to the film festival director who has made considerable contributions and a lasting impact on his/her film festival and independent film, with an emphasis on festival growth, new programs, organizational structure and overall vision.

In early 2011 the French consul general in San Francisco, Romain Serman, made Leggat a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an honor awarded by the French Minister of Culture, in recognition of his significant support of cinema.  

Leggat is survived by his parents Graham and Marilyn of Niagara Falls, Canada, son William and daughters Vhary and Isabelle, sister Alexandra Leggat of Toronto, devoted partner Diana Chiawen Lee, former wife Ellen Hughes, mother of his daughters and former wife Lillian Heard, mother of his son.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Leggat’s memory may be made to the San Francisco Film Society. Condolences should be sent to inmemoryofgraham@sffs.org or c/o Jessica Anthony, SFFS, 39 Mesa Street, Suite 110, The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129.

A memorial service, open to the public, is planned for late September.

Graham Leggat Favorites
Films: The Leopard, Blade Runner, Miller’s Crossing, The Tin Drum, The 400 Blows, Alien, Cold Water, Talk to Her, The Royal Tenenbaums, In the Mood for Love, 2046 and hundreds more.
Writer: Tobias Wolff
Musician: Tom Waits
Songs: “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Get Me Away from Here I'm Dying,” “My Dad, I Fucking Love My Dad”
Karaoke songs to perform: Radiohead’s “Creep,” Sid Vicious’s “My Way” and the Clash’s “Guns of Brixton”

"Paradise Lost": A New Ending

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 11:46:48 GMT

Filmmakers Joe Berlinger (pictured, right) and Bruce Sinofsky (pictured, left) are in Arkansas now witnessing the conclusion to their eighteen year documentary, "Paradise Lost." What an appropriate way that was worded in an HBO press release this afternoon. The complete release is included after the jump below.

The third installment in the "Paradise Lost" saga following the conviction (and now freedom) of Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelly would have screened at next month's Toronto International Film Festival with evidence that should exonerate the West Memphis 3. A new hearing was scheduled for this December leaving "Paradise Lost: Purgatory" with a cliffhanger. Would a judge that had already ruled against them so many times finally give them another chance in the face of surprising revelations that should set them free?

The trio were not only charged with killing three young boys back in the mid-90s, but Echols (pictured, center) was on death row. In a new interview, he says plainly in the new movie that he'd be dead already were it not for the attention generated by the films dating back to the first movie in 1996. The case drew international attention and became a cause célèbre. Now, with Berlinger and Sinofsky on hand to capture today's dramatic developments in Arkansas, their trilogy has a dramatic conclusion with the three men freed today.

"Eighteen years and three films ago we started this journey to document the terrible murders of three innocent boys and the subsequent circus that followed the arrests and convictions of Baldwin, Echols and Misskelly", said Joe Berlinger in an HBO statement today. "To see our work culminate in the righting of this tragic miscarriage of justice is more than a filmmaker could ask for." Co-director Bruce Sinofsky added, in a statement, "Today, we along with HBO are humbled to be a part of this remarkable outcome."

The film will play other fests after Toronto and then air on HBO in January.

JOE BERLINGER AND BRUCE SINOFSKY IN COURT TODAY TO WITNESS THE CONCLUSION OF THEIR HBO DOCUMENTARY, PARADISE LOST

Filmmakers To Change Ending As Decision Is Handed-Down

Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelly set free

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory set to air on HBO January 2012

Jonesboro, Ark (August 19, 2011) – Critically acclaimed HBO Documentary "Paradise Lost" filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky were in court today to witness the stunning conclusion in which, after 18 years in prison, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelly, known as the West Memphis Three, were set free.

The award-winning HBO documentary series "Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" (1996) and "Paradise Lost 2: Revelations" (2000) spawned a worldwide movement to free the West Memphis Three for wrongful murder convictions. Set to debut on HBO in January 2012, "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" will have its theatrical premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival with a number of prestigious festival dates to follow this Fall. This film tells the entire story from the arrests in 1993 to the growing movement, through the entire appeals process and the uncovering of new evidence, concluding with their release.

As Damien Echols notes in the film, if not for the "Paradise Lost" documentaries, “…these people would have murdered me, swept this under the rug, and I wouldn't be anything but a memory right now."

On May 5, 1993, the bodies of three eight-year-old boys were found next to a muddy creek in the wooded Robin Hood Hills area of West Memphis, Arkansas. A month later, three teenagers, Jason Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelly, were arrested, accused and convicted of brutally raping, mutilating and killing the boys. Fraught with innuendoes of devil worship, allegations of coerced confessions and emotionally charged statements the case was one of the most sensational in state history. The films sparked a national debate regarding the innocence or guilt of the West Memphis 3.

With the support of HBO, the filmmakers have stuck with the story over an 18 year period making these compelling films in order to continue to shed light, raise awareness and spur debate about the events that transpired at that time and in subsequent years after the convictions.

“Eighteen years and three films ago we started this journey to document the terrible murders of three innocent boys and the subsequent circus that followed the arrests and convictions of Baldwin, Echols and Misskelly”, said Director and Producer Joe Berlinger. “To see our work culminate in the righting of this tragic miscarriage of justice is more than a filmmaker could ask for. Added co-director Bruce Sinofsky: "Today, we along with HBO are humbled to be a part of this remarkable outcome.”

Premiering at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills went on to win many accolades after its HBO broadcast, including receiving Emmy and Peabody Awards, a DGA nomination and was named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review.

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory is directed and produced by Joe Berlinger. Co-directed and produced by Bruce Sinofsky. Edited by Alyse Ardell Spiegel; Director of Photography Bob Richman and producer/second unit director Jonathan Silberberg. Featuring songs by Metallica. For HBO: supervising producer, Nancy Abraham; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.

Countdown to "Carnage"

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:28:14 GMT

Before his new film "Carnage" opens The 49th New York Film Festival on September 30th, across town MoMA will offer month long retrospective of the complete work of Roman Polanski. The series starts on September 7th.

"This view of the world as something menacing is present from his debut feature, 'Knife in the Water' (1962), through his award-winning 'The Ghost Writer' (2010), wrote MoMA in its announcement today, "And yet the depth of feeling in his Oscar-winning Holocaust film 'The Pianist' speaks for itself. Like Alfred Hitchcock, who is in some sense Polanski’s stylistic mentor, the threat of chaos is always overlaid with wryly absurdist, dark humor—and frequently a triumphant humanism."

Pictured: Roman Polanski directing Carnage. Image courtesy Sony Pictures Classics.

Art House Expansion in Seattle

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 07:21:42 GMT

It's been quite a year for big city art house cinema, so far. Leading U.S. fests and film organizations are building out their infrastructures with enhanced year round programming, picking up on the work already being done by numerous film organizations all around the country.

In June, the Film Society of Lincoln Center opened its new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, while next month the San Francisco Film Society is opening its new year round venue. Now, Seattle is unveiling even more ambitious expansion plans.

At the same time that SIFF opens its new one screen Film Center, Seattle will simultaneously expand to add three more theaters after taking over the nearby Uptown Theater, a recently shuttered historic theater that originally opened in 1926. They're branding it SIFF Cinema.

Friend Carl Spence, artistic director at SIFF, called me the other day to tip me off to the news ahead of today's announcement. (full press release after the jump)

At January's Art House Convergence Conference ahead of this year's Sundance Film Festival, I felt the growing momentum coming from the many art house oriented folks from around the country. See Michael Moore's Art House Declaration (signed by attendees at the conference).

Next year, when folks gather once again in January in Utah, there will be even more to discuss.

In my humble opinion, and as I told Carl on the phone the other day, this is a terrific moment for collaboration to bolster a growing movement that needs wide support to survive and thrive.

The SIFF Cinema press release follows.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SIFF Acquires Historic Seattle Theater to Compliment Soon-to-Open Film Center

Seattle, WA, August 7, 2011 - SIFF is excited to announce the acquisition of the historic Uptown Theater in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood. The historic neighborhood theater will re-open to the public beginning October 20, 2011 in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the new SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center, ushering in a new era of film in the Northwest. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn stated, “SIFF is one of Seattle's true treasures not only for the work they do in film and education, but for being a leader in our community and saving the Uptown Movie Theatre. The leadership that SIFF is demonstrating should not only be recognized but applauded.”

Originally opened in 1926, the Uptown Theater was one of Seattle’s oldest and most cherished cinemas until it closed last winter. SIFF will begin programming at the new SIFF Cinema at the Uptown in October of 2011 as part of the SIFF Cinema brand, making the transition this fall out of its current location at McCaw Hall. The newly opened theater will provide SIFF with increased seating capacity and three additional screens, allowing for more flexibility in its year-round programming.

"On behalf of the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, we are especially pleased to endorse the acquisition of the Uptown Theater by the Seattle International Film Festival,” said Ann Pearce, Chamber vice president. “We applaud their actions in preserving a valuable part of Seattle's Uptown neighborhood and creating more opportunities for Queen Anne community businesses. Another wonderful forum for unique entertainment will now be available for residents and tourists alike to enjoy for years to come!"

Adds Carl Spence, Artistic Director at SIFF, “We couldn’t have scripted a better opportunity for our organization than to have SIFF Cinema at the Uptown and the new SIFF Film Center in such close proximity and located in such a vibrant part of the city. Seattle Center and Queen Anne are the perfect locations for us to expand in and we’re excited to be opening our doors in time for Seattle Center’s ‘Next 50’ celebration next year.”

These new and exciting ventures will allow SIFF to expand their rich, year-round programming, establish first-class educational programs throughout the community, and ensure that SIFF and the programs they offer thrive for decades to come.

“We are thrilled to welcome SIFF as a new resident here, and we embrace its move to use the former Uptown Theater space as a SIFF screening venue. What a wonderful means to enlivening the neighborhood and further connecting Seattle Center to the Uptown area," said Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams.

Now in its 37th year, SIFF has evolved into an internationally recognized film institution, reaching over 200,000 individuals each year through the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema and Futurewave Education. SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive. Learn more at www.siff.net.

# # #

Ira Sachs: "Tell Your Story"

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:46:58 GMT

A couple of weeks ago, on a warm July afternoon, I met up with some of the folks working with Ira Sachs on "Keep The Lights On," his latest feature film. We sat out on the plaza at Lincoln Center and I heard more about plans for the film's website.

"Keep The Lights On" has been gaining momentum over the past few months, generating considerable financing from a private fundraiser and then a Kickstarter campaign (more on the film in indieWIRE). Today, they launched the site. As Adam Baran explained in an email it's more than a promo for the in-production movie. He described it in an email as a, "dynamic online magazine exploring the themes of the movie: identity, storytelling, art, autobiography and queer and independent cinema."

The website will profile artists, showcase nearly lost films, explore Gay New York and more. Mostly, its about stories. Ira offered insight in a welcome message:

When I was in my 20s, I bought a painting from my friend Max Schumann. On a rectangular piece of cardboard, he had painted the words “TELL YOUR STORY” in white on a black background. I placed the painting on my wall above my desk. When, 20 years later, I ended a long relationship that had more secrets than one could count, I found Max’s painting in the back of a closet under stacks of old magazines. I don’t even know when I took it down. It’s back up now, welcoming people at the front door. This site is a call to arms. Tell your story. Keep the lights on.

(image via keepthelightsonfilm.com)

Happy Birthday, indieWIRE!

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:50:03 GMT

Is this what it feels like to be a parent?

I left daily duties at indieWIRE more than eight months ago when I decided to join the Film Society of Lincoln Center. While I've kept up a close relationship with my good friends at iW, I've also done my best to give them space and cheer from the sidelines. Of course, after fourteen years it was really hard to leave and since then some of my former colleagues -- Bryce, Peter, Nigel -- have taken to calling me ex-Papa. But, as I've said over and over since then, I miss the people much more than the 24 hour indie news cycle. And I love my new friends and colleagues uptown at the Film Society.

For years I told friends that my longterm goal for indieWIRE was to reach a point where it would not only survive, but thrive, in my absence. I said that I'd feel a true sense of achievement knowing that it went on without me.

Today, as indieWIRE celebrates its 15 birthday, I'm proud to say: Mission accomplished.

Not that indieWIRE was ever only about me, mind you. But, over time I became so associated with iW that people would call me "indieWIRE" or say to my face, even as I was standing alongside longtime colleagues, "But, you are indieWIRE."

Not quite. In fact, not by a long shot.

It takes a village.

Mark Rabinowitz, Cheri Barner, Roberto Quezada-Dardon, Mark Feinsod and I got indieWIRE to its first newsletter on July 15, 1996 (see it now on indieWIRE). The larger team in the first year or so also included Karol Martesko-Fenster, Brian Clark, Tim LaTorre, Anthony Kaufman, Mike Jones, Maya Churi, Diane Becker and others.

Of course, there were times over the course of indieWIRE's 15 years that its longterm survival seemed unlikely but, even during challenging times Brian Brooks, James Israel and I were a tight unit as we worked with our partners at GMD Studios and Karol to lay the foundation for indieWIRE's future. Despite various hurdles over the years, the indieWIRE team persevered and today's a major milestone for anyone who has been involved with iW over the years.

indieWIRE is strong with a bright future ahead.

SnagFilms welcomed us into their family and supported indieWIRE through an expansion that began when they acquired the company three years ago.

More than two years later, it took a couple of months after my departure for my former colleagues to name a new Editor-in-Chief, but Rick & Stephanie at Snag, with the support of Brian, James and Anne Thompson at indieWIRE, clearly made the right choice: Dana Harris. I am pretty sure that Dana was the first person to ask me for a private chat about running iW after I announced my departure last September. She talked with Mike Jones and then the two of us had a great conversation and she threw her hat in the ring.

Congrats to Dana, Brian, James, Anne, Eric, Peter, Jason, Rick, Jeff, Stephanie, Nigel, Bryce, Sophia and all my friends at indieWIRE today. I'm so excited about the ideas and plans they have for the future.

Happy Birthday, indieWIRE!

indieWIRE is celebrating its birthday with a Rooftop Films screening tonight, a free panel discussion at Lincoln Center tomorrow and an ongoing series of events at 92Y Tribeca this month.

#Silverdocs: A Winner!

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:28:30 GMT

On my sixth day in Maryland we announced our winner.

All week I've been serving on the Sterling World Feature Jury here at the Silverdocs Documentary Festival with friends Sean Farnel and Karina Longworth. We've watched eleven movies for the past few days and then last night sat down for a leisurely dinner to deliberate and choose a winner.

We gave a special mention to Leonard Retel Helmrich for his new film "Position Among the Stars" (the third in a trilogy) and awarded the Grand Jury Prize to Latvian filmmaker Andris Gauja (pictured above) for his third documentary, "Family Instinct."

Our jury statement about the shocking and celebrated new film sums it up very well:

A slice-of-fucked-up-life portrait, the director of this film clearly had fly-on-the-wall access to his subjects, but some scenes, shot from multiple angles, are so formally composed as to seem staged. That's not a bad thing: For all the desperation and depravity of the story, the filmmaker rescues a narrative of deep sadness and yearning that's as touching as the circumstances are shocking.

Want to see the movie? Catch it at Rooftop Films tomorrow, June 26th, in Brooklyn!

photo by eugene hernandez

#Silverdocs: Saluting the Grandparents of a Movement

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:23:27 GMT

A highlight of Silverdocs 2011 was a chance to sit for a bit to listen to D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, honored last night at the AFI Silver Theater.

Like Albert Maysles, Robert Drew and Frederick Wiseman, Pennebaker and Hegedus are lasting symbols of a exciting tradition of documentary filmmaking. That they continue to make movies and appear at festivals like SilverDocs means that they are still affecting non fiction filmmaking today. These are the grandparents of an ongoing rich movement in American non fiction moviemaking.

Taking the stage last night after an intro by Senator Al Franken, subject of their recent doc, "Al Franken: God Spoke," Pennebaker and Hegedus talked about their life and work together.

"You're not going to live forever," Franken told them, "But your films will!"

On stage later, during a Q & A, Pennebaker and Hegedus bemoaned their ability to raise funds to make their movies over the years. "We are very bad at raising money because we dont know the end of our story," Chris Hegedus explained. But, Pennebaker said they made a crucial decision early on. That is, to hold onto the rights to their films. He joked that they've survived over the years thanks to money they've made off of dead rock stars.

"Not owning rights to your film means you can't make money from them after," Pennebaker explained.

Later, they were asked how they met. The story involves Film Forum, its chief Karen Cooper and a showing of their doc, "Jane." After the showing Pennebaker met Hegedus.

"I couldn't take my eyes off her," he said sweetly, looking over at his wife on stage last night.

I was particularly moved by Silverdocs festival director Sky Sitney's introduction of Pennebaker and Hegedus last night. I asked her for a copy of her speech and am including excerpts below. Cheers Penne and Chris!

One of the miraculous achievements of a documentary filmmaker is to demonstrate – at one and the same time – penetrating insight and anonymity. That is, to make one’s work so iconic that the images are taken as natural phenomenon.
If you’ve ever held an image in your mind of the young Bob Dylan of 1965. If you’ve ever glimpsed Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix perform in the Monterey Pop Festival. Or saw a glimmer of David Bowie’s final performance as Ziggy Stardust, then you’ve looked through Hegedus and Pennebaker’s eyes.
I doubt that there is one person in this room whose imagination has not been furnished by many of their images.
The capacity to portray people with such immediacy and such naturalness is one of the hardest and most underrated of cinematic virtues.
It is only with a passionate love of reality and a humility of craftsmanship that one can achieve a feeling as if we were right there ourselves. Right there in Bill Clinton’s “war room’ alongside James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. Right there as a young entrepreneur, Kaleil Tuzman, creates a website, raises 60 million dollars within a year, and then loses everything.
A more naïve viewer might think that Hegedus and Pennebaker have been lucky; lucky to have always already been in the right place at the right time. To have always found the perfect subjects. To have always managed to capture both the subtle and the grandiose moments.
But we know that this is not luck… It is a combination of the most astute social insight and impeccable skill that have made these filmmakers such luminaries in the art of cinema vérité.
For they are among the chiefs iconographers of America culture, who have an uncanny ability to show us how we will be seen long after we pass from this earth.

Movie Theater to "Tree of Life" Customers: Enter At Your Own Risk!

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:18:36 GMT

The 'we dare you to watch this movie' approach seemed to work for Fox Searchlight with last year's release of Danny Boyle's "127 Hours" (customers who endured the gut wrenching arm amputation at the end of the film were offered free t-shirts).

Perhaps a similar campaign needs to be waged for Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life?" At least in a Connecticut city.

Journalist and blogger Joe Meyers tweeted a photo of box office sign warning customers about Malick's Cannes Palme d'Or winner at the Avon Theater in Stamford, CT earlier this week:

@joesview: the Avon has had so many walkouts at 'tree of life' that they had to post this sign in the lobby: yfrog.com/kglmanj

Let the buyer beware warned the theater, noting that the film "does not follow a traditional, linear narrative approach to storytelling," adding that there are NO REFUNDS.

The little sign at a lone movie theater in Connecticut has stirred a fair amount of attention online, inspring blog posts, tweets and Facebook comments.

"I mean, if they want their money back after a Malick film, they'd probably throw chairs through the windows after 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives'," quipped film critic Matt Zoller Seitz, referring to last year's Cannes winner. While another Facebook commenter, Ted Fry offered, "PS: Spoiler note -- The dinosaurs die."

Don't worry Stamford, "Tree of Life" confounded Cannes festival audiences, as well.

That said, give it a shot (and stay 'til the end)!

#Silverdocs: A Must-See Doc

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:39:21 GMT

It all began at a party in Chino, CA.

Tristan Patterson was at an abandoned airfield to catch a band when he came across a guy with a green mohawk: Josh Sandoval (aka "Screech"). After seeing the guy on a skateboard, Patterson set out to make a seven minute movie about the kinda washed-up punk skater. Over time the project (backed by Christine Vachon and Killer Films) evolved into a feature doc that would go on to win the grand jury prize at SXSW and the top award at Hot Docs.

"Dragonslayer" is a terrific new non-fiction movie with a lot of love for its leading man and a disjointed cinematic spirit that makes it a thrill to watch on a big screen.

Riffing on 70s films and teen revolt movies like "Rivers Edge" and "Over The Edge", as he explained tonight at Silverdocs, Patterson put the camera in his subject's own hands at times, aiming to create an in-the-moment portrait of a California kid (and his striking young girlfriend) from Fullerton who skates inside the dilapidated pools of foreclosed suburban homes.

"Screech is a dragonslayer," a friend of Sandoval's once told Patterson, describing the skinny slacker (and giving the movie its title). The director said tonight that he was drawn to the idea of documenting a guy whose life lacked a safety net.

He's created a tender portrait worth watching.

Pictured (Above) "Dragonslayer" director Tristan Patterson and producer John Baker at Silverdocs tonight in Maryland. Photo by Eugene Hernandez. (Below) Josh "Screech" Sandoval (center). Image courtesy of the filmmakers.

#Silverdocs: Sean Farnel Bids Fond Farewell to Hot Docs

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:12:09 GMT

At a bar in Silver Spring, MD, a friend came up to me tonight and said that she loves the fact that her friends can still surprise her. She was looking at Hot Docs head programmer Sean Farnel as we spoke. The Canadian was a few feet away chatting with another doc community insider.

Farnel, an esteemed veteran of the festival circuit, has been the buzz of this year's Silverdocs fest (where he, Karina Longworth and I are serving together on the international jury). Sean is truly one of the good guys, a chipper fellow who's highly regarded by his peers. After six years running Hot Docs (and making the fest into one of the most important doc events of the year) he's decided to call it quits. The break is amicable he told me tonight as we waked to a jury dinner on a warm night here in Maryland. It is simply time for a change and he said that he'll spend some time at home in Toronto pondering his next steps.

In a poignant blog post earlier this week, Sean reflected on his time at Hot Docs, proudly reflecting on his accomplishments and also sharing warm words for the folks he'll leave behind.

"My professional life has been devoted to sharing my passion for film, and particularly documentary. I remain inspired by the fact that the stories, people, issues, and emotions we experience in watching documentary could not be communicated, as potently, in any other form. It’s been a gift…not just earning a living, but a life in itself."

By his count, Farnel says he's watched some 4000 documentaries over the past six years.

"And so I embrace the notion of having some room to roam, to being a professional omnivore, a free agent, and at some point to taking your calls to persuade me to settle down," Sean Farnel wrote. "But, for now, when my friends back home ask me what I’m doing, how will I respond? Well, I’m putting my work boots and coveralls on, sharpening my tools and packing a big lunch."

He concluded, "I work for documentary."

#Cannes: The Men Who Weren't There

Sun, 22 May 2011 15:29:31 GMT

This year's Cannes Film Festival was marked by profound absences, a fact that was frequently noted tonight as the event drew to a close.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, the winner of the Palme d'Or didn't hoist the weighty gold and crystal trophy up in front of photographers, smiling proudly at his victory. Instead, the winner left a pair of producers to do the work for him.

Terrence Malick won the Palme d'Or tonight for his fifth feature film, "The Tree of Life," a movie that stirred debate immediately after first screening on Monday morning. Following the showing, after journalists pushed and shoved their way into the intimate press conference room in Cannes, Malick was nowhere to be found. He declined to sit in front of journalists to discuss the film. On the red carpet later, again no Terrence Malick. Although, there's word that someone saw Malick peek in at the end of the gala showing that night in Cannes. A friend of a friend supposedly has an iPhone photo of the back of his head.

"He remains infamously and notoriously shy and low-profile and quiet and humble," the typically reserved producer Bill Pohlad said on stage tonight in Cannes. The film will open in U.S. theaters later this week. Wouldn't it be amazing if Malick would stand up somewhere in public and take a bow?

"Malick should have accepted the Palme d'Or by entering the jury's collective mind and thanking them in hushed, playful voice-over," critic Matt Zoller Seitz quipped tonight on Twitter.

Meanwhile, another Cannes award winner also went unseen.

In a rejection beyond compare, the Cannes Film Festival abruptly dismissed Danish director Lars von Trier from its event last week. It was a dramatic move for a festival that has stood by von Trier for a long time, embracing even his most controversial work over the years. Sitting inside the press conference for von Trier's "Melancholia" last week, I noticed that the filmmaker was enjoying himself. In Cannes two years earlier, it was apparent that the filmmaker was dispirited. He survived a contentious discussion with journalists who took him to task for his new film. "I am the best film director in the world," he famously declared, defending himself in at the festival, "I think its a very strange question that I have to defend myself. I don’t feel that. You are all my guests, it’s not the other way around, that’s how I feel."

This time around, von Trier entertained the press with jokes that went too far when he wryly aligned himself with Hitler and facetiously called himself a Nazi. The festival took the unprecedented step of proclaiming him persona non grata. "Maybe it would be good for me not to come to Cannes anymore," he told the New York Times the other day.

Accepting the award for best actress for her performance in "Melancholia," Kirsten Dunst thanked Cannes festival organizers for allowing the film to remain in competition. A few days ago at that legendary press conference, she muttered quietly to von Trier as he made news with his comments and visibly moved herself away from him as he dug in deeper. Tonight in Cannes she praised the director, but admitted on stage, "Wow, what a week it's been!"

Some found the festival's move to dismiss von Trier rather strange. "Especially in a festival that's showing work by two filmmakers who were banned in their own country for making films, it actually does strike me as a little bit extreme," explained the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Scott Foundas during a FilmLinc.com audio podcast the other day.

Foundas was referring to Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, two jailed directors who were not allowed to participate in the festival.

This weekend, Mohammad Rasoulof's "Goodbye" (Be Omid e Didar) won the best director prize in the Un Certain Regard section in Cannes. Meanwhile, Jafar Panahi's "This Is Not a Film," a new movie made under 'semi-clandestine conditions', was smuggled to Cannes via a USB drive hidden within a cake (according to the New York Times). The day in the life look at Panahi's existence now in Iran drew praise during two screenings late in the festival last week. It is a cleverly conceived work that depicted a stifled artist struggling with how to express himself.

"Have you been in touch with Mr. Panahi since you’ve been here in Cannes?" Dennis Lim asked Panahi's collaborator Mojtaba Mirtahmasb in Cannes. "I’m in contact with him, and his wife and his daughter are here and they are in contact with him all the time," Mirtahmasb told Lim, "He’s always on Skype. Jafar is very happy that his film is here but I’m sad he is not here and I miss him a lot."

Also deeply missed already is Donald Krim who died on Friday in New York City when, by all rights, he should have been on The Croisette. Declining health kept Krim away from Cannes and whispers during the fest's first weekend indicated that the leading figure in international cinema was in his final days.

The longtime president of Kino International, Don Krim sold his company to friendly competitor Richard Lorber late last year in the midst of the battle with cancer that he ultimately lost. Krim was the co-president of Kino Lorber until his death on Friday at home. Over the years, he shepherded countless Cannes films to U.S. theaters and introduced American audiences to filmmakers including Wong Kar-Wai, Michael Haneke, Amos Gitai, Aki Kaurismäki and many others.

On stage tonight at the Cannes awards ceremony, a letter from absent best screenplay prizewinner Joseph Cedar was read. Accepting his award remotely, Cedar noted Friday's passing of Don Krim and saluted the industry veteran, dedicating the prize to the Kino stalwart.

"Mr. Krim enriched our lives and expanded our vision," Manohla Dargis succinctly noted in the New York Times.

There's no doubt that of all those missing in Cannes this year, Don Krim is the one whose absence is the most striking. It's permanent.

photo by eugene hernandez

A founder of indieWIRE, Eugene Hernandez is the former editor-in-chief of the publication. He is now the Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and can be found on Twitter (@eug).

#Cannes: Almodovar!

Fri, 20 May 2011 14:38:46 GMT

My friends know that I love Pedro so much that I had an Almodóvar themed party for my 40th birthday (and today I'm wearing the custom t-shirt I had made for the occasion). Anyway, here's Pedro (right) at last night's Cannes party for his latest film ("La Piel Que Habito"). There's Rossy de Palma in the center chatting with Pedro's brother (and producer) Augustin Almodóvar. Richard Peña is far left.

photo by eugene hernandez

#Cannes: Lars Von Trier's Hand

Wed, 18 May 2011 08:35:54 GMT

Just before making remarks that were criticized by the Festival, Lars von Trier proudly showed off the letters on four fingers on his right hand today in Cannes.

A few minutes ago, after von Trier's remarks about Nazis, Hitler and Israel, Festival de Cannes leadership issued a statement saying that they were disturbed and passed along Von Trier's apology for the comments.

photo by eugene hernandez

#Cannes: Saluting Faye

Tue, 17 May 2011 16:29:20 GMT

Inside the Palais des Festivals in Cannes the other day, Faye Dunaway (whose image graces this year's festival poster) was named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters, in a ceremony hosted by French Cultural Minister Frederic Mitterand.

"This I will treasure," the misty-eyed actress said in a brief speech, "I have a new dream, and I am working on my new film as a director and as an actress...For me, acting is a kind of comfort and satisfaction, but it's never the wind in my hair, as Meryl Streep said. It's anguish, because it's a war to make a film -- you have to take the fire and prevail, as Faulkner said, so you have to be very strong." [More in The Hollywood Reporter]

photo by eugene hernandez

#Cannes: Kanye.

Sun, 15 May 2011 06:05:38 GMT

Cannes is about movies. Yet, every so often a fest party comes along that makes it worth forgetting about film for a few minutes. Such was the case tonight in France when Kanye West (above) took the stage inside a tent on the Carlton Hotel Beach. Red Granite Pictures transformed the venue for their bash, hosting a party on a level rarely seen in Cannes since the economic crash.

After midnight Kanye took the stage, belting out a full set. At one point he was joined by Jamie Foxx (below, right) for their iconic "Gold Digger" (watch it on YouTube), performed before a couple of hundred folks (and many more who gathered along The Croisette trying to catch a glimpse).

Many of the people I chatted with at the party wanted to know more about the party hosts.

Well, Red Granite is the brainchild of Riza Aziz, Founder, Chairman and CEO of the production and finance company, which certainly made its mark on the festival with tonight's opulent bash. They are currently finishing their first production, Jennifer Westfeldt's "Friends With Kids," starring Jon Hamm, Megan Fox, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Ed Burns, Chris O’Dowd and Westfeldt. Cinetic is selling the film in the U.S. and it will be sold internationally by Red Granite's newly launch global sales arm.

photos by eugene hernandez

follow me on twitter! @eug

#Cannes: We Need to Talk About... Ezra

Thu, 12 May 2011 14:19:11 GMT

Actor Ezra Miller has been in the spotlight quite, garnering attention in Cannes three years ago for his role in Antonio Campos' "Afterschool" and then gaining greater buzz with a pair of films at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Now he's up front in a Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin," a role that will generate a lot of attention for the 18 year old actor.

Based on Lionel Shriver's acclaimed novel, Ramsay's latest looks at the dynamic between a mother (Tilda Swinton) and her monster of a child (Miller).

"To my horror I do feel a bit of connection to Kevin," Miller conceded this morning, chatting about the film after its first screening in Cannes. "I could have been Kevin," he quipped, stirring some much needed laughter from critics and journalists who still seemed a bit shaken by the tragic places Ramsay's film had just taken them.

There's more to say about this film at another time. Like many Cannes movies, it will divide folks, but those who like it really seem to love it. More soon, but for now, back to a busy day at the festival.

Ezra Miller (left) with Lynne Ramsay (right) in Cannes today.
photo by eugene hernandez

#Cannes: Woody Allen in Focus

Wed, 11 May 2011 16:39:52 GMT

Ok actually, in this photo he's out of focus, but such is the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival.

Big crowds gathered in front of the Debussy theater this morning and then in the hallway outside the press conference room today here in France. Folks pushed, shoved and screamed trying to grab a seat to see Woody Allen's new movie, "Midnight in Paris," and then hoping to catch a glimpse of the man himself after the showing.

I got a great seat down front and listened to the warm rounds of applause that met the end of the movie. Personally I liked "Midnight in Paris," but probably not as much as I'd hoped I would. The film's fantastical gimmick was really fun, but then wore a bit thin. Maybe I should have re-read some Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald to really get in the mood. But, there's no question that Woody Allen is adored in France and particularly in Cannes where he's a regular.

At a traditional La Pizza dinner last night, a group of us compared notes on Woody Allen and his recent work. As it turns out, I'm an Allen apologist. I like almost everything he does at least a bit. In fact, I'm particularly fond of his current European phase, in which he's secured funding to make new movies annually in London, Barcelona and now Paris. Good movies about great cities.

"Great art can't compare with a great city," a character says in "Midnight in Paris," a film that's ultimately about escape. Escaping reality through art and urban exploration. Traveling to a European capital can feel a lot like traveling in time. I often feel the same way about New York.

"It’s a recurring, nagging feeling of mine that the reality we’re all trapped in is, in actual fact, if you dissect it, like a nightmare," Woody Allen told Kent Jones, in an interview published today in Film Comment. "I’m always looking for ways to escape that reality."

And yet he knows that such escape is unrealistic so he explores it through his work.

"It's a big trap to think that living in another time would be better," he countered at a Cannes festival press conference this afternoon.

I guess that sums up what I love that about Woody Allen.

photo by eugene hernandez

#Cannes: The 15 Must-See Films

Wed, 11 May 2011 08:00:22 GMT

Competition. Out of Competition. Official Selection. Director's Fortnight. Critics Week. ACID. Cannes Classics. Obviously there are way too many movies screening in Cannes. Yet, the fest feels manageable. In part because I am simply so excited to see so many movies that are screening over the next ten days.

Here are the 15 films that I am most excited about! (in order of most anticipated):

"Hors Satan," directed by Bruno Dumont

"La Piel Que Habito," directed by Pedro Almodovar

"Miss Bala," directed by Gerardo Naranjo

"The Tree of Life," directed by Terrence Malick

"Sleeping Beauty," directed by Julie Leigh

"Melancholia," directed by Lars Von Trier

"Oslo, 31. August," directed by Joachim Trier

"Les Bien-Aimes," directed by Christophe Honore

"Chronique d'un été," directed by Jean Rouche (Cannes Classics)

"La Guerre est Declaree," directed by Valerie Donzelli

"Le Gamin Au Velo," directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

"Return," directed by Liza Johnson

"Walk Away Renee," directed by Jonathan Caouette

"Drive," directed by Nicholas Winding Refn

"The Artist," directed by Michel Hazanavicius

iPhone photo by Eugene Hernandez

Cannes Closer: Honoré's "Les Biens-Aimes"

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 07:50:42 GMT

So it looks like Christophe Honoré's latest, "Les Biens-Aimes," is closing the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

With the sort of French film that seems made for Cannes, Honoré is back at the fest with another musical.

It stars Catherine Deneuve alongside many of the same actors seen in Honoré's previous Cannes entry "Love Songs" (Les Chansons d'amour), namely Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier and Louis Garrel. Curiously rounding out the cast are director Milos Forman and American Paul Schneider. The film was produced by Pascal Caucheteux from Why Not productions.

In the words of a synposis that circulated yesterday, "From Paris in the sixties to 21st-century London, Madeleine and her daughter Vera waltz in and out of the
lives of the men they love. But not every era allows us to love blithely and lightheartedly. How are we to resist the sands of time that attack our most heartfelt sentiments?"

I'll surely be at the film's first screening on Saturday morning, May 21st in France.

Can't wait.

Watch Tim Hetherington's Last Film: Diary (2010)

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:44:51 GMT

Friends on Twitter today tipped me off to find Tim Hetherington's final film, "Diary," via his Vimeo site. The short, personal doc has been making the festival rounds, but I watched for the first time tonight, from the safety of my desk at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

I got to know Tim a bit almost a year ago when we ended up next to each other on a flight back to NYC after the San Francisco International Film Festival. We had a great chat, compared notes on friends and festivals and vowed to stay in touch. Only, we really did, reconnecting just a few weeks later during his first trip to Cannes. He had asked for tips on attending the French fest (I believe he was there to try and raise some money for a new film). I steered him towards the annual doc brunch and we caught up on the Croisette. I didn't know Tim well at all, but he made an impact.

His latest short is tough to watch in light of today's tragic news that Tim Hetherington was killed on the job in Libya. Twitter and Facebook spread the sad news today and I spent many moments this afternoon talking about Tim and his work with friends and colleagues. As I write this, a few folks are apparently gathered at The Half King bar in Chelsea to share a moment together at the end of a tough day.

So, I hope you'll take a look at Tim Hetherington's latest film.

There's so much more to say, but his film Diary already says so much.

For even more, check out a warm and loving post on the New York Times' LENS blog.

RIP, Tim.

17 New Movies This Week. Which 1 is Worth Seeing??

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:08:49 GMT

A whopping 17 films are reviewed this week by the New York Times, which customarily surveys new movies opening in local theaters. "Hanna" looks interesting and I'm hearing good things. "Meek's Cutoff" has had a terrific fest run. "To Die Like a Man" is terrific. I'm rather intrigued by "Blank City" despite missing it during the Tribeca fest two years ago.

But, there's just one new movie I really want to see this weekend. Robert Greene's "Kati With an I," a doc that I heard about after last year's True/False Film Fest. I've been wanting to catch the Gotham Award nominee for a very long time. Described as "an intimate documentary portrait of Kati, a teenage girl in Alabama, about to graduate high school. The film captures her moment-by-moment emotional transformation over the course of three tumultuous days that leave her future in doubt." It is opening way uptown at the cool Maysles Cinema in Harlem.

After the jump, the daunting list of new movies in NYC this weekend:

"Hanna," directed by Joe Wright (Focus Features)
"Meek's Cutoff," directed by Kelly Reichardt (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
"Arthur," directed by Jason Winer (Warner Bros)
"Your Highness," directed by David Gordon Green (Universal Pictures)
"Henry's Crime," directed by Malcolm Venville (Moving Pictures Film and Television)
"To Die Like a Man," directed by João Pedro Rodrigues (Strand Releasing)
"Blank City," directed by Celine Danhier (Insurgent Media)
"Ceremony," directed by Max Winkler (Magnolia Pictures)
"American: The Bill Hicks Story," directed by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas (Variance Films)
"Meet Monica Velour," directed by Keith Bearden (Anchor Bay Films)
"The Family Jams," directed by Kevin Barker (Factory 25)
"Born To Be Wild 3D," directed by David Lickley (Warner Bros)
"Kati With an I," directed by Robert Greene (4th Row Films)
"Soul Surfer," directed by Sean McNamara (TriStar and Film District)
"Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer," directed by Norris J. Chumley (Magnetic Arts and Passion River Films)
"The Elephant in the Living Room," directed by Michael Webber (Edify Media)
"Meeting Spencer," directed by Malcolm Mowbray (Paladin and Orbit Pictures)

Image from "Kati With an I" courtesy 4th Row Films.