I will begin by saying that if you are planning to attend this festival you should attempt to purchase tickets ahead of time to avoid waiting in rush lines. The churches on the island double as screening rooms, so get there early for a pew up front. There is no ascending seating. Something about everyone being equally close to God I heard.
Rumor has it that there were a number of impressive films screening that week. Unfortunately a combination poor intuition and bad recommendations led me into the gates of Naptime theater. I caught a shorts program that evening which was "for the birds" as they say. I was happy to see Kent Osborne in a short called THE PIPE Directed byDan Brown about a pill-popping paramedic and a stoic security guard work the midnight shift, protecting the air-pipe of a radio personality who has been buried alive as a publicity stunt. This was definitely worth seeing; granted I am partial to Kent Obsourne (The YouTube short where he scores over-the-pants action with an ottoman. It is good for a laugh http://gawker.com/news/cahiers-du-cinéma/couch+humping-masterpiece-inspires-blog+related-homage-261031.php).
After killing time at Tacos Tacos it was movie time again. Flipping through the programming guide, my curiosity for physical mutations got the best of me "Part horror film, part erotic/moral debate", something about Christian confusion, incest and vagina dentate... sounded like a sure thing. Of course I am talking about the feature narrative TEETH directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein. (He is the son of Roy Lichtenstein for any pop art enthusiasts out there. Yay! primary colors!) Okay, back to the movie. Jess Weixler stars as a high school bible-brandishing beauty. While preaching the gospel in a perky teen fashion (which reminded me of a similar film SAVED), she starts to think dirty things about a doe eyed classmate who is also a supposed Jesus freak. Long story short. She loses her virginity after being knocked unconscious and the cutie-turned-rapist loses his manhood. From that point on it is a simple case of INSERT, DETACH, REPEAT. Same characters, same expression, just transported to new locations. Kinda like a family slideshow, except for the increasingly graphic genital butchery. So, I won't give away the rest, because I am not quite sure what the point is anyhow. The upside: Jess Weixler. She was the only facet of this film that kept my eyes out from behing my eyelids. I do hope to see more of her.
Two more hours spent in a church...LOW AND BEHOLD. I was excited to score a great pew, everything seemed to be looking up. Little did I know that I would be praying about twenty minutes in for a projector malfunction. I had a few recommendations from seemingly reliable sources that this was a great film. The film follows a boring unlikable twenty-something who is going to aid his uncle in taking advantage of the hurricaine victims via insurance claim shenannigans. Him, his uncle and vagrant that he finds wandering around form a near-ensemble cast with about as much dramatic subtlety as the three stooges. No offense intended to the stooges. To try to describe facets of the characters is a waste of time. None of them can act, they are equally unlikable and one-dimensional. But only two out of the three are also radically annoying. The characters wander around, there is no direction in the film and no one scene really moves the film forward.
Looking at the subject matter, it had the same problem for me as TEETH. Whether you are talking about genital deformity or the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, having a shocking topic just isn't enough. With a palatte as rich to draw from as Hurricane Katrina I expect to feel something... besides drowsy. I do not know the director so I do not want to make any assumptions, but I feel like this film exploited the Hurricane Katrina disaster to get an easy-in to festivals and recognition. If you want to see a truly touching and honest look at the personal wreckage in New Orleans, check out KAMP KATRINA. This film was playing at the same time as LOW AND BEHOLD at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. The directors David Redmond and Ashley Sabine did not spend large sums of money producing this as did LOW AND BEHOLD. They arrived at New Orleans with hardly a crew and a minimal budget. They shared accomodations with the residents of one of the most beat-up and physically dangerous regions. The story they find in this community hits deep chords that remind you how powerful films can be. That you do not need a big budget to affect people. The honesty of this film has limited its options for distribution since it is not the TV friendly version to which we have been exposed. Check out their site. It is something every independent filmmaker should see. http://www.carnivalesquefilms.com/kamp_katrina.html
To be fair, the films that I repeatedly heard were great at the festival were CANVAS, BROKEN ENGLISH, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK, BEGGING NAKED, PRETTY IN THE FACE, GREAT WORLD OF SOUND and YEAR OF THE FISH (The last three were also shown at The independent Film Festival of Boston, and I somehow haven't managed to see them yet).
I should be writing something positive when I see THE LIVES OF OTHERS again this week. See that film. I know it sounds boring to some. Trust me.
What is it that would get you on a ferry...to an island...on your vacation...just to check out a film festival. Well, that is actually it. When you make plans to come to the Nantucket for the film festival, you are simultaneously planning a relaxing vacation. Forget running around a bustling city from theater to theater and party to party as you would with festivals in the city. To keep "up" with the locals here you have to slow down. Grab lunch at an outdoor restaraunt then stop at the homemade ice cream shop. Then think about heading to the next screening. The screenings have a very casual feel as well. People who live on the block will be tearing tickets in the foyer of a church. Even with the leisurely pace, there is alot going on. Friday night was the most unique event that Nantucket offers. Jetty's Beach becomes a gathering for celebrities and filmgoers alike during "Late Night Storytelling". Friday was attended by many of the prominent filmmakers and actors who had work screened during the course of the festival including Peter Farrelly (Dir. of THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, ME, MYSELF AND IRENE, KINGPIN), Anne Meara lead in "IRISH WHISKEY REBELLION" , Joe Pantoliano, ( supporting roles in MATRIX, MEMENTO, RISKY BUSINESS), Brian Williams (NBC Nightly News), Steven Weber (actor in TV series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) and John Shea (FRAMED, THE INSURGENTS) Six storytellers tell their tales without the benefit of notes or scripts. Past storytellers include; Jim Carrey, Jerry Stiller, Tina Fey, Laird Hamilton, Jesse L Martin, Brian Williams, Mos Def, Olympia Dukakis, Ted Hope, Paul Rudd, Celia Weston, Kristin Johnston, Bobby Farrelly, Rosie Perez, and Alan Cumming.
Also on Friday evening, the festival introduced the first annual Adrienne Shelley Excellence in Filmmaking Award, a cash prize awarded to a female filmmaker in honor of the late director. Joe Pantoliano presented the award to Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, co-directors and co-producers of “The Devil Came on Horseback.”
Thursday through Sunday mornings begin with "Morning Coffee With..." This is another Nantucket exclusive. Everyone rises early and heads down to have a casual Q & A with the featured guest. This is a challenge for some of us considering all the free partying Nantucket provides for pass holders. This year featured Matthew Galkin (co-producer and director, I Am An Animal), Bill Haney (co-producer and director, The Price of Sugar), Catherine Ryan (co-producer and co-director, Soldiers of Conscience), Gary Weinberger (co-producer and co-director, Soldiers of Conscience), and Luke Wolbach (co-producer and director, Row Hard No Excuses).
A little further along in the day there was a stage reading of Steven Weber’s screenplay “Filthy Dirty Twisted Lust.” Events of this nature are not uncommon on the island. Nantucket gives much attention to the screenwriting element of the filmmaking process. During this reading, film enthusiasts can see an intermediate stage of a film. They can see it coming to life before their eyes. This can be a real eye opening experience.
Later on in the evening there was a tribute to the prolific writer/director Robert Benton (BONNIE AND CLYDE, KRAMER VS. KRAMER). Press was not admitted due to the exclusivity that NBC enforced with their coverage. There was another opportunity, however to hear the experiences that have shaped Robert Benton's life in the industry. He was featured in the "In Their Shoes" event on Sunday morning. His modest and sarcastic attitude would lead you to think that he only was blessed with luck to get where he has. Obviously this is not the case. In addition to being an inherently talented writer and director he seemed to always take risks and put himself out on a limb even if he had no idea what he was doing. I think this is something that many blossoming fiilmmakers can add to their to-do-lists.
I think the nature of these events and the guests who are featured continually show the dedication that the organizers have to drawing attention to the elements that are needed to make for great writing and film. The interaction with these guests is truly inspiring and leaves the audience ready to return to work after their vacation with a renewed enthusiasm for film and their involvement with it. This festival is a spectacular start to any filmgoer's summer.
So yesterday was the monthly meeting for the Boston Meida Makers group hosted by Steve Garfield.
Credit for the photo is due to Steve Garfield check out his photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/sets/72157600305653915
There were many new faces this month that ranged from a cyclist who will be videoblogging across the country with his helmet-cam to a presentation coach using video remotely to work with clients. Of course the entire meeting was streamed to the Boston Media Makers site (www.bostonmediamakers.wordpress.com) There is alink to all the photos as well as David Tames' great summary of the meeting.
The Making media Now 2007 conference was this past Friday. The conference was complertely sold out! The diverse range of panels covered issues from new HD technology to emerging media tools and online distribution. Issues that we are as filmmakers have on the forefront of our minds due to the changing technological climate. Of the various panels I found a few to be universally relevant and successful.
Beth Kanter's presentation DEMYSTIFYING SOCAIL MEDIA MARKETING TOOLS FOR FILMMAKERS: TEN STEPS TOWARD FILMMAKING 2.0 was one of these. In a modest hour and a half Beth attempted to share what she has learn of web tools in the past two years. Needless to say this was a fast and furious presentation.
With thoughtful use of PowerPoint, Beth covered many of the crucial web tools which can make a significant contribution to the success of our video and film endeavors. Essentially, if we become visible in multiple media outlets or if we slip through the cracks due to ignorance of these now necessary outlets. Some of the tools that she familiarized the audience with were: blogs, Technorati, RSS, tagging and social bookmarking, Flickr, video sharing, Wiki, Widgets, Creative Commons, Copyright, and Fairuse, and Mashup.
Personally, I did not realize how much of this I was not familiar with (or not familiar enough with) One of the questions which these tools as a whole raise for me is: "How do I divide my time between actively producing, and marketing what I produce via these outlets on the internet?" I believe this will bring about innovations in the production process in general. If all these tools can make reaching a broad audience more accesible it must have the ability to make a production more efficient.
Check out Beth's wiki for this conference, it gives a run-through of all the elements that she covered.http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/Making+Media+Conference
Also, we will have clips available of her presentation on Beanywood soon from out live webcast (thanks to OurStage) so keep checking in as the clips roll in from various panels.
The last feature of the day was the CASE STUDIES panel. As the name reveals, this was focused on a group of filmmakers who have become wildly successful from their choice to explore the web as an integral tool.
Kevin Anderton (MidnightChimesProductions.com), Lance Weiler(WorkbookProject.com), Brett Gaylor (OpenSourceCinema.Org), and Michael Byrne (NoSleepMovie.com) presented their stories of DIY marketing and distribution which gave them success getting deals with Sony, theatrical distribution and DVD sales for starters.
Keep an eye out for our posting of this video stream. Definitely worth checking out!!!
Check out the rest of the Making Media Now conference photos on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/7937077@N03/sets/72157600310322427/
Directed by: Julian Goldberger Starring: Paul Giamatti, Michelle Williams, and Michael Pitt
Thursday, May 24 - 7:30pm
Somerville Theatre - 55 Davis Square
Tickets are $8*
IFFB
once again begins their screening series. Exciting stuff, they know how to pick 'em. I attended the Four Eyed Monster screening that they organized last year and it was a great time. Come!!! Check out the synopsis at http://screenings.iffboston.org/2007_01.html That page will also give you access to viewing details of the past screenins to see what you may have missed. Here is the trailer:
Last night Director Trevor Bailey and Producer Bill Singleton of the no-budget feature film "Fade To Black" held a pre-screening of the rough cut at the Coolidge Corner Theater.
David Kleiler via Local Sightings has helped to put this event together as well as helpingthe overall re-working of the film. Local Sightings is the resource filmmakers look to when they need help in various stages of their filmmaking process. http://www.localsightings.com/
Trevor and Bill as well as alot of their friends and people involved with the film made the experience a warm one. The Q & A went on for an hour! The audience traded impressions of the film, and the result I am sure was more than Trevor and Bill expected walking into the theater last night.
The screening for this rough cut actually had the biggest audience in the Coolidge last night, beating out "The Namesake" and a few others.
Here are some photos, if you want more info just contact David Kleiler through the Local Sightings website http://www.localsightings.com/
Above Photographs in this blog are Copyright 2007 Jaymes Leavitt All Rights Reserved
