GELFAND’S WORLD--Working in -- and attending -- a film festival is as exhausting, if not quite as bruising, as playing a rugby tournament. The long hours are about the same, but the danger of getting a knee injury is minimally less. This past weekend, the San Pedro International Film Festival validated all five of the words in its title, as it screened films that ranged from San Pedro, California to Italy, Australia, Iran, and Asia, and then back to San Pedro. Going to a film festival is an experience that is to be recommended to those who haven't had the pleasure. The reasons are multifold.
Friday night began with the Bryan Singer directed crime puzzler The Usual Suspects. The hometown audience recognized (and clapped discreetly for) the San Pedro location shots, including a dramatic moment filmed at the Korean Friendship Bell. This weekend's screening occurred appropriately in the 20th anniversary of the film's release. At the time, it won Kevin Spacey an Academy Award for best supporting actor and won the writer his own Oscar for the screenplay. One of the fun things about a film festival is that (sometimes) you get to meet the people who were involved in the production. Director Singer stayed for a Q/A session and shared drinks with festival-goers at the post-screening party. It's interesting to learn that Singer was in his early 20s when he made this film.
Along the way, we got to experience the visions of young filmmakers and actors. One of the best was the oddly titled Parallel Chords [www.facebook.com/parallelchordsfilm] which does not allude to some geometric principle, but to a musically gifted daughter and her demanding father. What was rewarding about this film is that it allowed the audience to make the emotional connections without either dragging things out or beating us over the head with life's drama.
Summer Breeze is a fictionalized short film attempting to document an epidemic of heroin addiction on, of all unlikely places, Cape Cod. It features a young mother, how she has become estranged from her father, and how her addiction damages her son's life.
Finding June was presented through Lunafest, [Lunafest.org] a presenter of short films by and about women. The title character is a deaf woman who has just been diagnosed with, and treated for, breast cancer. The film centers on her experience of a support group for deaf women who have had cancer. Director Anna Schumacher developed a compelling story line using an ensemble cast.
Leaves of the Tree [Leavesofthetreethemovie.com] is a modern rendition of one of those classic films that deals with modern characters confronted with mystical Catholicism. In this case, the miracle worker is a tree that has historical religious origins, and therefore power.
{module [1177]}
The two most popular screenings were actually documentaries. Deepsea Challenge is the story of James Cameron's quest to construct and pilot a submergence vehicle to the world's deepest point. It's a remarkable story in 2D. That's how we saw it, even though it is constructed to be seen in 3D. We were having first night issues with a brand new projection system which otherwise worked perfectly. Allow me to recommend this film, particularly if you can find it in a 3D showing.
The final night's screening was the story of Misty Copeland (photo above), a San Pedro native who has gone on to be the first African American ballerina to be named as a principle dancer at this country's premier company, the American Ballet Theater. A Ballerina's Tale mixes home movie footage and documentary interviews with film clips showing Copeland performing as an ABT star. The film spends a bit of time showing her near-career-ending injury and her recovery from leg surgery, culminating in her return to performing and the announcement of her new position at the ABT. Along the way, the film honors African American dancers who worked in a nearly 100% white system. This film will be opening nationwide later this week and should be a hit. One of the better elements of this film is its willingness to confront the issue of racial discrimination directly, starting from the beginning.
Writing summaries of a few highlights does not adequately convey the experience of attending a film festival. There is camaraderie and discussion. I particularly enjoyed talking with the young filmmakers who brought their stories from as far away as Cape Cod and, indeed, from around the world. As I've said before, another advantage of the film festival experience is that if you aren't blown away by the film you are watching at the moment, just wait a few minutes and take in the next one.
(Bob Gelfand writes on culture and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 83
Pub: Oct 13, 2015
