FESTIVAL ROUNDUP



 
 

The Hamptons International Film Festival

At the world premiere screening of The Tale of Sweeney Todd, John Schlesinger's new film, I happened to sit next to Michael Braverman, one of the founders of the Hamptons International Film Festival. He quipped that so many people had been asking him if he was Ben Kingsley (who dominates the screen with ease as the infamous barber, opposite the deliciously demonic Joanna Lumley and the multi-talented Campbell Scott), he just had to come and see the film for himself. I must admit, the similarity was unnerving.

Talking with Braverman, I learned that the festival, now in its fifth year, had begun around a dining room table -- an idea born to a small group of friends who are now equally amazed and delighted at how their creation has blossomed. With significantly increased crowds, expanded locations, and an ever-growing board of directors, the Hamptons attracts a diverse following and, above all, quality films.

The challenging range of features, documentaries and shorts, chosen solely by Program Director [and Filmmaker Associate Editor] Stephen Gallagher, had crowds packing into the various venues with impressive consistency. Variety snubbed the festival with the headline "Hamptons Off the A-List," to which Gallagher replied, "I didn't know we were on it!" Despite Variety's claims that industry attendance was lower this year, there were in fact representatives from most major distributors who, along with various press, darted back and forth to New York during the five days of the fest.

Maureen Foley's Home Before Dark and Nestor Miranda's Destination Unknown (both first features written by their directors) tied for the Golden Starfish Award and shared $185,000 worth of goods and services. French actress Anouk Aim�e (best known from Fellini's 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita) represented the jury at the closing night ceremony. She praised both films for having an amazing edge and for dealing fearlessly with important, engrossing issues. The jury also gave Julie Kessler a special award for her performance in Steven O'Connor's Upstate.

Michael Almereyda's Pixel-vision The Rocking Horse Winner took home the Best Short award. Another short that generated a lot of buzz was Josh Gordon & Will Speck's Culture, a hysterical look at trying to get ahead in today's corporate jungle when an entrenched secretary takes a dislike to you.

Ten student filmmakers, each awarded $2,500, were also part of a showcase. NYU grad Amy Talkington's Number One Fan, about a young girl who runs away from home and stumbles into the path of a photographer who loves recreating death scenes, was singled out to receive the fest's RKO "Best Told Story" award.

Lifetime Television for Women, one of the fest's principal sponsors, presented its "Vision Award" to the film that best dealt with issues of concern to women. James Rosenow took home the $10,000 check for Crossing Fields, a perceptive first feature that portrays the life of a middle-aged mother living in the Midwest whose entire belief system is challenged. The fest's winning documentary, Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (which was recently picked up by Northern Arts) was directed by husband-and-wife team Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, who stumbled across this unique story while in L.A. on business. Director William Greaves represented the documentary jury -- which also included Ian Birnie, R.J. Cutler, Robert Hawk and Renee Tajima-Pe�a -- when giving Chasen's its rather meager prize of $2,500 worth of Kodak film stock. The jury also cited Michele Ohayon's Colors Straight Up for "its emotional resonance and social relevance."

Audience Awards were also dished out to some real fest faves. There was a tie for Most Popular Film between Manuel Gomez Pereira's Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health (Spain) and Leonardo Pieraccioni's The Cyclone (Italy). Elizabeth Schub's Cuba 15, a coming-of-age story shot on the streets of Havana, took home the audience award for Most Popular Short. Finally, Colors Straight Up stormed home with the Most Popular Documentary.

The Q&A sessions that followed many of the screenings were an interesting way of gauging each film's impact. Strong Island Boys, one of the Golden Starfish nominees written and directed by Mark Schiffer, had a lively session. Its raw, tough and sometimes touching look at a group of 15-year-old boys growing up in Long Island had the audience brimming with comments and queries. A man shouted, "I'm 50 years old, grew up in the Bronx, and that's exactly what my childhood was like!" while others were shocked by its content. One woman praised the film's candid observations but said the misogynistic portrayal of women terrified her.

Other films of note included The Winter Guest, Alan Rickman's directorial debut featuring Emma Thompson and her real-life mother Phylidda Law. D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus' latest documentary, Moon Over Broadway, starring Carol Burnett in effervescent form, was a real audience hit. Trekkies, a fascinating foray into the wonderful, wacky world of "Star Trek" fanatics, was directed by Roger Nygard and features "Next Generation" diva Denise Crosby. Another Golden Starfish nominee, Sparkler, directed by Darren Stein, caused the festival to add extra screenings after the first two sold out. Park Overall plays Melba, a trailer-park gem who hitches her glittery star to three L.A. boys (Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jamie Kennedy and Steven Petrarca). It's a kitschy romp that can't help but enchant you, with Veronica Cartwright making a brave and winning comeback as Dottie, a stripper who can do extraordinary things with her baton!

There were also popular mini-retrospectives from Argentina's Alejandro Agresti (his Act in Question warrants a mention), France's Nicolas Philibert and Spain's Julio Medem. Panel discussions, a "Subversive Cinema" section for night owls, and a six-film focus on Spanish production giant Sogetel all added to the plethora of events during the festival.




 
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© 2005 Filmmaker Magazine