16th Filmfest DC's Audience Awards

The Ballad of Bering Strait and The Tunnel tie as winners of the Audience Award at the Washington, DC International Film Festival.

Closing its sixteenth and most popular year to date, the Washington DC International Film Festival announced The Ballad of Bering Strait and The Tunnel as joint winners of this year's Audience Award. Filmfest DC's Audience Award is based on votes collected from audience members at over 100 screenings throughout the twelve-day festival. Filmfest DC 2002's audience attendance totaled 37,000 viewers.

In The Ballad of Bering Strait, local filmmaker and director Nina Gilden Seavey recounts the formation of bluegrass/country band Bering Strait. Her cinema-verite film successfully captures the grit and determination of the Russian group, beginning with their arrival in Nashville to record their first major studio release. Seavey, who hales from Takoma Park, is also the founder and current director of the Documentary Center at The George Washington University.

Director Roland Suso Richter's The Tunnel chronicles the true-story of East German swimming champion Hasso Herschel's as he makes his bold, imaginative escape over the Berlin Wall. The Tunnel captured audiences' attention with its action-packed sequences and engaging cast.

Rounding out the top five films were Director Martin Scorsese's My Voyage to Italy (Italy), Gerardine Wurzburg's Graduating Peter (USA), Majid Majidi's Baran (Iran), and Zacharias Kunuk's Atanarjuat the Fast Runner (Canada).

The Filmfest DC Audience Award is sponsored by the D.C. Lottery. Major Filmfest sponsors include; DC Commission of the Arts and Humanities, the Mayor's Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, The National Endowment for the Arts and agencies of the District of Columbia and Westlake Consulting Group. U.S. Airways is the official airline for Filmfest DC. The Radisson Barcelo Hotel is the official hotel. NBC4 is the official television station. WAMU 88.5 FM is the official radio station and Hisaoka Public Relations is the official public relations firm.

To learn more about this year's festival visit the official website, or call the Filmfest DC public information line at (202) 628-FILM.

Next Cinema Lounge

The Cinema Lounge meets Monday, May 13 to discuss the topic, "Not That Again." With over 100 years of moviemaking, it seems Hollywood is running out of new ideas. Where can Hollywood turn for new and exciting stories?

The Cinema Lounge meets the second Monday of every month at 7:00pm PM at Borders Books, 600 14th St., NW in Washington, DC (near the Metro Center Metro stop).

Membership Information

Membership 2002-2003 begins June 1. Current members should receive a mailing and an e-mail no later than May 15th. If you haven't received your renewal information by that time, please e-mail our membership coordinator. If you are not a member, and wish to join, please visit our Membership area on this website for more information on how to join.

Bethesda Row Cinema Opens May 3

With so many DC movie theaters closing over the last few years, one can only celebrate an opening (that's almost in DC) of a new theater--especially one dedicated to art films. This Friday, May 3, marks the opening of the new Landmark Theatres 8-screen movie theatre complex in Bethesda--The Bethesda Row Cinema.

"The Bethesda Row Cinema will be designed and programmed with the sophisticated filmgoer in mind and supported by Landmark's hallmark, top-flight customer service," said Paul Richardson, President of Landmark Theatres. Filmgoers in the D.C. metropolitan area will now be able to see provocative and entertaining art films in a state-of-the-art environment.

The Bethesda Row Cinema will showcase independent and foreign language films; each auditorium features stadium seating, wall-to-wall screens and sound systems using the latest digital sound technology; has an espresso bar with locally produced baked goods; and nearby low-cost parking in city-owned lots (weekend parking in many of these lots will be free). The theatre is minutes from the Bethesda Metro Red Line station (use Woodmont exit). The Bethesda 8 trolley (free) can also be boarded at the Metro station (it takes a scenic route through downtown Bethesda before stopping across the street from the theatre).

For more information on Bethesda Row Cinema, visit the website.

Scottish Films

By Jim McCaskill

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. It has been four years since Scottish films have had a winner at the Cannes Film Festival but insiders say that may change this year. Four films by established Scot filmmakers are tapped for success at this month's festival. The tartan film brigade is headed by Ken Loach, Peter Mullen, Lynne Ramsay and Trainspotting's creative team of producer Andrew MacDonald and writer John Hodge.

Early word has Loach as an odds on favorite in the Palme D'Or race for his latest film Sweet Sixteen. Shot in Greenock, Scotland, this film continues his exploration of the dark side of human nature. This is his third film shot in the west of Scotland; My Name is Joe and Carla's Song were the first two. This latest work follows a teenager who was raised in an orphanage while his mother is in jail.

Peter Mullen, who won an Academy Award playing the alcoholic in Loach's My Name is Joe, is back with his third film and this time even darker and more upsetting than the bleak realism of his previous films: Orphans (1997) and Fridge (1996). Magdelane Sisters studies the patients at the disreputable Magdalene homes for "fallen women." Vanessa Redgrave stars in this film shot in Dumfries, Scotland.

The west of Scotland also features in Lynne Ramsey's second film. Her first film, Ratcatcher, was set in Glasgow while her latest film, Morvern Callar, like Alan Warner's novel that it is based on, is set in a West Highland sea town. Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton (2000 for playing the mute girl in Woody Allen's Sweet and Low) and new comer Kathleen McDermott star as two girls who unexpectedly come into money. This one is scheduled for Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.

The fourth entry has MacDonald and Hodge back with a comedy this time. That is a break from the seemingly endless parade of disturbing films that have come out of Scotland lately. Peter O'Toole and Ralph Brown star in this look at TV game shows. Brown was seen last year in Mean Machine. O'Toole works steadily.

These four films and six short films are the largest number ever from Scotland.

Jewish Film Festival in Amsterdam

By Jim McCaskill

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS. The last week in April saw the inaugural Jewish Film Festival in Amsterdam with well received, diverse selection of international feature films and documentaries. Films were shown in the newly opened Ketelhuis theatre on the grounds of the closed Westeregasfabriek. The contaminated grounds of the former petroleum processing plant are being cleaned up and made into a park. The program included an eclectic array of films from six different countries.

Opening film was Izabella Cywinska's 2000 Polish film, The Purim Play that took a humorous look at several very serious questions: Who is Polish today? Who is a Jew? You would think that might be an easy question to answer but in an anti-Semitic country many Jews changed their name and their identity. Along the way questions about the value to a common person of changing from a Communist system to capitalism were brought up. None of these were truly resolved in this short (57 minute) film. In The Purim Play a man and his family, long practicing Polish Catholics, learn that a deceased and unknown rich American relative has died and perhaps left them a fortune. All that wealth there but only if they become a tradition honoring Jewish family. The protagonist, in his search for meaning asks, "Who is my God?" A rabbi responds, "He chooses us, not we him." The ending is a little too pat but I won't reveal it in case you see this excellent film.

Documentaries were: I was a Slave Labourer (Luke Holland, England 1999) based on the life long struggle of Auschwitz survivor Rudy Kennedy for slave labor compensation, Uncle Chatzkel (Rod Freedman, Australia 1999) based on the undaunted Chatzel Lemchenn who survived the Russian Revolution, both world wars, the communist regime, and the independence of Lithuania, Keep on Walking: Joshua Nelson, the Jewish Gospel Singer (Tanna Ross, Jesper Sorensen, Freke Vuijst en Vibeke Winding, USA 2001), If Swissa Won't Come to the Opera (Fredi Gruber, Israel 2001), The Settlers (Ruth Walker, Israel 2002) and Kurt Weill (Sven Dufer, Germany, 2001).

Late Marriage (Dover Kosashvilli, Israel, 2001) was the only other feature length film at what is expected to become an annual event. This film won the Silver Great Alexander award at the 42nd Salonica Film Festival and features Lior Ashkenazi, Ronit Elkabetz, Moni Moshonor in a class show down in a society where the family has to approve the bride. The bride in this film is divorced and has a three year old child. Kosashvilli also wrote the screenplay for this one where everyone has an opinion and expresses it.

An Interview with Vincenzo Marra

By Jim McCaskill

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. The following interview with Italian director Vincenzo Marra took place at the Italian Film Festival at Filmhouse. As the festival is still in process, comments and reviews of films in this year's festival will appear in a future article.

Sailing Home (Tornando a casa) is Marra's first feature length film and was a winner at the Venice Film Festival. The film tells the story of a Neapolitan crew risking their lives by illegally fishing off the Tunisian coast. During the trip they must confront bribery, murder and sabotage.

There is a small stretch of sea between Italy and Tunisia where every day people from Tunisia looking for a better life in Italy pass Italian fishermen looking for a richer harvest. Everyone struggles to survive. At the bottom of the social heap, poor people are at war with each other. "The sea joins things that need to be joined," said Marra. It is in this struggle and in this sea that one small craft and its sailors are joined in their personal searches. "My grandfather, a sailor, told me something I have heard a sailor repeat, "Remember in this world there are those who are dead, those who are alive and those who are on the sea." "My idea as to create a microcosm, an 18 meter long boat in which people will live, work and die. All the characters dream of going home. But no one does."

He continued, "I wanted to do a film that was far away from myself." This film had to be authentic, had to have real sailors performing real tasks. Sailing Home has real fishermen, not actors, "If you can find actors who can do this work, show them to me." How did he gain the confidence of real fishermen? "I went to a port near my home in Naples everyday. Gradually over time I gained their trust. It has nothing to do with cinema. This relationship was a marriage between us. They learned that I was not going to rob them of something in their lives. Needed to do a film from the inside. The means does not justify everything. I can not go to a war zone and use people then forget them. What is most important is this relationship between people. This was such a strong relationship."

How did filming affect the fishermen? "I wrote my first version of this film four years before. It took one year for me to write the final script. Never gave them the script. After filming was complete, Salvatore Iaccarino (the ship's captain) said to me: 'Now you will send me the script. People in the street say you made a film. What is it about? I don't know.' When they saw it at the Venice Film Festival they said, 'How did you tell out story without knowing us?'"

What is the future of this film? "No distribution deals have been made. It is more and more difficult to get this kind of film around. The film was subsidized by the Italian government. The Cultural Minister said it has to bring it 1.5 lira for each lira spent. The Cultural Minister is not Mozzarella minister. There is no distributor in Europe or North America. People see it, like it but they do not buy it. Give them the Cultural Minister's phone number and let them sell mozzarella together." Marra has strong belief in his actors. "It is important that they speak their Neapolitan language. If we have to dub it, I will burn it."

Making the film itself was an arduous task. Filming took place over five weeks, at night, in the Gulf of Naples. In order to record the actors the crafts' engines had to be turned off while filming. "Salvatore was the only one allowed to steer. So he would point it toward darkness and rush to act before strong currents forced it around. It became a metaphor: A ship lost in the darkness."

"My theme is the confrontation between poor people and solidarity between poor people. It become a kind of washout. We are all in the same boat."

"My next film will be a journey film. A retracing of my first trip to Ireland when I was 17." His first film was a documentary, E.A.M., on ardent Naples football fans that was made as a result of a bet that he could, on his own, made a film.

Calendar of Events

FILMS

American Film Institute
The AFI shows Umberto D (Vittorio de Sica, 1952) May 15-28, and celebrates Billy Wilder with The Emperor Waltz (1948), The Major and the Minor (1942), Double Indemnity (1944), Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Five Graves to Cairo (1943), Some Like It Hot (1958), and Ace in the Hole (1951) with The Fortune Cookie (1966) and The Apartment (1959) in June. See the AFI schedule for dates and times.

Along with the National Gallery of Art, the AFI will show films by the Makhmalbaf family. The May films are A Moment of Innocence (1996) on May 17 at 8:15pm and May 18 at 3:45pm, The Silence (1998) on May 18 at 7:00pm and May 19 at 1:00pm, Fleeing From Evil to God (1984) on May 19 at 8:00pm and May 20 at 8:15pm, Kandahar (2001) on May 24 at 8:15pm and May 25 at 3:45pm, The Peddler (1996) on May 25 at 7:15pm and May 26 at 1:00pm, Boycott (1985) on May 26 at 8:00pm and May 27 at 8:15pm, The Apple (1998) on May 31 at 6:30pm and June 2 at 7:00pm, and A Time of Drunken Horses (1999)on May 31 at 8:15pm and June 1 at 8:00pm, andMarriage of the Blessed (1989), on June 1 at 6:30pm and June 2 at 1:00pm. See the National Gallery of Art schedule for more Makhmalbaf films.

Freer Gallery of Art
This year's Folklife Festival will feature the Silk Road and during May and June the Freer will show films that were made in countries along the famed Silk Road. In May is The Silk Road (Junga Sato, 1992) on May 11 at 2:00pm, The Fall of Otrar (Ardak Amirkulov, 1991) on May 12 at 2:00pm, Delbaran (Abolfazl Jalili, 2001) on May 17 at 7:00pm and May 19 at 2:00pm.

National Gallery of Art
Two programs of award-winning films from the Montreal International Festival of Films on Art are on May 4 at 1:00pm and May 11 at 1:00pm. Aso during May is a series of films about the Romanovs. The Romanovs: The Crown Family (Gleb Panfilov, 2000) is on May 17 and 18 at 2:00pm, The Assassin of the Tsar (Karen Shakhnazarov, 1991) is on May 24 and 25 at 2:00pm and The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty (Esther Shub, 1927) is on May 25 at 4:00pm. In May and June is a series of films by Mohsen Makhmalbaf and family, at both the Gallery and the AFI. The May films are: Afghan Alphabet (2001) with The Cyclist (1987) on May 19 at 4:00pm, and The Closeup (1990) on May 26 at 4:00pm.

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Cool and Crazy (Knut Erik Jensen, 2001), which is a documentary about a male choir in a fishing village in northern Norway, is on May 2 and 3 at 8:00pm. The annual Black Maria Film Festival is on May 9 and 10 at 8:00pm with a different program each night of animation, experimental, narrative, and documentary shorts.

National Museum of Women in the Arts
Five films by Spanish women directors will be shown in May. If you missed Compassionate Sex (2000, Laura Mañá) which was the opening night film for FilmFestDC in 2001, you can catch it on May 12 at 7:00pm. Come Back to My Side (Gracia Querejeta, 1999) is on May 15 at 7:00pm, Yoyes (Helena Taberna, 1999) is on May 17 at 7:00pm, I Know Who You Are (Patricia Ferreira, 1999) is on May 23 at 7:00pm, and Yerma (Pilar Tavora, 1998) is on May 24 at 7:00pm.

Films on the Hill
Two Douglas Fairbanks films are in May: The Black Pirate (Albert Parker, 1926) in the original, rarely-seen two-strip technicolor on May 17 at 7:30pm with Ray Brubacher providing piano accompaniment, and The Gaucho (F. Richard Jones, 1927) on May 22 at 7:00pm. Also The Fighting Kentuckian (George Waggner, 1949) with the odd combination of John Wayne and Oliver Hardy is on May 8 at 7:00pm.

DC Jewish Community Center
Two music videos Israel Rocks (Izzy Abraham and Ergi Netz, 2000) with Psychedelic Zion (Isri Halpern, 2000) are on May 7 at 7:00pm as part of the Washington Jewish Music Festival. If you missed One of the Hollywood Ten (Karl Francis, 2000) at the Washington Jewish Film Festival, you can see it on May 13 at 7:00pm. Herbert Biberman's film, Salt of the Earth (1954) which is talked about in One of the Hollywood Ten will be screened on May 20 at 7:00pm.

Pickford Theater
May films at the Pickford include Lovers on the Bridge (Leos Carax, 1999) on May 10 at 7:00pm, The Young Girls of Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1967), The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958), and a program of Japanese Animation on May 16. All are at 7:00pm.

National Museum of Natural History
Taking part in this summer's Silk Road extravaganza, the Museum of Natural History will show some short films about Afghanistan. On May 17 at noon is The Gem Hunter (2002) about Gary Bowersox's exploration for gemstones in Afghanistan. On May 19 at 2:00pm is The Painted Truck (1972) and Nomads of Badakshan (1975) about wealthy Afghan traders and the Afghan truck painting tradition. Also on the Silk Road is To the Land of Bliss (Wen-jie Qin, 2002), about the Chinese Pure Land Buddhist way of dying and living on May 31 at noon.

Previous Storyboards

April, 2002
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December, 2001
November, 2001
October, 2001
September, 2001
August, 2001
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June, 2001
May, 2001
April, 2001
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December,2000
November, 2000