Next Cinema Lounge

The Cinema Lounge meets Monday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. to discuss the films of Billy Wilder, the mastermind behind such classics as Some Like It Hot (1959) and Sunset Boulevard (1950). Suggested viewing: Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Apartment (1960), The Fortune Cookie (1966), and The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970).

Cinema Lounge, a film discussion group, takes place the second Monday of every month at 7:00 PM at Borders Books, 600 14th St., NW in Washington, DC (near the Metro Center Metro stop).

The finest contemporary Arab cinema will be screened in Washington, D.C., October 6-17 as part of the Washington, DC International Film Festival's "Arabian Sights" series.

Arabian Sights will offer viewers 10 films from the Arab world, including Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia. Many of the films in the series will receive their American premieres at Arabian Sights.

"We have assembled some of the finest Arab films available from across the Arab world," explained Shirin Ghareeb, festival director. "At a time when we as a country are struggling to understand Arab culture, Arabian Sights provides a realistic look at everyday life in the Arab world."

The films are: Rana's Wedding; A Thousand and One Voices: The Music of Islam; A Girl's Secret; When Maryam Spoke Out; Ticket to Jerusalem, Mona Saber, Jalla! Jalla! (a favorite at the recent DC Film Festival); Two Moons and an Olive Tree and Beyond Gibralter.

Screenings will take place on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, October 6-17, at the Loews Cineplex Wisconsin Avenue Cinemas, 4000 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. All films have English subtitles. For more information, call 202-724-5613 or visit the website.

A Message From Liz Wagger, Co-Director, DCFS

Dear Members,

For those of you who have seen me lately, I have been putting on quite a bit of weight where a baby's been growing. Although still very involved behind the scenes, I haven't been going to as many movies lately, so you might not have seen this latest development. The reality is such that it's time for me to step down from my co-director duties at the Film Society and step up in the co-directorship of the soon to be growing Wagger family. That's where my energies will be focused. Michael and I are in the process of interviewing and choosing the next co-director of the Film Society from a pool of candidates from our dynamic, active coordinating committee.

I have been a member of the Film Society coordinating committee since the summer of 1994, and co-director since the summer of 1995--I have spent 8 years watching the Film Society grow from a fledgling organization of 150 members, to the vibrant, active community of 900 film loving members, all enjoying film previews, discussion groups, special programs and each other's company. I will not be totally walking away. I hope to be an active volunteer for such projects as the Oscars Party, and other discussions regarding the future of the Film Society. But for now, I must take that step back from running the organization.

Michael and I have worked very well together since Michael came in after Robyn Tholke's departure in 1998, and I will miss our working relationship. In fact. I will miss a lot about the Film Society... but I hope to be back, helping out and showing off baby pictures soon! Thank you for being a great group!

See you all soon.

Liz Wagger

The 27th Annual Toronto International Film Festival

By Ron Gordner and Jim McCaskill

The 27th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held September 5-14, 2002. This year over 345 films were shown (about 180 were North American or World premieres) from 50 countries. The program was divided into sections such as Gala Presentations, Masters, Visions, Special Presentations, Perspective Canada, Contemporary World Cinema, Discovery (first time directors' films), Planet Africa, Real to Reel (documentaries), Wavelengths (new section devoted to experimental and avant-garde films), Dialogues: Talking with Pictures (current directors present their favorite retrospective films), and Midnight Madness (usually fringe, outrageous or horror films). The special director chosen for the Spotlight section this year was French director Robert Guediguian and his 11 films including his new film: Marie-Jo and Her Two Loves. The country whose cinema was highlighted this year was South Korea, which had a dozen recent varied films screened and is considered the new voice for new Asian films.

TIFF is generally considered to be the second most important film festival after Cannes. Unlike Cannes however, the public screenings are a large part of the festival. Being held in September is also an excellent time for the major Hollywood studios to strut out their fall films, and for some independent film and foreign films to still capture distribution, and for any film to capture a buzz for Oscar time.

The festival is usually very well organized. This year many passholders got fewer requested preregistered films due to about a 25% increase in early registrants. The larger crowds and some initial problems (loss of air conditioning in several theatres and a smoke-out that caused evacuation of all the Cumberland theatres one afternoon) and other disorganization the first few days of the festival really brought into question whether TIFF could maintain its reputation. TIFF staff and volunteers quickly got things running smoothly again.

In memory of last year's 9/11 disasters in America there were no screenings in the morning on Wednesday Sept. 11, 2002. Two films dealing with the subject were the galas The Guys directed by Jim Simpson and starring Sigourney Weaver as a journalist and Anthony La Paglia as a New York City fire captain in the aftermath, and 11'09'01 which is a collection of 11 shorts by 11 different international directors, each running exactly 11minutes, nine seconds, and one frame. Some of the shorts with anti-American sentiments were received with criticism.

Many festival attendees this year questioned whether TIFF was becoming just another press and industry festival like many others. Several press members like Roger Ebert and Todd McCarthy (Variety) reportedly whined or threw tantrums when they were shut out of press/Industry screenings of popular films like Far From Heaven. Of course they were given additional later screenings. The public did not fair so well. The popular film Whale Rider, a coming of age film about a 12-year-old Maori girl in New Zealand who strives for leadership and wisdom from the seas, was given only 2 screenings in smaller houses. Few if any rush line patrons were admitted to their packed public screenings. The film has recently been picked up by Newmarket Films for distribution.

Although a plethora of films went quickly to Rush status, we found that if we got up early and arrived at the theatres early, tickets were often available (Whale Rider was an exception). Even many of the late night Midnight Madness films went to rush or sold out status this year. TIFF is a great festival where the directors and actors show up for many screenings to introduce the film or hold question and answer sessions after screenings. It's an excellent time to get a fresh perspective on the films and how and why they were made. This year about 70% of our screenings had someone associated with the film in attendance for discussion.

Some themes we saw in this year's festival were violence, alienated youth or young people, disabled and disenfranchised youth and elderly, and strong female roles. Many of the best films like The Magdalene Sisters, Rabbit Proof Fence, and City of God are based on stranger than fiction real-life sobering stories. Rabbit Proof Fence deals with three Aboriginal children taken from their mothers by the government and their 1200-mile escape in the Australian Outback to return home. City of God is a Brazilian exposé of children becoming killers or killed in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Other films dealing with violence or rape were Irresponsible and Bowling for Columbine.

Wonderful acting by young children or young adults this year was on display--most of which were nonactors plucked from the streets. Standouts were Keisha Castle-Hughes, the 12 year old Maori girl in Whale Rider; Moon So-Ri as a young woman with cerebral palsy in the South Korean film Oasis (its director Lee Chang-dong received Best Director at the Venice Film Festival); Martin Compston as Liam in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen; Oksana Akinshina as 13 year old Lilya in Swedish director Lukas Moodyson's Lilya-4-Ever, a stark tale of survival on the streets of modern Moscow; and Harry Eden as Paul in Gillies MacKinnons film Pure, as a young boy protecting and eventually understanding that his mother (Molly Parker) is a junkie.

Julianne Moore received the best actress award in Venice and we feel that role and the film Far From Heaven by Todd Haynes is the definite classic film this year and probably headed for many Oscar nominations. It has wonderful cinematography, fashion, script, and acting that recreate 1950's middle America (reminiscent of that period's melodramas) with a socialite wife (Moore), her executive husband (Randy Quaid), and their African American gardener (Dennis Haysbert) and addresses two taboos of the time: homophobia and racism.

Awards

Although it is not really a contested festival, TIFF does announce a few awards:

AGF People's Choice Award for the most popularly voted film of the festival by the audience was Whale Rider from New Zealand directed by Niki Caro. Second place went to Michael Moore's (Roger & Me) Bowling for Columbine, a U.S. documentary about America's fascination with guns and which opens soon in DC theatres. Third place for the audience vote was a delightful British film Bend It Like Beckham directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach), the story of a British Indian teenager who loves to play soccer, but whose parents want her to instead begin learning more about housekeeping and marriage. All three films received longstanding standing ovations and cheers from their audiences.

The Volkswagen Discovery Award voted by festival journalists went to Peter McMullen's harrowing The Magdalene Sisters, which recounts the Dickensian tale of four young women (composites of real cases) considered "wayward or fallen women" who were remanded to Catholic Church run laundry/dormitories in Ireland through much of the 20th Century. The Vatican has already tried to sanction the film which will undoubtedly give it added controversial hype. It deserves to be seen by larger audiences. The Magdalene Sisters also took the Golden Lion Award at this year's Venice Film Festival as best film in competition.

The Toronto City Award was given to David Cronenberg's Spider in which Ray Fiennes plays a man battling schizophrenia. The other Canadian film award, the City TV Award went to Wiebke von Carolsfeld's Marion Bridge, a film about the secrets of three adult sisters in Nova Scotia starring Molly Parker.

The Individual Film Channel Visions Award for visual achievement went to the Russian film Russian Ark directed by Alexandr Sokurov which is one 96 minute shot of by going through many rooms of the Heritage Museum in St. Petersburg recapturing over 300 years of Russian and European history. This was also a difficult ticket to acquire and we found it well worth getting to the box office early to obtain tickets.

The Fipresci Award from the International Film Critics' Association went to Les Chemins de L'Oued (Under the Sky) by Gael Morel of France about a young French Algerian man handling guilt.

Recommendations

In our opinion, this was the best crop of films we have seen in the several years we have attended TIFF. The following are recommendations from films we saw this year, unless otherwise noted from other reliable sources:

Must See: Bend It Like Beckham (U.K.), Bowling for Columbine (U.S.), Far from Heaven (U.S.), The Good Thief (U.K., France, Ireland), The Magdalene Sisters (U.K., Ireland), Man On the Train (L'Homme du Train)(France), A Man Without a Past (Finland, Germany, France), Rabbit Proof Fence (Australia), Sweet Sixteen (U.K., Germany, Spain), and Together (China).

Must See: (Other Reliable Sources): Black and White (Australia), Evelyn (Ireland), In America (Ireland, U.K.), Lilya 4-Ever (Sweden), Respiro (Italy, France), Spellbound (U.S.), Talk to Her (Spain), and Whale Rider (New Zealand, Germany).

Very Good: Abouna (France, Chad), All or Nothing (U.K.), Denzel Washington's directorial debut: Antwone Fisher (U.S.), Blue Gate Crossing (Taiwan, France), which can be seen soon in the Reel Affirmations Film Festival, Frida (U.S.), Heaven (France, Germany, U.S.), Lost in La Mancha (U.S., U.K.), Morven Callar (U.K.), Music for Weddings and Funerals (Norway), Nowhere in Africa (Germany), The Quiet American (Australia, U.S.), and 10 (Iran, France).

Good: Chihwaseon (S. Korea), City of God (Brazil), The Cuckoo (Russia), Eight Femmes (8 Women) (France), Le Fils (The Son)(Belgium, France), Four Feathers (U.S.), Japon (Mexico, Spain), Oasis (S. Korea), Pure (U.K.), Roger Dodger (U.S.), The Russian Ark (Russia, Germany), The Sea (Iceland, France, Norway), The Secret Lives of Dentists (U.S.), Take Care of My Cat (S. Korea), and Waiting for Happiness (France, Mauritania).

Awful (Avoid These): Yellow Knife (Canada) and The Kite (Russia).

Some of these films will be opening soon or within the next few months at your theatres, while others may come to the next DC Film Fest, be seen in DC museums, or sadly some may never be screened in DC.

A larger number of films are being shot on video, which may cause alarm for purists. Some of the videos transferred to 35 mm have looked fairly good. Others are very grainy, dark, and are difficult to view. Digital video (DV) proponents say that the age of film is over and DV is the new media. DV does allow anyone with a video camera to become a filmmaker and allows for a great deal of flexibility in shooting locations, varied subject matter, and quick production. This will allow many new voices to be heard and new visions to be seen. It will also mean festival programmers will need to view many more entrants to sift the gems from the coal. Many viewers may have to adjust to the vertigo caused by jumpy hand held cameras as seen in recent films like Roger Dodger, The Trouble with Charlie, and Le Fils which are worth the stay. Going beyond dogme standards and stretching the endurance of the paying public may eventually bring a welcome compromise. It would be helpful if a new rating or listing for DV was required or made available on films to alert film goers.

The future in Toronto for the film festival will have to deal with the encroaching press/Industry vs. public thrust of the festival and its screenings. Rumors are that the Uptown Theatre, which has 3 large, screening rooms, may close within 1 or 2 years. The Festival will need to find additional or new large viewing venues in close proximity to existing ones.

For more description of this year's Toronto International Film Festival and the films screened visit their wonderful interactive website.

Heard in Toronto

By Jim McCaskill and Ron Gordner

Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The following were comments made by directors, producers and stars at the 27th Toronto International Film Festival, September 5-14, 2002.

"They speak Italian because they are Italian. Unlike some films where you have a Frenchman playing an Italian shot in Germany where they all speak English." Tom Tykwer, director, Heaven.

"He is the rare example of how alcohol can save a life." Keith Carridine about Falcon director, Fridrik Thor Frikriksson.

"I have not seen any film in Toronto and am on my way back to Brazil." Fernando Meirelles, director, City of God.

"I wanted to do a movie where no one would understand the language; where you have a Russian, a Finn and a Lapp." Anni-Krisilina Juuso, star, The Cuckoo.

"I wanted to find a window to show the stuff going on in Sri Lanka." Mani Ratnam, director, Kannaathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek).

"Love to make things difficult. There was no sun for the whole winter because of the mountains." "Iceland has only once gone to war: The Cod War." "Iceland imports people to do the dirty work. Iceland's economy needs fish but the natives don't like the smell." "Wanted to make a film that would show how a family gets to a certain stage. How you get there and what comes after." "The factory burned down during our filming the fire scene. That was not supposed to happen. They had a fire department that did not know how to put out a fire. So we just shot the thing." Baltasar Kormakur, director, The Sea.

When asked if The Quiet American was a cautionary tale about the US involvment in foreign wars, star Sir Michael Caine said, "The cautionary tale is don't try to take a 20 year old girl from a 68 year old man."

"The film deals with normal people trying to live normal lives in abnormal situation." Areen Omary, Executive Producer, Ticket to Jerusalem. (Note: you can see this one in the Arabian Sights Film Festival).

"Newspaper outside: we are on High Alert. Didn't know you could be both." Alan Rudolph, director, The Secret Lives of Dentists. He continued, "Like to thank the producer for bypassing being an asshole." "The little girl, Cassidy Hinkle, will rule the world in about 5 years."

"I get comments about special effects. The most violent scene in the film is the one with the guy with the megaphone." Yadon Haheyya, director, Divine Intervention. He continued, "This is an ambiance I sponged from my neighborhood. It is the price of living in Israel." "People release their frustrations against each other, not against dominant forces."

"I am usually shooting Canada for US [locations]. This is not right. In this film Canada plays Canada." Agnieszka Holland, director, Julie Walking Home.

"Carpentry measures with yardsticks and squares and we wanted this person to measure between himself and others. Something unmeasurable." Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, directors, Le Fils (The Son).

"I hope to be charming with my bad English." Patrice Leconte, director, L'Homme du Train (The Man on the Train). "Two years ago Johnny Hallyday said, 'I want to be filmed by you.' " Johnny Hallyday said later, "I only hope after this movie he would film me again." After several minutes sustained applause after the film's showing, Leconte said, "It is only a movie."

"Why do I make such hard movies? I was just thinking that myself. I don't know. It is not things that have happened in my life." Molly Parker, star, Pure.

"The real Angela is a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mike Tyson," said Andrea Di Stefano, actor, Angela.

"Have a background as teacher working with skin heads. All those years walking around London prepared me for films but this was a film about a mother and child. A film about a little boy who takes on a task he can not do." Gilles MacKinnon, director, Pure.

Director Yee Chih-yen from Taiwan in discussing his new film Blue Gate Crossing: "I write and film a lot about teenagers for film and TVv because many of them in Taiwan just see Hollywood films or read comics. There is nothing much locally for them to see about themselves. Also homosexuality in Taiwan is treated very politely, which means we don't talk about it, not even in the private homes. There is not obvious discrimination, but no real discussion either--it is kept at a distance." (Note: Blue Gate Crossing can be seen this month in the Reel Affirmations film festival.

When French director Benoit Jacquot was approached by Isabelle Adjani to make the film Adolphe based on a book she had read, he was happy to make her dream come true. When asked how it was to act with the famous actress, he said: Working with her is like having a Rolls Royce and not having a driver's license".

Mahamet-Saleh Haroun, director of the Chad/France coproduction of Abouna stated that "film is a mirror of society. Many have a misconception that all African families are united. Divorce and separation happen everywhere. He also said that cinema is space for what is possible."

Actors in Bend it Like Beckham had 2 months soccer training in the Brazilian style to look convincing in the game scenes. "Many of the actor/players wanted to continue actually playing the match of England with Germany," said British Asian director Gurinder Chadra. "Beckham was also given an private screening and really liked the film."

Director Abdonahmane Sissako explained why he did not use actors for his film Waiting for Happiness (Mauritania/France): "I work with nonactors and the detail of the film's frame. There is no real theatre in my country, Mauritania, and few if any films are made, so there are no professional actors available. So working with nonactors is not a problem. I choose the people who usually portray their own lives. I am not the master, we make the film together. A Chinese man was asked to be in the film, but replied only if he could sing. I said, ok that is what you will do; so he is the character singing in the karaoke bar."

The Iranian film Letters in the Wind was only projected from a black and white desaturated video copy. The director, Ali Reza Amini told the audience that he was sorry that he was not allowed to bring the 35mm color copy out of the country due to its ban. It is the story of Iranian soldiers and an ongoing hidden radio which is broadcasting a woman's voice. This was censored because a woman's voice in a company of men was considered "too erotic".

Abbas Kiarostami is Denied US Visa

Abbas Kiarostami, the acclaimed director of Through the Olive Trees, And Life Goes On..., awarded with the Palme d'Or for The Taste of Cherry, was invited to introduce his latest film Ten at the forthcoming New York Film Festival. He had also been invited to give a lecture at the Harvard University.

Richard Peña, director of the New York film festival was informed that Abbas Kiarostami was denied a visa to enter the United States because the consular authorities needed 90 days to "verify the background" of a citizen before giving him a visa. In spite of Pena's efforts, in spite of the fact that Kiarostami visited the USA several times, in spite of his position and reputation, the US embassy in Paris, from where the Iranian director had made his request, refused to take his application into consideration.

Jack Lang, formerly France's Minister of National Education and Culture, who tried in vain to intervene by writing a letter to the American Ambassador in Paris, Howard Leach, commented that this situation showed "an intellectual isolationism and contempt for other cultures".

Richard Peña commented: "It's a terrible sign of what's happening in my country today that no one seems to realize or care about the kind of negative signal this sends out to the entire Muslim world (not to mention to everyone else)."

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