The Golden Age of Slapstick Comedy (1910-1950)
The Slapsticon Film Festival
There are hundreds of film festivals taking place all over the world, some general, some extremely specialized. Besides our local FilmfestDC devoted to international film and Arabian Sights, our town hosts a Jewish Film Festival, a Gay Film Festival, a Latin American Film Festival, a European Film Festival, the just completed SilverDocs, and a few others. All of us are well acquainted with FilmfestDC, our parent organization, and DCFS members have shared their fun and experiences at other film festivals in London, Edinburgh, Toronto, Rotterdam, and Cannes.
Most of these festivals concentrate on new films with maybe one or two "old" films. Of course there are festivals specializing in older films but so far none in our town. However, in July our area is fortunate to be the host of the first-ever Slapsticon Film Festival, to be held mainly at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater. Slapsticon has been organized by a local film buff who found himself more interested in what private collectors had brought to show outside the festival than what the festival itself was showing. Established comedians such as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd will be represented in the festival, but the emphasis will be on rediscovery of rare films and forgotten comedians such as Max Davidson, Charley Chase, Larry Semon, and Mabel Normand. Many of the prints are from private archives, many are one-of-a-kind, restored by their owners and have never been exhibited publicly since their initial release. Even the better-known films are unique, some may be the most complete print in existence, with scenes not seen anywhere else.
Slapsticon's intrepid organizer says that this is "the longest and most comprehensive collection of rare comedies anywhere at any time... with around 100 prints, it's a record!" At any rate it is bigger than the 1985 Slapstick Symposium that MoMA did and you don't have to leave town. This is a rare opportunity to meet some truly serious film buffs, see rare films from private archives, and have some good laughs at the same time.
Two of our local venues will take place in the festival: the National Gallery of Art and Films on the Hill (see listings below in the Calendar of Events section and also note the specific locations). But it's not all screenings. There will be a "brown bag" Slapstick Summit on July 11 at 1:00pm with most of the world's film comedy experts on stage discussing topics of interest. Another program of interest is Friday at 7:30pm, devoted to Buster Keaton, with rare outtakes, TV ads, industrial films, skits from TV shows and reconstructed versions of rare Keaton silents and talkies.
The Spectrum Theater was originally built as a movie house in the 1960s. It is newly renovated with 387 cushioned theater seats, each with a folding table for note-taking or for refreshments (yes, they're allowed!). The lobby will be transformed into "Le Cafe Comique" for the weekend with a stills gallery, dealer tables and coffee.
The first screening begins at 1:00pm on July 10 and ends at 5:00pm on July 13. That's approximately 36 hours of vintage comedy. Three musicians have been hired to accompany the silent films: Mark Kotishion, Ben Model, and our local expert Ray Brubacher. Each has many years of experience accompanying silent films and each has a unique and different approach to accompaniment.
The Rosslyn Spectrum Theater is located at 1611 N. Kent Street, two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro. For more information and a complete schedule see the official website.
Lights, Camera, Cannes!
By Cheryl Dixon
Article 1: The spirit of the Festival de Cannes is one of friendship and universal cooperation. Its aim is to reveal and focus attention on works of quality in order to contribute to the progress of the motion picture arts and to encourage the development of the film industry throughout the world. (Regulations of the Festival de Cannes).
Each year thousands of international filmmakers, film executives, film stars, and film fans converge upon Cannes, France for two weeks in May for the Festival de Cannes, otherwise known as the Cannes Film Festival, held on the Boulevard de la Croisette. This year at the 56th annual event, fellow Film Society member Claudia Lagos and I were amongst the crowd. We joined other eager fans lining up in front of the Palais des Festivals, an enormous building with the famous red-carpeted entrance, where the throngs might catch a glimpse of their favorite film stars premiering their latest films. Stars in fabulous gowns and tuxedos, as well as equally well-dressed police officers, paparazzi and other journalists abound amidst the throngs of fans. C’est Cannes!
Over 700 films were shown. Some films are shown 24 hours. Accredited journalists gain access to most of the screenings, but not to the black-tie events that are often held on yachts in the adjoining Old Port. Producers, directors, distributors, alike have to wait in line for tickets even with credentials. For additional information, check out the website.
The festival features films shown both in and outside of competition. They are presented at the Palais des Festivals and are entered into the following competition categories: (a) Feature Films in Competition and Out of Competition, (b) Short Films, (c) Un Certain Regard, (d) Cinefondation, and (e) Camera d’Or.
The “official selection” includes approximately 20 films vying for the coveted Palme d’Or. The official non-competitive category, “Un Certain Regard” also includes approximately 20 selections. Approximately 15 short films compete for the short-film Palme d’Or. Cinéfondation includes approximately 15 short/feature films from film schools. The Camera d’Or is the best first film award.
The Festival also includes special tributes, retrospectives, exhibitions, and master classes. This year featured the debut of the Leçon de Musique, a workshop on the art of composing for films. Following this year’s theme on film legend Federico Fellini (“Viva il Cinema!”), the debut presented the work of Nicola Piovani, one of Fellini’s composers who wrote the score for three of his films. The Opening Night film was Gérard Krawczych’s new version of the French classic Fanfan La Tulipe featuring Penelope Cruz and Vincent Perez. This was preceded by a screening of Festival President Gilles Jacob’s film, Les Marches, etc., a humorous short film with multiple images of the film legends associated with the Cannes Film Festival. The Closing Night film featured Charlie Chaplin as the “Little Tramp” in a restored version of his 1936 Modern Times. This film was also shown outdoors on the beach at the “Cinéma de la Plage.” My personal film favorite? Too many great films to choose from. Too difficult to decide. One guess: I’m a huge fan of Gus Van Sant.
The second half the Festival includes the film market, or Marché du Film, which focuses on the actual business of film: distribution, sales, and associated deal making. Executive Director of the film market Jerome Paillard observed that there were 7,368 registered participants. Business continued as usual on the Croisette, but was considered less crowded than in past years perhaps because of the impact of the Iraq War, the SARS outbreak, and the overall economic climate.
2003 Festival de Cannes Film Lineups
Opening (Out Of Competition): Fanfan La Tulipe (Gérard Krawczyk); Closing (Out Of Competition): Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin).
In Competition: A Cinq Heures De L'après-Midi (At Five in the Afternoon, Samira Makhmalbaf); Bright Future (Kiyoshi Kurosawa); Carandiru (Hector Babenco); Ce Jour-Là (Raoul Ruiz); Dogville (Lars Von Trier); Elephant (Gus Van Sant); Il Cuore Altrove (Pupi Avati); La Petite Lili (Claude Miller); Les Côtelettes (Bertrand Blier); Les Égarés (Strayed, André Téchiné); Les Invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions, Denys Arcand); Mystic River (Clint Eastwood); Père Et Fils (Father and Son, Alexandre Sokourov); Purple Butterfly (Ye Lou); Sharasojyu (Naomi Kawase); Swimming Pool (François Ozon); The Brown Bunny (Vincent Gallo); The Moab Story / The Tulse Luper Suitcase - Part I (Peter Greenaway); Tiresia (Bertrand Bonello); Uzak (Nuri Bilge Ceylan).
Out Of Competition: E Le Temps Du Loup (Michael Haneke); Les Triplettes De Belleville (Sylvain Chomet); Mansion By The Lake (Lester James Peries); Qui a Tué Bambi? (Who Killed Bambi? Gilles Marchand); The Matrix Reloaded (Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski); Vai e Vem (João César Monteiro).
Short Films In Competition: A Janela Aberta (Philippe Barcinski); Cracker Bag (Glendyn Ivin); Fast Film (Virgil Widrich); Ik Ontspruit (Esther Rots); L'Homme Sans Tete (Juan Solanas); My Blind Brother (Sophie Goodhart); Novembersno (Karolina Jonsson); The Most Beautiful Man in the World (Alicia Duffy); To Tamneno (Marsa Makris).
Special Sessions: (Charlie: The Life And Death Of Charlie Chaplin, Richard Schickel); Il Grido D'angoscia Dell'uccello Predatore 20 Tagli D'aprile (Nanni Moretti); S-21, La Machine De Mort Khmère Rouge (Rithy Panh); The Fog Of War (Errol Morris); The Last Customer (Nanni Moretti); The Soul Of A Man (Wim Wenders).
Un Certain Regard
Opening: En Jouant 'Dand La Compagnie Des Hommes (Arnaud Desplechin); A Story That Begins At The End (Murali Nair); A Thousand Months (Faouzi Bensaidi); All Tomorrow's Parties (Yu Lik Wai); American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini); Crimson Gold (Jaffar Panahi); Drifters (Wang Xiaoshuai); Hoy y Mañana (Alejandro Chomski); Japanese Story (Sue Brooks); Kiss of Life (Emily Young); Meglio Gioventu (Marco Tullio Giordanala); Les Mains Vides (Marc Recha); Robinson's Crusoe (Lin Cheng-Sheng); September (Max Farberbock); Stormy Weather (Solveig Anspach); Struggle (Ruth Mader); Young Adam (David MacKenzie).
And the Winner is...2003 Awards
Awards film feature: Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) Elephant by Gus Van Sant (USA). Best Director award: Elephant by Gus Van Sant (USA). Best Actress award: Marie Josée Croze Barbarian Invasions by Denys Arcand (Quebec). Best Actor award: Muzaffer Ozdemir and Mehmet Emin Toprak actors' in Uzak by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey). Best Screenplay: Barbarian Invasions by Denys Arcand (Quebec). Jury Prize: Five in the Afternoon by Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran). Grand Jury Prize: Uzak by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkey). Caméra d'Or Prize (Golden Camera): Reconstruction by Christoffer Boe (Denmark). Special Mention Camera d'Or (Golden Camera): Osama by Sedigh Barmak (Afghanistan).
Awards short films: First Prize Cinéfondation award: Run Rabbit Run/Bezi Zeko Bezi by Pavle Vuckov (Serbia). Second Prize Cinéfondation award: Story of the Desert by Celia Galan Julve (Spain). Third Prize Cinéfondation award: TV City by Alberto Couceiro and Alejandra Tomei (Germany) and ex-aequo At That Point... Rebecca by Luciana Jauffred Gorostiza's (Mexico).
So, Who Was There?
Legendary French actress Jeanne Moreau received an honorary Palme d’Or for her lifetime achievements in film at an evening gala dedicated to her life and career. Gilles Jacob observed, “My dear Jeanne, you are the incarnation of French art, elegance, passion and spirit. You are the ambassador of film, who embraces the future.”
This is a partial listing of filmmakers, actors, and other celebrities and film professionals attending this year’s festival: Judges included Patrice Chereau, Wen Jiang, Erri de Lucca, Aishwarya Rai, Jean Rochefort, Meg Ryan, Steven Soderbergh, Danis Tanovic, and Karen Viard. Celebrities included Isabelle Adjani, Kevin Bacon, Gael Garcia Bernal, Luc Besson, Elodie Bouchet, Adrien Brody, Claudia Cardinale, Geraldine Chaplin, Kevin Costner, James Cameron, Jackie Chan, Penelope Cruz, Beatrice Dalle, Claire Danes, Damon Dash, Gérard Depardieu, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Laurence Fishburne, Bernard Geraudeau, Vincent Gallo, Macy Gray, Isabelle Huppert, Elizabeth Hurley, Iman, Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Laura Linney, Gina Lollobrigida, Ewan McGregor, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Noiret, François Ozon, Vincent Perez, Charlotte Rampling, Keanu Reeves, Tim Robbins, Michelle Rodriguez, Geoffrey Rush, Chloe Sevigny, Russell Simmons, Jada Pinkett Smith, Elizabeth Taylor, Gus Van Sant, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oliver Stone, Kristin Scott Thomas, Donatella Versace, Emily Watson, Harvey Weinstein, and Zhang Ziyi.
Film Society members (with all due respect to our parent organization, Filmfest DC!), this is the Festival of all film festivals to attend. There is something here for everyone to enjoy: watching films, mingling with stars, enjoying the beach, appreciating French and international people and culture. The trip is a lot more affordable than you might think and, while knowledge of French is certainly helpful, it is definitely not required. So, in the spirit of friendship and the appreciation of excellent film, I’ll see you next year, somewhere along the Croisette!
The Cannes Diary
By Cheryl Dixon
The following are excerpts from the daily journal that I kept. While the events that took place are real, these events should not be construed as a typical day in Cannes. Rather, they are a good indication of the level of excitement and types of activities that can occur at the Festival. There is a lot to do in Cannes if you can take the time away from the enormous film selection.
May 22, 2003
Today we met a wonderful, new friend, Angela, a British woman married to Antonio, a funny and charming Italian television technician, who along with journalist Teresa Marchesa, interviewed and filmed Gina Lollobrigida, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Geraldine Chaplin, and Italian Director Pupi Avati, among others. Angela showed us how to take the train to Cannes. My first impression of Cannes was, with its crowded and narrow side streets cackling with energy, and designer stores, that it reminded me of a NYC only with pastel-colored, far less tall buildings. But as we approached the Boulevard de la Croisette more closely, the look was decidedly more tropical: palm trees and beach across the street from world-class hotels. As Claudia and I searched for the Palais, we came across a handsome group of Festival police officers and thought it would be great photo op since we had heard that the Festival hires additional security. A short while later a couple of these now off-duty officers, Alain and Christophe, approached us on the Croisette and introduced themselves. We did our best to talk with them “entirement en français” and they, (dare I say) intrigued, asked us to join them and their friends in Monaco for an evening of dinner and dancing...
May 23, 2003
We met Angela and walked to the old part of Cannes, “Le Suquet,” where we had dined last night. After checking email in the Italian tent, where the Italian film/TV industry showcases its offerings and provides office space for its journalists, Angela suggested that we meet Antonio, who was interviewing the actress Geraldine Chaplin on a yacht in the Old Port. We, however, arrived too early and decided instead to check out the yacht bearing an American flag. We were granted permission to come on board by the owner. We were greeted by a multimillionaire from St. Louis, Missouri and were delighted to see the model Iman doing a photo shoot right next to us on the yacht! We sipped mimosas and chatted with the other guests. We discovered that an Amfar fundraiser had been held there the night before featuring Elton John and Macy Gray. We met Ms. Krim, the Executive Director of Amfar, and made some Hollywood connections. Our lunch companions were whisked away in order to interview actor Kevin Costner. Just when we thought things couldn’t get more exciting, as we left the yacht, we ran into Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody. Of course I complimented him on that famous kiss with actress Halle Berry!…
May 24, 2003
Another incredible/unbelievable night! After seeing terrific films, Alain and Christophe picked us up and drove us to a restaurant in Cannes where we were surrounded by several of their wonderful, friendly, and humorous male and female friends. After a very Italian dinner, complete with French wine, and a great dessert of strawberries, combined with sugar, and more French wine, we all headed to a “hot” club, “Caliente,” owned by Alain’s friend, Daniel Ducruet (former husband of Princess Stephanie of Monaco) whom we met. I kid you not. Claudia and I quickly learned to dance to “zouk” music and Brazilian samba with our new expert dancer friends...
May 25, 2003
Claudia and I feel very much at home here. The French Riviera with its laid-back beach atmosphere is our kind of place. As many people as there are visiting Cannes, we even unexpectedly ran into a couple of Washingtonians here: our fearless leader, Tony Gittens, Filmfest DC and Film Critic Desson Howe, The Washington Post. Tony had actually introduced us to the Suquet and gave us a tour of the hot spots on the Croisette (between film screenings, of course!)
An Informal Interview with Cannes Film Festival Journalist Mathias Forget
By Cheryl Dixon
I spotted Mathias Forget in the Press Accreditation Line in a building adjacent to the Palais and thought that this would be a terrific opportunity to get him to promise that he would allow me to interview him for our publication.
Storyboard: What were your favorite movies screened during the 56th Annual Festival de Cannes? Why?
MF: My favorite movie was Modern Times by C. Chaplin, which was the movie that closed the Festival. As for me, this movie, despite the fact that it was shot in 1936, remains very actual and the humor is timeless, it addresses everybody regardless of the age or the epoch. Moreover, the movie was restored in HD by the post-production firm LTC - Scanlab and the quality of the screening was amazing.
Storyboard: What were your least favorite movies? Why?
MF: First of all, I have to say that I saw only four movies during the Festival. Thus my least favorite movie was The Crimson River by Clint Eastwood. I really adore Clint Eastwood and I probably expected too much from his movie, which was from my point of view a bit too slow and not so intense as, for instance, the great A Perfect World with Kevin Costner; besides, it reminded me a lot about a movie called Sleepers starring Kevin Bacon.
Storyboard: For what purpose did you cover the Festival?
MF: I covered the Festival for a professional purpose since I am the Sales Manager of the firm Scanlab (subsidiary of LTC), a firm specialized in digital and video post-production. We had some movies we worked on screened during the Festival, like Swimming Pool by Francois Ozon or Modern Times and it’s always a great opportunity to see our clients and to meet new ones.
Storyboard: Were your article(s) published online? If so, can we have the link?
MF: You can have a look at our corporate Web Site where you can find some information about our presence in the Cannes Film Festival.
Storyboard: Nearly 4,000 journalists and technicians received press accreditation, but far greater numbers did not receive credentials. Can you tell me why you think that you were fortunate to have received them?
MF: For many years, LTC and Scanlab have been present in Cannes helping producers or directors to have the best possible screening of their movie. Thus, we have to be there every year to contribute to the magic of the Cannes Film Festival.
Storyboard: Did you interview any of the celebrities? Did you otherwise meet any?
MF: I had the chance to be invited to the official dinner after the closing ceremony where I saw many celebrities. I had the privilege to be at the table of Gus Van Sant, next to the table of Meg Ryan, Steven Soderbergh, and many others. I also met Geraldine Chaplin and her brother Michael after a conference call about “Modern Times.”
Storyboard: Why do you attend the Cannes Film Festival? What is the significance of coming here? What is the purpose of the Festival?
MF: Attending the Cannes Film Festival is like a dream, it’s like taking part of the story of the seventh art by doing the best we can to further the movie industry. The purpose of being there is not only professional, it is also personal, I mean we really get involved in our work because we love “cinema.” We really want to help young directors, new producers, and we want movies from other countries to be seen. It is a sort of duty we have and we are proud to take part in it.
Storyboard: Is there such a thing as a typical day at Cannes?
MF: Usually, you get up early in the morning in order to attend a screening at 9 or 10 a.m. Then you have lunch with some clients in order to talk about some projects or in order to prepare a screening. After this, you can have a conference call or another meeting with clients. About 5:30 p.m., you have to hurry to your hotel in order to get dressed for the evening. Once you are dressed, you go to the Majestic before going to the official screening with the famous protocol of the red carpet. After the screening, it’s dinnertime, and then you head to one of the famous Cannes’ parties until very late in the night.
Storyboard: Is this your first time at this Festival? If not, how many times have you been here before?
MF: It was my fourth time to the Cannes Film Festival and it is still a great moment.
Storyboard: Any parting comments for our readers in Washington, DC?
MF: Go to the movie theaters, cinema is magic.
Storyboard: Thank you Mathias, that was terrific! What do you say? Same time, next year?
Cannes Logistics
By Cheryl Dixon
The biggest fear that our friends had for my travel companion, Claudia Lagos, and myself was that we would not find accommodations in Cannes at the last minute in order to attend the Cannes Film Festival. What to do if you’re not lucky or rich enough to afford to stay in one of the “Big Four” beachfront hotels in Cannes: the Carlton, Majestic, Martinez, or Noga Hilton (or The Hotel du Cap in Antibes which draws the influential Hollywood types)? Besides, after watching all those movies, you have to eat.
We found accommodations in an adjoining town, Juan-les-Pins, six miles and only 10 minutes away from Cannes. However, our friends needn’t have worried. Everything in Juan-les-Pins was 10 minutes or less away: the beach, supermarket, train station, stores, restaurants, and nightclubs.
We absolutely loved this Riviera town: its small-town beach resort feel, its beauty, the white sand, pebble-free beaches with azure-blue waters, the perpetual humidity-free sunshine, the motorcyle culture, and the beautiful and friendly people. Juan-les-Pins had an amazing mix of people. We met Tunisians, both resident and visiting, Senegalese (mostly vendors), Italians, Australians, and New Zealanders. We quickly made friends wherever we went in stores, restaurants, etc.
We also dined at one of several beachside restaurants, where the tables are right on the beach. At night we hung out at a Brazilian restaurant/club, which featured live entertainment. Of course, we wined and dined in Cannes as well. There are plenty of reasonably priced restaurants, especially Italian, nearby the Croisette.
See pictures of Cannes on this page.
The Edinburgh Film Festival Coming Soon (Updated)
By Jim McCaskill
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND. If you were on the Mall in early July, and noticed the large number of Scots taking part in this year’s Smithsonian Institution’s Folklife Festival, you might think everyone had left the bonnie banks of Scotland and headed for the banks of the Potomac. While displays of Scottish crafts such as Harris Tweed weaving and whisky making and enough traditional and modern music from the likes of Orkney Isle’s Wrigley Sisters, the talented Dougie MacLean (whose music has been featured in several films such as Angel Eyes and Last of the Mohicans) and the Gaelic songs of Ishbel MacAskill have made for a Scottish invasion of the states a sizable contingency have been left behind to prepare for the month of madness; August and the Edinburgh festivals. Six major festivals going on at the same time and anyone of which would make this city worth visiting: The Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival (the world's largest festival), The Book Festival, International Jazz and Blues Festival, Edinburgh Military Tattoo as well as The Edinburgh International Film Festival. This makes for a full day. And night.
"It is going to be a hell of a festival!" And with these words Shane Danielsen, Artistic Director, kicked off the The 57th Edinburgh International Film Festival. And a hell of a festival it will be indeed. The theme this year is Old Europe (thank you Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld). That comment has triggered much soul searching in Europe about what it means to be European and to live in Europe. Twenty-three films out of the 110 films in the festival focus on this conundrum.
Francois Ozon, a favourite director here, is back with his newest film, Swimming Pool (playing right now in DC). Charlotte Rampling returns to star in this quirky mystery. Rampling plays a veteran British novelist who leaps at the chance to retreat from grey London to her publisher’s French country house to work on her latest novel. Her host’s promiscuous teenage daughter, played by Ludivine Sagnier, arrives just as the writer is at the most fragile point in the creative process, beginning to write. The film does not yield any great truths but leads you into blending the line between reality and fiction. Swimming Pool had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Rampling and Ozon previously teamed up on 8 Women and Under the Sand. Rampling has to be the hardest working actress at the moment as she has 6 films either in production or ready for release: Le Chiavi di Casa for the Italian director Gianni Amelio; Trilogy directed by the Yugoslavian director Enki Bilal who directed Tykho Moon; The Statement, a horror film for Norman Jewison; I’ll Sleep When I Am Dead, a thriller by the English director Mike Hodges (famed for Coupier) and Jerusalem for the Croatian director Jakov Sedler.
Another film having its UK premiere is Jim Sheridan’s Irish-UK film In America. This film, well received at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival, is a fairy tale of New York from the Oscar nominated Sheridan (In the Name of the Father, My Left Foot) is a semi-autobiographical film of a young Irish family, reeling from the death of their infant son, relocate to Hell’s Kitchen stars Samantha Morton and Paddy Considine. The film is told from the point of view of 10-year-old Sarah Bolger. She and her younger sister all but steal the film. Sarah’s fantastic singing helps to make this an anticipated wonderful, big-hearted movie.
Other UK premieres are scheduled for Jonas Akerlund’s Spun, Richard LaGravenese and Ted Demme’s documentary of American filmmaking, A Decade Under the Influence, Nawfel Saheb-Etteba’s The Bookstore and Lucas Belvaux’s The Trilogy is certain to be a major event.
Spun (USA, 2002) explores the drug world of Ross, played by Rushmore’s Jason Schwartzman. The Swedish director’s experience on music video’s shines through in the grunge visual style of this film.
The eight years between 1968 and 1976 was a period of great American filmmaking with the release of films such as The Godfather , M*A*S*H , One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Taxi Driver. This highly acclaimed documentary of these counterculture films has rare clips and never seen before archival footage includes interviews with all the principal players in these films that still cast t heir shadow on filmmakers: Scorsese, Coppola, Altman, Bogdanovich, Hopper. A Decade Under the Influence presents a period of excellence in cinema.
The Bookstore has already been acclaimed by Variety as “One of the unheralded discoveries of the year.” The Tunisia-France 2003 first feature film by Saheb-Etteb follows Jamil as he returns to Tunis after a failed romance in Paris to work in a family friend’s bookshop. The story involves two very different women: his boss’s wife and his mother. One dreams of a career as a classical singer and the other is lonely.
Lucas Belvauz’s La Trilogie: On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After Life (France-Belgium 2002) is three different films in three different genres (police thriller, romantic comedy, marital melodrama) is based on the same six characters all living in Grenoble, France. Viewed separately the films are superb examples of current French cinema but together the films offer a rich and depth seldom found in cinema.
Each year the Edinburgh International Film Festival offers a retrospective of an acclaimed filmmaker’s work. This year they have chosen the French director Henri-Georges Clouzot, the European equivalent to Alfred Hitchcock. His Diabolique (1955) was one of the first foreign language films I saw and memories of the bath tube scene still haunt me. False accusations of Nazi collaboration in World War II left him a cynic and a fatalist; themes present in his work. His pitiless and gripping visions of human greed make his films such as 1953 film Wages of Fear stand the test of time.
Richard Jobson’s Sixteen Years of Alcohol (previous article on this film was in the August 2002 Storyboard) will have its World Premiere in Edinburgh. This semi-autobiographical film had hoped to be ready for Sundance but now looks ready for this festival. It is only fitting as much of the film was shot in Edinburgh and Jobson has said “Edinburgh’s always been my adopted city ever since the days of the Skids. We were based in Fife but we used to have a flat here. I always though of Edinburgh as my magical home.”
Young Adam by David MacKenzie will be the opening film. Ewen McGregor stars in the adaptation of the cult novel. Fitting as McGregor is a native of nearby Crieff. The 32-year-old actor may not be able to attend as he has begun work on the third and final Star Wars film. His experience on this film series with robots should be handy, as he has recently completed work as a computer generated character in Robots.
Closisng Night honors goes to the USA film, American Splendor. This mix of documentary, fiction, comic book was a hit at Sundance. Danielson said, "I can't describe American Splendor. Just have to come and see it."
In between there those films will be 8 World, 9 International, 6 European and 68 UK premeres, a few Charlie Chaplin and lots of interesting films. I've only seen a few at Toronto or Rotterdam film festivals such as the Icelandic film of Dagur Kari, Noi the Albino, which is one of those and is certain to make my top film list off 2003. My interview with the direcor was in the March 2003 Storyboard.
One film that I think may be a hidden gem is Screaming Men (Mika Ronkainer, Finland and Denmark, 2003). "A choir of blokes. In rubber tuxedos, In the snow. Screaming." One will leave with wonder or with a splitting headache.
EIFF is about more than movies. The growing importance of film in installation art is recognized with an exhibition at Edinburgh College of Art coinciding with the EIFF. This year the Reel Life section has expanded to feature talks by professionals in the film industry. This year five directors are already signed up for these interviews and more may be added. Peter Greenaway, who is here with The Moab Story, will talk about his career and about the incredible Tulse Luper Suitcases project. The Moab Story is only the first film in the triology and before this "immersive narrative experience" is finished the project will include travelling installations, a website spawning 1001 stories, books, DVDs and a television series. Others currently schedule are: Jim Sheridan (directed My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, The Boxer, screen play for Some Mother's Son); Richard LaGravenese ( The Horse Whisperer, The Bridges of Madison County, The Fisher King) who is here with A Decade Under the Influence; Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Pulp, The Terminal Man, Flash Gordon) brings his latest film, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead and the director's cut of The Terminal Man; Terence Davies (Trilogy, Distant Voices, Still Lives, The House of Mirth) will talk about these films and his current work in progress that is based on the Scottish classic novel, Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song.
Edinburgh film festival provides meaty topics as well as glitz and glitter of stars such as Clint Eastwood, who will be here with his latest film. The 57th Edinburgh International Film Festival is indeed more than movies.
