47 YEARS OF FILM

47 YEARS OF FILM

Unless they travelled extensively, lived abroad or spent time and effort looking for information, most Americans don’t realize how isolated they are from the rest of the world in spite of the globalization. Even immigrants feel the void after a few years of life here. Controlled by the big business pushing its own “products of mass appeal” local cultural market is almost impenetrable whereas American cinema, music and culture invaded the world. Even in the sophisticated Bay Area things are not much better. What does the world think? What movies do they watch? What music are they listening to?

Foreign radio and TV stations actively promoting their cultural programming like French TV5 cannot be accessed here unless you buy special equipment and subscribe on a monthly basis. Just for comparison: in Canada (dominated by American imports) TV5 is part of a regular basic line-up even in predominantly anglophone areas. Public TV stations have regular programs offering foreign movies.

In US if you like foreign cinema, international film festivals are your best bet. Now in the Bay Area there is a film festival every month of the year and it’s not a bad thing: emerging and unknown filmmakers have access to the public and viewers have a chance to see works that might not be picked up for distribution by the middle men who think they know what we want. No wonder film festivals are spreading like fire.

San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest on the continent. It never reached the status of its younger more successful competitor in Toronto, but it got plenty of attitude. (I witnessed a staffer giving an ultimatum to a patron who declined to take a seat close to the screen due to a possible headache: “I need you to take that seat or leave!”)

Choosing films to see is not an easy task. You have to sift through a lot of sand to find a grain of gold. This year did not bring any masterpieces, but a few gems are certainly worth seeing. Documentaries are particularly important – you’ll rarely see them on big screens after the festival. The most popular Super Size Me will be an exception. (Read a separate review Super Size US)

Already mentioned The Corporation and Control Room (Film Fest Digest) are a must. How many people heard of Shirley Chisolm? This African American woman “dared” to run for presidency in 1972. Her struggles and successes are portrayed in Chisolm’72 – Unbought and Unbossed. She had to fight in court for media access and the host of a TV show interviewing other presidential candidates makes sure the viewers know that Shirley Chisolm was not invited. Watch the 3 men’s faces betraying their condescending arrogance. She is not welcome in their club. Even some of her most loyal supporters faced with the grim reality of prejudice in American populace eventually pledge their votes to the candidate most likely to win. Sounds familiar?

In addition to Checkpoint (Film Fest Digest) another documentary dealing with Israeli-Palestinian conflict Route 181 – Fragments of a Journey in Palestine-Israel pretends to be neutral. Filmed by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, it presents interviews with both sides. However, the larger picture they want you to see is crafted with careful editing and juxtaposition of quotes. Objectivity is very personal here.

In Checkpoint there is a scene where a demonstration of Israeli and Palestinian peaceniks is attempting to walk through a military checkpoint. You cannot help asking yourself: what is their goal? Do they seriously expect to get through or are they trying to provoke and publicize a violent response by soldiers who will be court-martialed and jailed if they fail their duty? Aren’t there more effective ways to promote peace? What do you do first: avenge the criminal or help the victim?

Bad Behaviour from Britain is a must-see for parents with uncontrollable children. The most effective remedy in most cases is love – not Ritalin. A Diary from the Next World presents an account of a survivor in the terrorist attack at a Moscow theater. This mother’s intense pain from losing her teenage son will penetrate even the most indifferent soul.

The Music of Life mentioned in the Film Fest Digest has only one short about music: a portrait of young Dixieland band players from New Orleans. A short in the collection Conscious Journeys called The King of the Tango is about an 11-year old who learns to find beauty even in his mobile home park thanks to his new tango-loving neighbor.

Once in awhile you see a film with much pretense and little substance. The Passion of the Christ is one such example of hollow moviemaking: long on visual shock, short on thought. On the other side of the spectrum is a film about a true Christian whose beliefs are tested by his experiences in the Holy Land - James’ Journey to Jerusalem created by Ra’anan Alexandrovicz, a respected documentary director from Israel. His funny, touching and down-to-earth first feature will appeal to all of us. There are no saints here. All the characters are real and believable. James, a young African from a remote village may have remained a wide-eyed naive creature if circumstances didn’t throw him into the whirlwind of the modern society with cut-throat values when he decided to visit the Promised Land.

It’s amuzing to read reviews about James’ Journey to Jerusalem. Some see a fable-like narrative; some - a scathing criticism of the Israeli materialism and even modern slavery. (And here it’s different how?) Perhaps the director’s statement can straighten it out: ”I think there is a James in each and every one of us. We all learn too well, as people and as societies, how to talk about our noble dreams as an easy way of forgetting them”.

This entertaining but thoughtful picture collected multiple prizes at film festivals around the world including several Best Feature and Best Actor awards. (South African native Slyabonga Melongisi Shibe is absolutely amazing as James.) The jury’s statement from Oslo said it best: “The film has an original approach to ... difficult topics without being moralistic or dogmatic”.

In the last few years there were quite a few French films about youths in trouble. Here’s a slice of life in a French project. If you think you speak French, think again. You’ll need subtitles for L’Esquive (Dodging). Even the title was left in its original version of French slang. There are similarities between American and French (in this case mostly North-African) teenagers from projects: hanging out, bursts of anger at any insignificant remark, dysfunctional families. There are differences however. It’s hard to imagine American “tough and cool” teens rehearsing a play by Marivaux (18th century French author) in their project’s yard. Numerous close-ups and first time actors add authenticity to the narrative.

Creator of Kiss of the Spider Woman, famed Brazilian director Hector Babenco presented a hard-hitting drama based on a true story of an uprising in Sao Paulo’s most notorious prison Carandiru. At least here visually shocking images serve a purpose.

The following prizes were awarded at SFIFF #47

The Jury chose as the winner of the 2004 SKYY Prize SQUINT YOUR EYES, a Polish film
directed by Andrzej Jakimowski.

the FIPIRESCI Prize and the VIRGINMEGA Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary Feature selected the Germany/Mongolia co-production THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL as its award winner.

The Audience Award for Best Narrative feature went to THE MIRACLE OF BERN. The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to San Francisco-based filmmaker Amanda Micheli's documentary about female stuntwomen DOUBLE DARE.

Golden Gate Awards were presented to CHECKPOINT for Best Documentary Feature and; GIRL TROUBLE, which received its World Premiere at the Festival, won Best Bay Area Documentary Feature; A LIFE TO LIVE won Best Documentary Short; CRYSTAL HARVEST was named the Best Bay Area Documentary Short; PAPILLON D'AMOUR, won the New Visions Award; CHINESE DREAM won in the Best Narrative Shorts category; THE GREATER VEHICLE won the Bay Area Non-Documentary Short Award; and THE WAY won the Animation Award. The Golden Gate Award in the Youth Works category went to FOUR SHORT FILMS ABOUT LOVE directed by participants in the Bay Area's New Jewish Film Project while CIRKUSTOUR received the Best Work for Kids and Families award.

This year's awards for the television categories went to BAD BEHAVIOUR for Best Documentary Long Form, A DIARY FROM THE NEXT WORLD for Best Documentary Short Form, SO CLOSE TO HOME for Best Narrative Long Form and LOT for Best Narrative Short Form.

The San Francisco Film Society Magisterial director Milos Forman received the Film Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Directing.