THE CENTURY OF THE SELF

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
http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/05/1679785.php)

Already mentioned The Corporation and Control Room (San Francisco Film
Festival 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 (San Francisco Film Festival 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 San Francisco Film Festival 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.

The 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