Hey folks, Harry here with Ade and his look at the Philadelphia Film Festival! I love these festival reports - they constantly give us a peek at an entirely different world of film. Here's what's been playing in Philly...
The 14th annual Philadelphia Film Festival takes place from April 7 - 20, 2005. There will be 300 features, documentaries, shorts, and animation from 50 countries for an audience of 61,000. I see reviews on the site from so many other film festivals that I thought I’d try to get the Philly film festival some publicly by sending in a report on the movies I go to see. I’m most looking forward to the Danger After dark series of Asian films next week. But here is a report from the first couple of days.
Death of a Dynasty
Damon Dash is here with two films, the first of which is “Death of a Dynasty”. For those that don’t know, Damon Dash is the CEO of Roc-A-Fella records (a hip-hop record label) and Roc-a-wear clothing. His business partner is Jay-Z, who was probably the top rap star at the time of his retirement. “Death of a Dynasty” is a fictional account of a “beef” between Damon Dash and Jay-Z that leads to the downfall of Roc-A-Fella records. Jay-Z is played by Robert Stapleton and Damon Dash is played by Capone. A white hop-hop magazine writer, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, is assigned to spend a few weeks at Roc-a-fella with Damon and Jay-Z to do an article about the company. The writer is seduced into the world of hip-hop and begins to think of himself as a real hip-hop “playa”. He quits the magazine and begins to write a gossip column and host a radio show. His exclusive about Damon and Jay-Z’s fight over a woman leads to the end of Roc-A-Fella records. Damon and Jay-Z create their own separate record labels and the “war” is on. The movie is supposed to be a comedy, but it’s not very funny. The hip-hop writer is the stereotypical movie white guy trying to act black. The movie is just very silly, with a lot of over the top caricatures of real people. The only funny moments were when Kevin Hart was on the screen. I last saw him in the movie Soul Plane, and was not impressed. But here he plays multiple characters, including P. Diddy, a manager of an aspiring rapper, a loudmouth member or Dash’s crew, a cop, and a gay dance instructor. He’s funny in a similar vein to Chris Tucker. So if you don’t like Chris Tucker you will most likely find Kevin Hart annoying. There is also a bevy of celebrity cameos, including Flava Flav, DMC, Jam Master Jay, Carson Daly and Riddick Bowe.
Damon Dash will be in Philly on Sunday for another screening of “Death of a Dynasty” and a screening of his other film “State Property 2”. He will introduce the films and do a Q&A session.
Somersault
Somersault is an Australian film that won all thirteen major awards from the Australian Film Institute (including Best Picture, Director, and Original Screenplay). The movie is about Heidi, a young woman who leaves home after she is caught making out with her mom’s boyfriend. She hits the road with no money and no car, hitchhiking and hooking up with a guy whenever she needs a room for the night. She eventually ends up in a small town and gets a job at a BP gas station. She meets a slightly older man named Joe, and thinks she has fallen in love with him. Joe is not ready for commitment and Heidi doesn’t know how to handle the rejection. She seems to know a lot about sex, but nothing about love. Heidi has to decide if she is really ready to live on her own or if she should go back home to her mother. Abbie Cornish is an attractive young actress who does a great job as Heidi. She carries the movie and makes you care about what is going to happen to Heidi next. This is a good film and I’d say that Abbie Cornish has a bright future ahead of her.
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is a small park in downtown Philadelphia. Before the film, PA Governor Ed Rendell presented a “Special Recognition Award” to the film’s producer, Max Raab. I happen to live across the street from Rittenhouse Square, so this movie was of particular interest to me. Rittenhouse Square is a very popular park, in which people gather from all over the city. The movie seems to spend most of the time with the musicians who play in the park. There is a music school nearby and the musicians will stop by the square to practice. There are also street musicians playing for change. The movie also contains interviews with the older residents who have lived near the square for years. There is a tribute to one older resident who has passed away who would come to the Square every day for “bird watching”, which was really his term for watching the attractive women sunbathing or strolling through the Square. A good little film for the local crowd.
Murderball
This story of the Team USA quadriplegic rugby team was the winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Sundance. Quadriplegic rugby was once known as Murderball. It’s a great film that works on a couple of different levels. On one level is the straight sports story. We meet the cast of characters on Team USA, led by Mark Zupan. They have a bitter rivalry with Team Canada. The coach of team Canada was formerly a star player with Team USA. When he got cut from team USA he became coach of team Canada with the sole purpose of defeating team USA. Team USA was the #1 ranked quadriplegic rugby team for 11 years straight until being defeated by Team Canada. This sets up their big rematch at the 2004 Olympics. On another level we have the story of how quadriplegics can overcome adversity and lead a rewarding life. We hear from Team USA members about how they got on with their lives after their accidents, we see the reunion of Mark and his former best friend (who was driving drunk with Mark, causing the accident which led to Mark being a quad), and we see how Team USA members can be an inspiration to others. We are introduced to Keith Cavil only months after a motocross accident left him a quadriplegic. We see him rehabilitate and his return home. He is introduced to Mark, who lets him try out the special Rugby wheelchair. Keith is so happy and realizes that he now has something to look forward to in life. He wants to play rugby. This movie will change the way you think about quadriplegics.
Director Henry Rubin and Keith Cavil were on hand for a Q&A session after the movie. Keith is saving money to buy his own rugby wheelchair. He hopes to one day be a part of Team USA. The director commented on how he shot the film for over 2 years and how the movie “changed his life”. He also introduced the editor, who is a local Philly guy whose name I don’t remember.
State Property II
There were a lot of attractive women in the audience for the world premiere of State Property II. But they weren’t there for the movie. They were there to see director Damon Dash. State Property I was a cheap film about black gangsters, set in Philadelphia. In both films, Beanie Sigel (who was on trial for attempted murder while filming the movie) stars as Beans, the leader of a street gang. State Property II begins with him going to prison. He wants to get revenge on Dame, played by Damon Dash, who had set him up. While in prison Beans’ “empire” is basically put out of business while Dame pretty much runs the streets of Philly. Beans eventually gets out of prison with the help of another gang leader from Miami that he meets in prison, and the “war” is on for the streets of Philly. The movie is not as serious as it sounds by the description. It’s really more of an action comedy. It’s funnier than “Death of a Dynasty”, which is supposed to be a comedy. The story is predictable, but the film is funny and Beanie is a charismatic star. Not the typical type of movie you would see at a Film Festival. It is a mildly entertaining 90 minutes, but nothing that you will remember as the months go by.
There was never an announcement that Damon Dash would stay for a Q&A session after the movie, so most of the audience left while the credits rolled. When Damon got to the front of the theater he could be heard telling someone from the festival that if she had announced the Q&A more people would have stayed. He mostly used the Q&A as advertisement. His film company is producing more movies, there is a Beanie cartoon in the works, and he was wearing new clothes and sneakers from the State Property 2 clothing line.
If this report gets published I’ll be back with more news from the Phila. Film Festival. The best is yet to come!
Ade’
