Hello folks here's a report from Ft Lauderdale. Sorry for the short intros, but I've a pounding headache and a stuffed up nose. I just ain't feeling my best. I'm probably going to sleep soon. So here ya go...
Checking in with the latest on the Ft. Lauderdale Int’l Film Festival. Although this is a huge fest – 2 weeks long, more than 100 films – there are 3 world premieres in particular that’ve been generating a lot of good buzz. Interestingly, they’re also the only films at the festival showing on 16mm. Perhaps bigger isn’t always better.
FOLLOWERS,
by Jon Flicker, is a small film about fraternity hazing, racism, and how it divides a group of freshman friends. Although the local media has ripped the film as being an "afterschool special", audiences really have loved it – which in my opinion is all that matters. It’s probably the most talked about film here, and the filmmakers are genuinely nice guys. Eddy Robinson delivers a very funny performance. Flicker’s direction shows an ability unexpected from a first film.
FIGHTING GRAVITY,
by David Bruce, is the only local film in the fest. As a local myself, perhaps I’m biased, but I saw this one twice and really enjoyed it. It’s another 20-something, but it’s unique – not about dating or sex – it’s about finding the courage to go after your dreams. In turns funny and touching with a universally applicable theme. The audiences I saw it with laughed throughout. Standout performance by Gonzalo Menendez, although the cast is generally solid. Good word-of-mouth on this one, as well as brilliant marketing from the filmmakers, have made this one of the hits of the fest.
30 STILL SINGLE CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE,
by Greg Lanesey, is impossible to miss hearing about - there’s a veritable horde of people here from the film, moving in packs, wearing their t-shirts with the film’s logo. I wasn’t too keen on the film – I found it extremely derivative and completely lacking in story, but I’m in the minority. People are raving about it, describing it as one of the funniest they’ve seen in years, and screenings have been selling well. The director does do a solid job of mixing mediums and inventively editing.
But perhaps the MOST positive story of the festival wasn’t about any of the films, as much as it was about a filmmaker – John Landau, producer of Titanic. Landau endeared himself to all of the fest-goers by inviting the creators of Fighting Gravity and the Followers to dine with him at ultra-swanky Mark’s Las Olas. As the neo-myth goes, Landau and the youngsters had just finished a festival internet chat together when he turned to the group and said he was gonna grab a bite to eat – "wanna come?" Landau was surprisingly accessible and always charming. If there’s truly been a hit here this year – Landau was it.
Chain-Smoker.
