Well Geeks here is a report from the new (2nd year) FORT WORTH FILM FESTIVAL. Fort Worth is that City just west of Dallas, and seperated from Big D by Six Flags, some Water Parks, and that stadium the Cowboys play in, and not much else of note. It was once several times larger than Dallas being the western railhead for shipping cattle East after the Civil War. In the 1880's it was right up there with San Antonio and San Francisco as THE cities West of the Mississippi. Its quite a city with lots of culture and charm, and ol' FATHER GEEK is glad to hear that they have got a triving film fest in the works. Well, enough of the Texas History lesson and on to the report...
Hey Harry--or actually, hey Father Geek, since Harry is in Chicago....
I just got back from a weekend at the 2nd Annual Fort Worth Film Festival. According to the program, this festiva uses 'the West as a geographical and mythological setting fixed within a flexible time frame; the Fort Worth Film festival attemps to explore the dimensions of life in the West both as a physical reality and as a mental landscape.' If anyone can tell me what that means, then they are reading too much into it. This is just a cool little film festival that will hopefully get better (and get a better slogan) as the years progress.
Anyway, on to my report.
DAY 1: Thursday, October 21
The first film I saw was 'Anima,' a feature film from the US that was completed in 1997. It tells the tale of a documentary filmmaker who is doing a project on body preservation. He tracks down an legendary taxidermist/recluse, who may or may not have been a Nazi; either way, he certainly has several macabre secrets. This film was very professionally done, and obviously had a decent budget. But since this is the first I've heard of it since it was made two years ago, I doubt it will get released. It's a shame, because it is a beautifully executed piece of cinema. Although the story is a little weak, you'll be so entranced that you won't notice any holes until later. There are some stunning marionette sequences that are worth the price of admission. Now, when I mentioned both taxidermy and Nazi in the same sentence above, I'm sure everyone came to the same conclusion. You're all right, of course, but not in the way you expected; the scene that everyone knows is coming is handled rather poignantly and without any real horror. This is a small gem that hopefully will find more of an audience.
Then I went to see a bunch of shorts. They all were horrible. I hate it when you sit through short films, waiting for a good one, and you don't get one. And does a 40-plus-minute ameuter documentary on Route 66 really count as a short?
Then I saw 'How's Your News?' This is a thirty minute documentary, following a group of mentally handicapped individuals around the country as they interview random people on the street. This was the most un-PC film I've seen in a while. It's not really making fun of these people, but man--I hadn't laughed so hard at a movie in a long time. It's hysterical, and yet you feel somewhat guilty because it's so funny. Two names in the credits explained it all to me: Matt Parker and Trey Stone. They produced this little venture, which leads me to believe that it won't be too hard for people to find. At the very least, it should make it around the festival circuit.
Then I saw some more shorts, which were as bad as the others. In fact, they gave me such a bad vibe that I stayed home from the festival the next day (well, I was also feeling sick). So I didn't see any of Friday's films. To thing that I passed up a chance to see some James Cagney classics on the big screen just for a few shorts--man, what the hell was I thinking? I wanted to experience some "bold new visions." But they were all boring rip off photocopies of real films.
DAY 2: Saturday, October 23
First film I saw was 'Boys Don't Cry.' Not an official festival film, but it was playing at a nearby theater, so I checked it out. Man...this is the third best film of the year on my list. What a wrenching experience. I can't reccomend it highly enough. Hilary Swank...is wondrous, as is Chloe Sevigny. They create two of the most wonderful characters to cross the screen in some time. Their love story is as tragic as anything you've ever seen. You may not cry at the end of the film, but your heart will be torn out.
Next on the list was 'Starving Artists,' a hip look at various twentysomething artistes in Manhattan. There's a Tarantino-esque filmmaker, a playwrite, a comic book artist, and every one of them is skewered by a semi-sharp satiric spear. It was a 16mm print, obviously from some first time filmmakers. It had a lot good ideas and dialogue, and the acting was all good, but the directing left something to be desired. It'll need some editing work if it ever wants to get past the smaller festivals. Of course, my opinion may be skewed because the projectionist ran the reels out of order. I saw the last half of the film first, and then the first half after that. I was really confused until I saw the opening credits halfway through the movie--then it all made sense.
Then I saw 'The Burning Man,' a documentary about the annual Burning Man festival in the desert in Nevada. Every year, a massive group of avante garde artists from around the world gather in the desert for a week to...create. It's kind of like woodstock. There are all sorts of fasciniating sculptures, shows, exhibits...just weird stuff that people put together in the desert. It's a great doc, and should get some sort of release. There's plenty here that is worth seeing, such as the 'Penis Toss' game or the crucifixion bike. At the end of the festival, a giant effigy of a man is burned down--a symbol of letting go of your creation. This one is definitely worth a look; if memory servers correct, there was an update a few months back sent in from someone while they were actually at the event.
Next film up was 'Unto Thee,' a TV-style drama about a white upper class couple who inexplicably give birth to a black baby. This was like an ABC Movie Of The Week, but considering that it was an indie film, the production quality was superb. I spoke with the director afterward, and he told me they got a lot of 35mm film stock for next to nothing. It's one thing to have cheap film, but this guy knew how to use it. It could have used a few more "artsy" cinematic touches, but overall it was good. I imagine it'll end up going straight to video or TV.
After that, I saw 'Something Of Mine,' which was a demo reel for a special makeup effects group. It was made back in '91, but even for back then, this was pretty tame. Not that much gore, really--nothing I couldn't do. It was shot on video, which made it hard to see all of the violence. I think the highlight was supposed to be when a character had his lips cut off, but you just couldn't really see it happen. Skip this one if it comes your way--which it won't. The only reason it played here was because it was primarily made by the staff of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
The final movie on Saturday was the festival staple 'Wadd: The Life and Times of John Holmes.' Now first of all, let me just say that I don't like porn. I'm not condemning it, I just don't like it. However, I absolutely loved 'Boogie Nights,' and since that was partially inspired by Mr. Homes' story, I thought I'd check it out. It's a good documentary for the first hour; then it just gets long, boring and depressing. And John Holmes really just isn't that nice on the eyes--he's really unappealing, especially once he starts dying of AIDS. But if you liked 'Boogie Nights,' you might want to see it; you'll be surprised how much was lifted verbatum from Holmes' films.
DAY 3: Sunday, October 24
Got an early start today with 'A Picture of Me,' a film about a Polish woman who moves to Chicago with her American husband and tries to maintain happiness in her life. It's kind of like 'Eyes Wide Shut' meets 'The Story Of Us,' but not nearly as good as those two. There is one really effective scene where the husband, who suspects his wife is having an affair, is driving home from work and the sounds of traffic begin to sound like his wife making love. But the ending is an unforgivable cop out, and a lot of the music is grating. This probably won't go very far.
Next was 'The Return of Paul Jarrett,' a touching documentary about a WW1 veteran returning to a town he helped save in France. Some of the war footage is surprisingly frightening, and the footage of Paul Jarrett walking through what was left of the battlefields and trenches had an incredible sense of history. This could very likely end up on TV somewhere.
Next was the short film 'Ghostboy,' a dark and bittersweet fable about a little girl who befriends a lonely ghost. It was a little sentimental at times, but overall I think it was pretty good. It's kind of hard for me to criticize this one fairly, since I wrote and directed it. It was the world premiere. (By the way, I'm shooting a feature film in January, and anyone who is interested in it can go to www.road-dog-productions.com)
Then I saw a screening of Forbidden Planet. The print was in poor condition, but I had never seen it in full anamorphic widescreen before, much less on the big screen. If you've only seen it on video--well, it's not THAT great, but I definitely liked it better big.
Finally, I saw 'Man Of The Century.' I don't think it is as good as Harry does, probably because his review built it up too much for me. But having said that, let me say that the film is FANTASTIC! This deserves to be the indie sleeper of the year, by far. I haven't been this charmed by a movie or a character in quite a while. It's all good clean fun, and that's such a refreshing change. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the performances are perfected to a T. DON'T MISS THIS ONE! You'll feel like a million bucks when you leave the theater.
Well, that's it for this year's Fort Worth Film Festival. I wish I had caught the Cagney retrospective, and it would have been nice to go see 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and meet the stars of that film (who were all present). Damn crappy short films--had to make me sick. Oh well (everyone be sure to go to www.road-dog-productions.com, because our film needs all the support it can get.--just thought I'd throw in another cheap plug).
Ghostboy
