La Pistola

Take 30, the photo exhibit and Kurt Cobain About A Son

There are several things happening in the next couple days here at the film center that are festival related; a kick-off to this year’s 30th celebration and a look back at last year’s award-winners.

(Larry Laszlo/CoMedia)

Amazingly enough, we’ve been lucky to have the same person as our official photographer for all three decades of the Denver Festival and in conjunction with the 30th we’re doing an exhibit of his work from the past 29 years. There are dozens of amazing photographs being hung right now for the opening tomorrow night – pictures of Harry Dean Stanton, Wim Wenders and Dean Stockwell smoking cigarettes and cigars from when they were here with Paris, Texas; Errol Morris standing in the snow the year a blizzard closed down our opening weekend; Jim Jarmusch and Ben Gazzara just looking cool as fuck and Krzysztof Kieslowski standing straight-faced with a drink in each hand and a cigarette in one. The exhibit opens tomorrow and runs through the end of the festival.

Looking back almost exactly one year, we’re opening, this Friday, AJ Schnack’s incredible Kurt Cobain About a Son which won the Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary at last year’s festival. Beautiful, lyrical and unique, it’s one of those films that redefines a cinematic form in my opinion. It really is one of my favorite films of the year. AJ will be back out at the festival this year, this time on the doc jury.

Dearest, (part II)

(Above: 15 Million Starlings)

Another brief break from the chaos:

Good Day,

I feel quite safe dealing with you in this important
business. Though, this medium (Internet) has been
greatly abused, I choose to reach you through it
because it still remains the fastest medium of
communication. However, this correspondence is
unofficial and private, and it should be treated as
such. At first I will like to assure you that this
transaction is 100% risk and trouble free to both
parties.

IN ORDER TO TRANSFER OUT (FIFTEEN MILLION POUNDS
STERLINGS) FROM OUR BANK HERE IN LONDON. THE FUND FOR TRANSFER IS OF CLEAN ORIGIN. THE OWNER OF THIS ACCOUNT IS A FOREIGNER, a program leader who was believed to acquire the fund through his secret Crude Oil deal with the Former IRAQI Government.The deceased died with all the members of his family in an auto-accident in February 14, 2005, without a WILL

The amount involved is [15, 000, 000.00 POUNDS STERLINGS]. I WANT TO TRANSFER THIS MONEY INTO A SAFE FOREIGN ACCOUNT ABROAD BUT I DON'T KNOW ANY FOREIGNER WHOM I CAN TRUST, I KNOW THAT THIS MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE AS WE DON'T KNOW OURSELVES BEFORE, BUT BE SURE THAT IT IS REAL AND A GENUINE BUSINESS.

I CONTACT YOU BELIEVING THAT YOU WILL NOT LET ME DOWN ONCE THE FUND GOES INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.KINDLY CONTACT ME ONWARDS THROUGH MY PERSONAL PRIVATE EMAIL:

Let me hear from you,
Regards,
Dr.Derek Lamberty.

Hi Derek,

How interesting! I really would like to help you, really, and you certainly can trust me...but I can’t for the life of me figure out what I would do with 15 million pounds of Starlings?!? I mean...are they still alive?? How do you ship that many Starlings? Good God...what if they get loose?! However, if you can explain the details to me I would be happy to entertain such an endeavor—I’m sensing a sort of King Kong-in-chains type fame if we do this right.

Sincerely,
Brit

(I never heard back)

The Gotham Awards

I’ve been meaning to get to this for a while, but right near the end of the Denver Festival, the screenings for the 2007 Gotham Awards in New York City get going. Several of the films and filmmakers screening in this year’s SDFF are traveling directly from here to there so I thought I would give a run down (and a congratulations) to those films that are screening in SDFF that got nominated. Here is the complete list – films screening in Denver are noted:

Best Feature
Great World of Sound – directed by Craig Zobel
I’m Not There – directed by Todd Haynes
Into the Wild – directed by Sean Penn
Margot at the Wedding – directed by Noah Baumbach
The Namesake – directed by Mira Nair

Best Documentary
The Devil Came on Horseback – directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, which just finished up a run here at the Starz FilmCenter and was our October DocNIght.
Jimmy Carter Man from Plains – directed by Jonathan Demme
My Kid Could Paint That – directed by Amir Bar-Lev
Sicko – directed by Michael Moore
Taxi to the Dark Side – directed by Alex Gibney, screening in SDFF and part of the Bringing the War Home panel.

Best Ensemble Cast
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Albert Finney, Rosemary Harris, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian F. O’Byrne, Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Marisa Tomei, screening in SDFF.
The Last Winter
Connie Britton, Kevin Corrigan, Zach Gilford, James LeGros, Ron Perlman
Margot at the Wedding
Jack Black, Flora Cross, Ciarán Hinds, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zane Pais, John Turturro
The Savages
Philip Bosco, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, Opening Night of SDFF.
Talk to Me
Cedric the Entertainer, Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mike Epps, Vondie Curtis Hall, Taraji P. Henson, Martin Sheen

Breakthrough Director
Lee Isaac Chung for Munyurangabo
Stephane Gauger for Owl and the Sparrow (an Emerging Filmmaker finalist in this year’s festival).
Julia Loktev for Day Night Day Night (One of my favorite films from last year’s festival)
David Von Ancken for Seraphim Falls
Craig Zobel for Great World of Sound

Breakthrough Actor
Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild
Kene Holliday in Great World of Sound
Ellen Page in Juno (the Big Night film in this festival, and Ellen is also in the amazing The Tracey Fragments which I mentioned earlier, here.
Jess Weixler in Teeth (playing as part of this year’s The Watching Hour)
Luisa Williams in Day Night Day Night

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
August the First directed by Lanre Olabisi
Frownland directed by Ronald Bronstein, an Emerging Filmmaker finalist in this year’s festival.
Loren Cass directed by Chris Fuller, an Emerging Filmmaker finalist in this year’s festival.
Mississippi Chicken directed by John Fiege
Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa directed by Jeremy Stulberg & Randy Stulberg, screening in this year’s festival.

SDFF30 / Continental, a Film Without Guns

As a programmer for a festival that screens upwards of 175 films it’s difficult to see all of them before the festival begins. So, even though the programs have gone to the printer and tickets are on sale, I’m still watching films. I watched one this past weekend that is now one of my favorites in the festival: Continental, A Film Without Guns. It’s a Canadian film directed by Stéphane Lafleur and it reminded me a lot of Robert Altman or Paul Thomas Anderson films; several subtly intertwining stories, a touch of the surreal and a wonderful mix of deadpan humor and heartbreaking sadness.

From the festival catalog:

The episodic dominoes Continental, A Film Without Guns lines up are set in motion when an unnamed man awakens to find himself alone on a bus parked at the edge of a forest. Darkness surrounds him. He alights and vanishes into the woods.

His disappearance comes as a blow to his wife of 30 years, Lucette – likewise suddenly alone and utterly bewildered, not only as to her husband's whereabouts but as to her own future. Should she mourn his death? Curse his name? Take herself out dancing?

Then there's Louis, who has relocated to begin work at the very insurance company that hitherto employed our John Doe. With his wife and three daughters back home, he has settled temporarily into a hotel. Overhearing the amorous activities of the couple occupying the room next door, he experiences longing with a force that surprises him. Meanwhile, the awkward hotel receptionist, Chantal, uses her home answering machine as an audio journal and dreams of finding love. As for Marcel – once a dance-hall organist, now a bankrupt gambler – he is redoubling his efforts to devise a system for winning at video poker upon learning he needs costly dental surgery.

As startling as its title, Canadian filmmaker Stéphane Lafleur's remarkable dark comedy considers human vulnerability and the fragility of the links we forge between us from a fresh – if not downright skewed – new angle.

I highly encourage you to see this one...

SDFF30 / Full Schedule is Live

You can get a complete picture of the programs, films and events happening during the 11-days of the Denver festival now…everything is up on the denverfilm web site. I’ll still be talking more specifically about films I think are not to be missed, but tickets go on sale this week and a lot of films will be sold out before the end of the weekend, so I encourage you to peruse the schedule now.

SDFF30 / In Competition III

(Miss Universe 1929)

Here, finally, is the third of our three juried competitions; the Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Film.

Knee Deep (USA)
Directed by Michael Chandler

Lynch (USA)
Directed by blackANDwhite

Milk in the Land, Ballad of an American Drink (USA)
Directed by Ariana Gerstein, Montieth McCollum

Miss Universe 1929 (Hungary)
Directed by Peter Forgacs 

Mystic Ball (Canada)
Directed by Greg Hamilton

Soldiers of Conscience (USA)
Directed by Gary Weimberg, Catherine Ryan

That’s all I can get around to today…more, hopefully, tomorrow.

The Rabbi Report and SDFF30 / Films in Competition II

(Owl and the Sparrow)

First things first: a thanks to Mark Rabinowitz over at The Rabbi Report for his more-than-kind words about this here site. His is a great blog to follow all the daily (or nightly) happenings once the festival gets under way…keep an eye on it.

Also, a word of gratitude to Screen International, who presents the Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film… I should have mentioned them yesterday and really am so grateful to everyone there for their support…and to Mike Goodridge specifically.

SDFF30 / In Competition II

The second of our three juried competitions is the Emerging Filmmaker Award, this one presented by Denver’s Fox 31 News. Sometimes a bit of a misnomer, but it’s for a first or second time filmmaker who, according to the Denver programming collective, are doing something interesting and innovative. The 2007 finalists:

American Fork
Directed by Chris Bowman

Frownland
Directed by Ronald Bronstein

Loren Cass
Directed by Chris Fuller

The Memory Thief
Directed by Gil Kofman

Owl and the Sparrow
Directed by Stephane Gauger

SDFF30 / In Competition I

(My Brother is an Only Child)

There are three juried competitions in the Denver Festival in addition to the audience awards; The Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film, the Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary and the Emerging Filmmaker Award for a first or second time director. It’s never easy narrowing down a huge list of films to a tiny sampling of six to present to a jury—but it’s done, and for better or worse, here are the finalists for the Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature:

Continental, A Film Without Guns (Canada)
Directed by Stephane Lafleur

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France)
Directed by Julian Schnabel

I Served the King of England (Czech Republic)
Directed by Jiri Menzel

The Last Mistress (France)
Directed by Catherine Breillat

My Brother is an Only Child (Italy)
Directed by Daniele Luchetti

Persepolis (France)
Directed by Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

SDFF30 / Persepolis

Back in May, after returning home from the Cannes Film Festival, I wrote a bit about some of my favorite films I saw there. One of them, which is still one of my favorite films of the year, Persepolis, will be screening as a Special Presentation in this year’s festival. The film, based on the graphic novels of the same name by Marjane Satrapi, is, simply put, a stunning piece of work. From the festival catalog:

Persepolis recounts the difficult journey of a young Iranian girl from childhood through her teens and into her 20s. Marjane's story begins in Tehran under the reign of the Shah; but when Islamic fundamentalists seize power and the devastating war with Iraq begins, her parents, fearing for her life, send her to Vienna. Growing up in exile there, and later in Paris, she weathers the vagaries of adolescence without parental guidance. Upon finally going back to Iran, she enters promptly into an unhappy first marriage. All the while, expressive shifts in tone and perspective make for a daringly honest, truly magical cinematic experience: Persepolis is agonizing as our heroine watches her family adjust to political repression; satirical as she tries to fit in with her European friends; poignant as she returns home to reclaim her identity.

A prize-winner at this year's Cannes Film Festival and a likely nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2008 Oscars, Persepolis not only marks a paradigm shift in our understanding of animation's radical potential but also offers an unforgettable reminder that the personal is always political.

The entire schedule for the festival will be posted on our web site this coming Monday, the 22nd of October and tickets go on sale the 26th.

The Devil Came on Horseback

A brief break from the festival preparations to mention that coming up this Thursday the 18th we’ll be screening Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern’s new documentary The Devil Came on Horseback as part of our monthly DocNight program. Annie will be out for the film, Q&A and reception to follow. You might remember her from last year’s Denver festival and her previous documentary (also made with Ricki) The Trials of Darryl Hunt.

We’ve been doing the DocNight program for quite a while now, but we’ve never had as many presales to a film as we do for this one. Odds are it will be sold out long before next Thursday, so if you plan on coming, better plan on buying a ticket now.

Luckily the film will be sticking around for a week’s run at the film center after Thursday’s DocNight.