The Miami International Film Festival

[oscar jubis]

I decided to share my experience attending the 20th MIFF. It ends next weekend. I try to see good films that have no US distribution but will comment about others with set release dates. Lemme know if you've seen any of these films (or if you'd want to).

The opening night film was a very safe choice for first time director Nicole Guillemet, former co-dir at Sundance. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED is a sex farce from Spain, where they know how to tackle the genre with the required grace and heat. A primarily Latino tuxedoed crowd filled the restored Gusman Theatre downtown.
The first film I saw was KAMCHATKA, a coming-of-age period piece from Argentina., directed by Marcelo Pineyro (Burnt Money). A film about a kid abruptly removed from his home/school/friends by his loving parents not a film about couple hiding in the countryside from military dictators. All we are told is: Fall '76 Argentina after the military coup. Then everything is told from the boy's point of view. Incidents of major consequence happen off frame. The film is about a boy's adjustment to changing circumstances. It's concerns are universal. There is nothing preachy, facile or manipulative here. Some may say this mutes its emotional impact. I am quite fond of this well-observed, handsomely lensed film. Mom is played by Cecilia Roth (A.A.my Mother) and Dad by Ricardo Darin (9 Queens, Son of the Bride).
For those who want an intense political drama, I recommend 1985 Oscar winner LA HISTORIA OFICIAL, about a teacher who slowly realizes her daughter's biological parents were "desaparecidos"(killed by the military dictatorship).

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THE WAY HOME is a South Korean blockbuster released by Paramount late 2002 in a coupla big markets and shown as a "special screening" at the fest.
It's about a spoiled city kid dropped off by her single mom in granny's remote rural shack for about a month. The old lady is mute and stooped and loves the boy unconditionally. The boy is petulant and malicious, "best recent argument for sterilization"(San Fran Examiner). What makes me such a fan of this film is precisely that the premise reads like a recipe for a maudlin, trite movie and the execution avoids it. Is it ok to praise a film about the power of unconditional love nowadays? Granny is played by a 77 year old who had never SEEN a film. I could not take my eyes off her.

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Russian film about a widowed teacher who finds a letter his 37 y.o. wife wrote to her lover and decides to investigate. He needs to know who Lena really was before he can let go of her. The men eventually develop a relationship and inadvertently, help each other through grief. The Lover won cinematography and writing awards at San Sebastian. Perfs by Oleg Yankovsky and Sergei Garmash are superb. Besides a hysterical performance by the actress playing Lena's friend (very small role) and a scene or two not quite effective, this is very good psychological drama.

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Bungalow is about a 19 y.o. that goes AWOL from his army unit, returns to his smalltown bungalow and falls in lust with his brother's girl, a B-movie actress. The style of the film is droll and laconic. This German film has won some recognition at minor film fests in Europe but there isn't enough going on here to recommend. Many films have managed to make something consequential out the commonplace. Bungalow recreates a few days in the life of a natural-born slacker without creating enough dramatic tension.
The fest is presenting an Amerindie with a horny teenage boy as central character that had audiences clapping and cheering. Many here are predicting RAISING VICTOR VARGAS will be a big hit if properly marketed. It has been picked up for North American distribution.

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Film festivals were made to show movies like this completely hand-made, animated, Polish "movable painting of an abstract fairy tale" as described by director Andrzej Czeczot. The film is "about" a herd-boy/folk hero who travels through hell, heaven and oceans of creatures from myth, fable and legend, and ends in...New York City. The music score is superb. The film is replete with scenes of violence and sex, and the tone is consistently anarchic. A few walked out but the mostly young crowd was happy to have seen it.

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One of the pleasures of attending film festivals is the opportunity to meet a favorite actor or director. Arturo Ripstein is, in my opinion and with all due respect to Saura and Almodovar, the most accomplished filmmaker in the spanish-speaking world. Mr. Ripstein introduced his new film THE VIRGIN OF LUST, the 11th collaboration with his screenwriter/wife Paz Alicia Garciadiego. Ripstein served as assistant director to Luis Bunuel in "El Angel Exterminador" at the age of 18, and began to direct. The Virgin of Lust takes place in a 1940s Mexico City teeming with Spanish republicans recently defeated by Franco and looking for a new start. At its center, a love triangle between a spanish prostitute, a mestizo waiter and a masked wrestler. Musty sepia tones, busy-kitsch art direction, desperate people, their bizarre rituals and broken hearts. Classic Ripstein. By the way, a good introduction to his work may be DEEP CRIMSON. It is widely available on video and dvd.

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Baltasar Kormakur introduced the funny and moving The Sea, which follows 101 Reykjavik, his debut as writer/producer/director. When an old man summons his family home to decide the future of the family fishery, a generational conflict emerges, pent-up emotions are released, schemes are hatched, and secrets are revealed. The Sea is inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear and reminiscent of The Celebration(Festen). A seamless blend of black comedy and family drama in a remote village in Iceland. The film's point-of-view is that globalization, technology, and modern capitalism are destroying families and communities worldwide. Mr. Kormakur stated THE SEA will be released in 14 U.S. screens in May.

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The most popular documentary presented at the festival so far is BUS 174, an account of the hijacking of a bus in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil and the standoff between the police and the homeless, drug addicted hijacker Sandro. The film explores his vagrant life and the implications of Rio's urban violence. This doc will show on the HBO cable channel later this year.

I was very impressed with the omnibus doc from Israel called MOMENTS 2002. Seventeen directors were asked to produce a 3 minute film about life in Israel today. Most entries attempt to show how ordinary people attempt to bring order and reason to the chaos and madness of armed conflict. The films provide a variety of points of view, including one film that imagines daily routine life as a video game. Others attempt to shed light into the Palestinian-Israeli dilemma.

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Director Adolfo Aristarain and Actor Federico Luppi have a "Kurosawa-Mifune thing" going for over 20 years. You may have seen Luppi in Cronos, The Devil's Backbone, or Sayles' Men With Guns. Their latest collaboration is based on a novel by the director's brother, about a literature professor forced into retirement and lifestyle changes by Argentina's economic crisis. The script won a Goya(Spain's Academy Award) and incorporates a variety of themes into an engaging narrative peppered with humor. The professor's family and social life are richly drawn by an accomplished ensemble of actors, featuring Goya winner Mercedes Sampietro as the wife. LUGARES COMUNES deals with great insight into how we sacrifice our dreams and ideals to achieve an ultimately empty bourgeois lifestyle, and how elusive is the ideal of liberty/fraternity/equality. Aristarain and Luppi first worked together in TIME FOR REVENGE(1981), a tense political thriller released on video in North America. A good place to start.

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Here come the French again. I hope Christophe Ruggia's brave film wins the dramatic feature award tonight because it lacks the distribution deal its main competitors have already secured. LES DIABLES is about runaway pre-teens Joseph and Chloe, found abandoned in the streets of Marseilles years ago, and still evading the authorities while searching for Chloe's "home"(she is apparently autistic). The kids have a symbiotic, sibling type of relationship that becomes quite complicated with the emergence of Chloe's budding sexuality. It is virtually impossible it seems for an American movie to look squarely in the face of teen sexuality, much less pre-teen sexuality. Showing nude children is still such a taboo here. Ironically, no other developed country has such a high rate of teenage pregnancy. The wonderful actors Adele Haenel and Vincent Rottiers look 12 not 14 and it does make a difference. LES DIABLES has a strong sense of place, you get the impression Ruggia may be sharing his childhood hideouts in Marseilles with us. This film is narrative-driven though, and easily engages the viewer's attention. Now, who has the guts to buy distribution rights for North America?

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I took my jaded, big-city kids to watch a nature documentary and they thanked me! WINGED MIGRATION centers on the flying patterns of several bird species as they seek food and warmth year after year. This European doc released in France and Belgium in Dec. 2001 is finally being released in North America on April 18, 2003. The film utilizes every possible trick to give the viewer the impression he is accompanying the birds in their long voyage. The filmmakers have been careful not to drown the audience in scientific fact. We are free to bask in the beauty of planet earth and its inhabitants. This is the only film I saw that received a standing ovation from the audience. Absolutely breathtaking.

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Slice-of-life from Uruguay about the last days of a bed-ridden bitter widow and Silvia, her seamstress daughter, who's been changing her diapers for too long. Suble, austere, extremely well-acted 70 min. debut from Aldo Garay. The film sets up several complications: a lover for Silvia, hints that the apartment manager was the widow's lover and maybe Silvia's father, anonymous letters,etc. and then refuses to provide final resolution. Uncompromising. LA ESPERA is the only festival film to win two awards:Best Ibero-American film and Fipresci Award for best film given by the international film press.

Other winners:
Grand Jury Prize Fiction: NADA MAS (Cuba)
Grand Jury Prize Docu: BUS 174 (Brasil)
Audience Award Fict : CITY OF NO LIMITS(Spain)
Audience Award Docu: BALSEROS (Spain/USA)

It's over. As usual, I wish I had seen more films than time allowed.
I hope others write to share their film festival experiences, especially the logistics of attending festivals for non-industry folk, and
undistributed gems you've discovered. Thanks.

[Johann]

Well Oscar, as you might guess, I've been taking notes of your experiences in Miami Fla. I'll keep an eye out for these films. (All of which I have not seen) I'm a film fest disciple as well... Maybe I'll do the same in October when our 4th annual hits cowtown..

cheers and thanks for your time & observations...

[oscar jubis]

My pleasure. Our fest used to be modeled after NY's, less than 30 carefully chosen films shown once or twice in a big venue, and now feels more like Toronto's: more films but some duds in more but smaller venues. $11US tix are relatively easy for out-of-towners to buy. A few screenings "sell out" but you can always find a seat because sponsors don't use their freebies. Films: 75% foreign lang. 50% in spanish or portuguese. Johann, do you mind telling me a bit about Calgary's? Thanks for your kind comments.

[Johann]

Don't mind if I do.
Film is pretty big in Alberta- more people go to the movies here than any other province. (Probably because it's so fucking cold!)

Calgary has 3 art-house theatres that screen about 60 films during the festival. We have an opening night gala with food & drinks & hob-nobbing before the "big screening". Last year our guest of honor for opening night was Atom Egoyan-I actually talked to the guy! "Ararat" was the film and it was ELECTRIC in the theatre.
The closing night gala & screening was with Deepa Mehta & her film "Bollywood Hollywood". (got to chat with her too)

Admission per flick was $9 and if you wanted to see as many films as possible (me) you could buy a Platinum Pass that gets you reservations for the galas and seat choice. Nice eh?

The festival has been growing each year. The announced at the closing gala that we had about 30,000 people come to the festival
i can't wait for this years fest, and I may even volunteer.
No guests have been named, but I have faith they will be good. (Norman Jewison was here last year)

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Hooray for Alberta. I am impressed because I sensed a strong appreciation for cinema in Vancouver and Toronto. I am a huge fan of Atom Egoyan, especially Sweet Hereafter, Calendar and Exotica. The MIFF premiered at least one or two of his early films before the world found out. I was disappointed the fest did not show Ararat. Has it been well-received in Canada? I hope you tell us about this year's Calgary fest when time comes.