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Festival Beat
AFI Dallas International Film Festival
FIRST-CLASS ENTERTAINMENT FROM THE FIRST NAME IN FILM • From March 27 to April 6, the American Film Institute hosted the AFI DALLAS International Film Festival, presented by Target. While the festival, in its second year, employs the same hospitality and mix of independent and gala features as other AFI events, it is the “Dallas audiences themselves who are (arguably) engaged to a degree that few other cities can equal,” according to John Wildman, the fest’s director of press and public relations. “It is not uncommon for post-screening Q&As to continue into the lobby of theaters after their allotted time because filmgoers in Dallas are truly appreciative and enthused by the artists’ filmmaking process.”
This year audiences were treated to features like What Just Happened?, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert DeNiro, both of whom were on hand to salute the movie’s executive producer, Todd Wagner (who also happens to be a Dallas native). The closing night gala brought out Stuart Townsend and Charlize Theron, the director and star, respectively, of Battle in Seattle. Theron was also honored with one of five AFI DALLAS Star Awards.
But since “the emphasis is primarily on bringing the most exciting and provocative films that are currently available to Dallas, regardless of their premiere status,” according to Wildman, the festival also screened and awarded smaller independent films like the Russian feature Mermaid, which picked up the Target Ten Narrative Feature award and Amal, by Richie Mehta, which won favor with the audience for Best Narrative Feature.—Mallory Potosky
www.afidallas.com
California Independent Film Festival
BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN HOLLYWOOD AND INDIEWOOD FOR 10 YEARS • There are two sides to today’s moviemaking scale: Hollywood to the right, Indiewood to the left. Somewhere in the middle is the California Independent Film Festival, which celebrated its 10th annual event in Livermore from April 16 to 20.
But this is not a novice fest. CIFF celebrates all things indie—whether that means a first-time writer-director like Charles Oliver, whose Take lived up to its name by scooping up awards for Best Picture as well as Best Actor and Actress accolades for stars Jeremy Renner and Minnie Driver, or well-known Hollywood icons like producer John Daly (Platoon, The Last Emperor) and actress-director Penny Marshall (A League of Their Own), who picked up the fest’s Lifetime Achievement and Golden Slate Awards, respectively.
Going totally “independent” by serving as the writer, director, producer and editor of The Flyboys paid off for moviemaker Rocco DeVilliers; the film was recognized for DeVilliers’ direction and composer Lisle Moore’s score. “The California Independent Film Festival was very nicely put together,” says DeVilliers. “It had an impressive group of judges and was very well attended.”
It’s a fitting tribute for a festival founded only minutes from Niles Canyon, former home of The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, which produced more than 350 films in the area from 1912 to 1916. The California Independent Film Festival Association continues that tradition today with this, its flagship event, as well as the Danville International Children’s Film Festival and the California Independent Horror Film Festival.—Jennifer M. Wood
www.caindiefilmfest.org
Magnolia Independent Film Festival
A SPIRIT THAT KEEPS GROWING • Even though the Magnolia Independent Film Festival was turned over to Mississippi’s Starkville Area Arts Council in 2008, it continues to be an intimate event where “the spirit of the [original] festival stays strong,” says festival director Elaine Peterson. “The film festival is relatively small,” Peterson explains. “Only one screening is shown at a time. But that means that everyone sees the same films and that starts conversations.” It also makes for “great camaraderie,” says Charlotte Magnussen, wife of late festival founder Ron Tibbett.
The Mag, which in its 11th year took place February 14 to 16, began in West Point and was the first film festival hosted in the Magnolia State. Now held in the university town of Starkville, the fest continues to grow each year, with a lineup that “gets stronger and stronger,” according to J. Alec Hawkins, two-time fest winner and 2008 judge. “It was a daunting task to pick the best of the best.” In the end, Scott T. Jones’ Plainview, Daniel Lee’s Memphis Zombie Attack: The Documentary and Tim Jackson’s Where’s My Close-Up, Mr. Thornton? were among those that took home awards.—Mallory Potosky
www.magfilmfest.com
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This story was published in the Future of Moviemaking 2008 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Festival Beat
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