Tim Rhys can now add “Film Festival Founder and Executive Director” to his business card, if he can find room alongside “publisher, editor, director, screenwriter, actor” and God knows what else. But he’ll be the first to tell you that despite the many months of planning and preparation, his festival almost didn’t happen. Several important invited guests canceled their trips due to concerns over flying in the wake of September 11, causing Rhys, Festival Director Jennifer Wood and Festival Coordinator Steven Jones to worry about attendance. Hitting tragically closer to Archives: Issue #44 , MovieMaker Executive Publisher Herman Sandler, whose office was on the 104^th floor of WTC Tower 2, was killed in the attacks. Obviously, all this made it difficult to go ahead with something as seemingly inconsequential as a film festival. But the decision was eventually made to proceed, and in the end it was definitely the right choice. The fest brought together a diverse group of moviemakers from all over the country and several from abroad, and as fearful as some were about traveling, the chance to connect with others, and to do so over art, turned out to be good medicine.

It was an intimate festival, too, which made meeting people very easy. And in terms of movies, there was a lot to choose from—except on opening night, when everyone packed the State Theater, Portland’s last remaining movie palace, for One Eyed King, a powerful murder drama set in Hell’s Kitchen and starring Armand Assante and Chazz Palminteri. Writer-director Bobby Moresco and editor Robert Ferretti took the stage afterward to field questions from the crowd, with the lively discussion moderated by Tim Rhys. They talked about the challenges of independent filmmaking to a far-from jaded crowd. Perhaps encouraged by the audience’s sincere enthusiasm, Moresco spoke in a heartfelt way about the personal origins of his story, and everyone who stayed for the Q&A was touched. Later in the evening, local favorite The Dan Merrill Band got the opening-night party alive and kicking.

Although the next morning was a Thursday, and Portland audiences aren’t yet festival savvy, the event was in high gear and four venues across town were well-attended. Screenings included the documentaries Shades of Gray, Tim DePaepe’s thoughtful examination of a Kansas town’s struggle with gay rights, and My Uncle Joe, William Rogers’s intimate portrait of his mentally-challenged uncle when he is released from a mental institution after 28 years. Both films were two of several features and shorts to come from Maine moviemakers.

Among the other notable documentaries were William Nemcik’s Vieques... Un Largometraje, a wrenching plea to end the Navy’s use of Puerto Rico for military maneuvers, and On This Island, another locally-produced film from Stephanie Slewka about a Broadway producer who retires to a tiny Maine island, only to discover the theater company of his dreams in a local school. Winning the Best Documentary award was Rustin Thompson’s 30 Frames Per Second. Thompson, an ex-CBS cameraman (and longtime MovieMaker columnist), directed, produced, shot and edited this dynamic look at the World Trade Organization’s Seattle convention, which erupted into marches, sit-ins and demonstrations in 1999.

On the fiction side, audiences flocked so heavily to two scheduled screenings of Amos Kollek’s romantic NY comedy Fast Food, Fast Women that a third was hastily added. Attendees were also buzzing about Greg Joyce’s Working Stiff (Best Screenplay award winner), a comedy of a corporate training video director who makes an X-rated version of his own sexual harassment video. Also popular (and winning the Best Feature Film award) was Swiss director Curt Truninger’s Dead by Monday, a dark “suicide comedy.” Truninger also proved a popular and lively guest throughout the weekend, appearing at many panels and parties. Mark and Michael Polish’s road-tripping Jackpot was another feature which packed them in.

531, Rob Goodman’s psychological drama of a taxicab and its four warring passengers, took Archives: Issue #44 the MovieMaker Breakthrough Award. And The Father, the Son, with producer-star Sal Mazzotta and several other members of the cast and production team on-hand, was the Audience Choice Award winner. Bringing this story of a Philadelphia mafia family to the screen was a hugely ambitious undertaking, and all involved pulled it off powerfully.

One of the most moving films in the festival was What Matters Most, a modern day Romeo and Juliet romance between childhood friends who find in high school that their bond has grown into love. First time writer/director Jane Cusumano succumbed to breast cancer only a month after completing the film. Her husband (and producer) James Cusumano was in attendance and spoke eloquently of his wife’s passion for the project. He is donating proceeds from the film to breast cancer research and to the Jane-Finish-Your-Film-Fund, an annual grant for a moviemaker with a film in post-production [see chateauwallyfilms.com for more information—ed.].

Morning, a tale of two friends from the same town whose lives take them in wildly opposite direction came from another first-timer, Ami Canaan Mann, who is following in the footsteps of her father, director Michael Mann.

The Best Director award went to Karl Kozak for Out of the Black, a suspenseful drama set in the Pennsylvania countryside which also scored Best Actor for star Tyler Christopher. Best Actress went to Justine Lichtman for the title role of Being Claudine, I-fan Quirk’s romantic comedy which screened to an enthusiastic audience on Peaks Island, a short ferry-ride away from Portland. Also screening on the island was Karen Holly’s comedy Ms. Representation, (which was nominated for Best Short Subject) with its star, independent film legend Karen Black, in attendance and answering audience questions.

Eighteen other short films played throughout the festival, with awards going to Damien Caldwell’s drama Lincoln & 31^st, Victor Buhler’s comedy Chaperone, and Maine moviemaker Christian Matzke’s H.P. Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep. The festival’s Longfellow Award in Screenwriting went to ROTSLO by Maine writer William Rogers.

On the foreign front were Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s masterful Japanese thriller Cure (see Profile in MM #44); first-time Canadian moviemaker Kevin Speckmaier’s Middlemen, a cautionary tale of a small-time crook trying to get ahead via a high-stakes drug deal; and the Australian Russian Doll, from Stavros Kazantzidis, about a Russian woman who travels to Sydney after answering a matchmaking ad, only to find her prospective groom dead on arrival.

Avi Nesher’s closing-night film Rage and Glory was honored with the Best Foreign Film award. The powerful Israeli tale of the Lehi, a group which resisted the British occupation of Palestine during World War II, was made in 1985, but its distribution was suppressed for years by certain factions of the Israeli government. Only recently has it been available for screening abroad. Nesher spoke to two sold-out crowds.

Special restrospective screenings included a film noir sidebar of Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity and Sam Fuller’s Pickup on South Street, both of which played in pristine 35mm prints in the grand State Theater one rainy afternoon. The classic Italian film sidebar also proved popular, with screenings of The Bicycle Thief and Open City drawing capacity crowds, most of whom had never seen the films before. And cult director William Lustig brought his horror classic Maniac to town in a new print struck freshly for Portland.

Portland Observatory offers the best views of the city; Congress Square is anchored by the I.M. Pei-designed Museum of Art; Portland Head Light, one of the world’s most photographed lighthouses, was first lit in 1791; The Portland Public Market offers something for everyone.

Another special screening happened Saturday afternoon at Portland’s Art Museum, where the classic children’s films The Red Balloon and Paddle to the Sea were screened alongside Greg Rossen’s Revenge of the Red Balloon, an update of the former. Sadly, the festival’s print of Paddle, which was graciously lent by the National Film Board of Canada, is reportedly the last in existence. Both screenings were lightly attended, but those who showed up with their kids knew what a treat it was to see these films on the big screen one more time.

Albert Maysles, one of the world’s greatest documentarians, was in town to receive the first annual John Ford Lifetime Achievement Award. Not only was he honored with packed screenings of his groundbreaking films Salesman and Gimme Shelter, which he introduced, but he took part in a fascinating documentary film panel entitled “Truth in Film.” He passionately discussed everything from the theoretical issues of “direct cinema” to the intimacy of getting to know one’s subjects, as well as the way documentary techniques have evolved over the years. Part of the discussion centered on the cost effectiveness of the digital revolution, as Maysles marveled at using the latest technologies “at only $10 for an hour of tape.”

The panel “The Legacy of John Ford” featured several Ford experts discussing the master Portland-born director’s life and work. And, in a great example of the festival’s “we’ve-got-it-all” spirit, the panel concluded with a group sing-along of “We Shall Gather at the River,” which Ford used in many of his westerns.

Another major panel was comprised of writers, directors, editors and producers, running the gamut from such veterans as Lloyd Kaufman, William Lustig and Robert Ferretti to newer moviemakers such as James Cusumano, Curt Truninger, Sal Mazzotta, Anthony Sparano, Jr., Rob Goodman, Jay Parker and Avi Nesher, all of whom were represented by films in the festival. Every participant lent interesting and practical advice to the aspiring moviemakers in the audience. Livening things up considerably was Troma President Lloyd Kaufman, who repeatedly brought the house down with his self-deprecating, raucous comments. (“No production company other than Troma has ever lasted 25 years without a hit!”) Ever the showman, he also ran clips of Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV (which the festival later screened in its entirety). Some excerpts:

Sal Mazzotta: “Raise a little money – $10-15,000 – and do a trailer. And then with the trailer and the full script, you can go to people and raise more money for the film. That’s what I did.”

Tim Rhys: “The first 10 pages of your script are critical. If they stink, it’ll be tough to find anyone in Hollywood who’ll read the rest.”

Jim Cusumano: “My advice to women [moviemakers] is that you need to be more tenacious than men. You need to hang in there. It’s not brains that make success in any business, including this one. It’s having some smarts, some creativity and tremendous tenacity.”

William Lustig: “If you’re gonna hustle, hustle the big guys. Successful companies like Kodak and Panavision are the ones you can hustle because they’ve got the money. They can afford to take a gamble on you. Don’t be intimidated—go in and barter with them.”

Lloyd Kaufman: “If the art of filmmaking is enough to be satisfying to you, you can do it. Anybody in this room can do it through the democracy of technology. And if the unwatchable movies I make can get into a movie theater, anybody’s movie can get into a movie theater!”

Unlike other festivals, the PFWC was not about pretense, or posturing, or hustling Hollywood agents in the streets—and thank goodness, for all of that truly would have seemed mindless so soon after September 11. It was instead a simple celebration of movies and a place where aspiring moviemakers could learn. New movies, old movies, first-timers and veterans—the PFWC was truly diverse. And let’s not forget the first-rate local beers, which were in ample supply at parties throughout the weekend—but that’s another story. MM

PFWC Award-Winners:

Best Feature Film: Dead By Monday, Curt Truninger

Best Foreign Film: Rage and Glory, Avi Nesher

Audience Choice Award: The Father The Son, Anthony Caldarella

Best Documentary: 30 Frames Per Second, Rustin Thompson

Best Director: Out of the Black, Karl Kozak

Best Screenplay: Working Stiff, Greg Joyce

Best Actor: Out of the Black, Tyler Christopher

Best Actress: Being Claudine, Justine Lichtman

Best Cinematography: What Matters Most, Michael Goi

Best Editing: The Father The Son, Phillip Steinman

Best Dramatic Short Film: Lincoln & 31st, Damien Caldwell

Best Comedic Short Film: Chaperone, Victor Buhler

The Longfellow Award in Screenwriting: ROTSLO, William Rogers

Kathadin Award: H.P. Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep, Christian Matzke

Flash Forward Award: What Matters Most, Polly Cusumano

MovieMaker Breakthrough Award: 531, Rob Goodman