LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Independent Film Festival Brings the World to Rehoboth |
When planning your Film Fest viewing schedule, don't miss the CAMP Rehoboth sponsored screenings of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me "David Drake, in this film adaptation of his Obie winning one-man show, chronicles male gay life in the 80s and 90s. His newly revised ending serves as a hymn of gay pride for the new millennium." Also a must see, Urbania, sponsored by CAMPsafe. "While the chance to revenge gay bashing is shown here among males, the filming devices of flash forward, flash, backward, flash to fantasies inserted in the narrative story take this deep probe into a gay mind even deeper." Lights...Camera...Action! With nearly 100 feature and short films from 20 countries, the Third Annual Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, is truly "bringing the world" to Rehoboth this November 8-12. "We have been able to strengthen our foreign program this year with help of several wonderful embassies in Washington," says Barry Becker, Festival Director and Programmer. "We're particularly happy to have several German programs of note," Becker adds, "including a premiere of Paradiso, and The Next Generation, a collection of short films chosen to represent Germany at this year's prestigious Cannes Film Festival." Also from Germany comes Paragraph 175, a documentary about the homosexual victims of Hitler's Germany which took top documentary prizes at The Berlin Film Festival, Sundance and countless gay and lesbian festivals. Glenn Bowman, Film Review Chairperson, says "Many of the films shine as a result of their defiance of traditional story expectationsa highly political film from France, a farce from Japan, a prodigal son story from China and a love affair between two unlikely women during Nazi Berlin." With films being presented from such countries as Bhutan, Iran, Cuba and South Korea, there will be enough culture in this year's line-up to convince festivalgoers that they also traveled around the world with Pop and Me without ever having left the movie theater. Just a few of the multi-award-winning works foreign film fans can catch at this year's festival include: Shower. Da Ming is a young Japanese businessman who is estranged from his aging father and mentally retarded brother who operate a bathhouse where customers spend hours soaking, drinking tea, squabbling over cricket matches, practicing Italian Opera, and confiding their secrets and anxieties. Through a series of crises and events their estrangement erodes and a form of caring grows into tenderness. The subtlety and superb ensemble acting brought Shower the major prizes at the Toronto, Seattle, San Sebastian, Thessaloniki and Rotterdam Film Festivals and standing ovations at Sundance. The Five Senses. Director Jeremy Podeswa weaves an intricate tapestry of the lives of five people working in a Toronto office building and of the difficulty in communicating and forming meaningful relationships. Nominated for nine Genie Awards (Canadian Oscar equivalent), Podeswa took the Best Director prize. ParadisoSeven Days With Seven Women. Successful composer Adam Bergschmidt lives and works in solitude at a beautiful, quiet lakeside paradise, until the week he invites the seven most important women from his past and present to celebrate his 60th birthday with him. A beautiful and meditative film about the passing of time, about becoming and being, remembering and expecting, Paradiso is screening at RBIFF hot off its U.S. Premiere at the L.A. Independent Film Festival. Cozy Dens captures an era of extraordinary change in the mid-1960s when Western liberalism began to pour in through the cracks of the Iron Curtain for the Czech people. The film offers intimate and often hilarious interlinked portraits of families residing in an apartment building in the suburbs of Prague on the eve of the infamous Spring of 1968. The film has been an award-winning hit in the Czech Republic, and is dedicated to "those who disappeared overnight" that fateful spring. My Heart, a film rarely seen in the U.S., tells the story of 16 year-old Soonie, who is forced to wed a wealthy, spoiled 10 year-old boy. For years she suffers at the hand of her abusive mother-in-law, her unfaithful husband, and from the shame of a barren womb, which eventually leads her to run away to begin life alone. With the touching saga of her sung poetry, graceful and wonderful acting, and the sweeping beauty of the Korean countryside, My Heart will touch your heart with Soonie's strength and endurance. Sure to be a festival hit! Welcome Back Mr. McDonald. In the studio of Japan's top radio station, the 5-minute countdown has begun for a new romantic drama from the station's prize-winning scriptwriter. Suddenly, however, the lead actress refuses to go on unless the script is changed. The lead actor then makes his demands, the crew takes their sides and now the sudsy love story has somehow been transformed into an overblown special effects blockbuster with frantic script re-writes between commercials! The New York Times called this fast-paced comedy "...a delirious comic portrait of human vanity and ingenuity in the wonderful world of entertainment." Rarely screened in this country, it's an experience not-to-be-missed! Winter Sleepers. As a car skids off the road and hurtles into a snow bank, one is sunk directly into a plot enmeshed in the elements and the circle of five people inextricably linked together. Writer/director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) gives us the chance to see all points of view at once as these spiritually and morally unconscious folks make choices that lead to a tragic conclusion. Programs Highlight Multi-Cultural Film Fest "One of our goals is to keep our programming fresh and innovative from year to year," says Barry Becker. "We are thrilled to be presenting some amazing archival films whose restorations were just completed in the past month, as well as a retrospective of one of the world's genius animators and a selection of films direct from Cannes." Pioneers, puppets, and the Potemkin are just a few of the topics that will add a little kitsch and nostalgia to an already wide array of armchair voyages. Pioneers The silent era of movie making, particularly the mid-teens, was a golden age for women working in film. There were more women directors, editors, writers and producers working from the mid-teens to the twenties than anytime before or since. Unfortunately, a rare few of the works from this era survived, and most of these are available only to researchers at film archives. Now, several of these early films have been carefully remastered from 35mm materials at the Library of Congress-Motion Picture Preservation Department. Presenting a selection from The First Ladies: Early Women Filmmakers will be guest curators, Jessica Rosner, one of the women who worked on the series, and Marie Travis, Assistant Professor of Film at The George Washington University. Cleo Madison directed 5 films, and appeared in more than 40 films as an actress from 1913 to 1924. She directed, produced and starred in the short film Eleanor's Catch, about a woman on the verge of being dragged into a life of crime. Lois Weber is credited with being the first woman to direct a full-length feature film, the Rex production of The Merchant of Venice (1914) directing more than 110 films from 1911 to 1927. French-born Alice Guy-Blach is generally considered to be the world's first female director, making over 700 features and shorts beginning in France in 1896 and later in the United States. Her 1916 film The Ocean Waif is one of only three of her surviving features. Puppets Back by popular demand from the Embassy of the Czech Republic is Marcel Sauer, Cultural Attach, to present Jan Svankmajer: A Retrospective. Jan Svankmajer is a legend of world cinematography who has inspired and influenced filmmakers around the world. Potemkin The Battleship Potemkin (1925) has been called an "unquestionable triumph of filmmaking" and has long been considered one of the greatest films of all time. Directed by Sergei Eisenstein (1898 - 1948), the film was so incendiary it was banned in the U.S., France, Great Britain and Russia. Tickets for films are $6.50 ($4.50 for 60+ or under 11). Discount books are available. A Gay Guide to Rehoboth's Independent Film Festival by Glen Bowman A study of the program book of the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival shows many films of interest to gays and lesbians, and there are many gay characters and "gay moments" in other films that are not so apparent. The themes of the obviously gay or lesbian films have subtleties that might be of equal interest to gals and guys. Here's a cheat sheet of "films not to be missed." Gay Theme/Films Eyes of Tammy Faye This icon in the gay community must be seen from her own point of view to be believed. Drag queens may dote on her eye makeup session but all will find it a moment of hilarity. Speaking out for help to AIDS patients is a gesture of great courage scorned severely by fundamentalists who conspired against her and her philandering husband and conspire against the gay community. Paragraph 175 The section of the German law code that forbade same sex contact was flagrantly ignored in pre-war Berlin which is shown in all its gay and lesbian splendor. Although the pink triangle torture was used on men in the concentration camps, one of the now-aging holocaust survivors interviewed is a lesbian. Aimee and Jaguar This true love story of a secretive Jewess and the wife of a Nazi soldier takes romance very seriously. Exquisite passion amid impossible conditions reminds one of Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, legendary tragic love stories. Urbania While the chance to revenge gay bashing is shown here among males, the filming devices of flash forward, flash backward, flash to fantasies inserted in the narrative story take this deep probe into a gay mind even deeper. Cheerleader Though satirizing the ex-gay homosexual reorientation movement is a joy in itself, the exaggerated use of stereotypes to identify lesbian behaviors, to re-teach teens absurdly straight sexual foreplay, and to enforce the rules in this camp of "teeming teens" will raise many a chuckle. The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me David Drake in the film adaptation of his Obie winning one-man show chronicles male gay life of the 80s and 90s. A newly revised ending serves as a hymn of gay pride for the new millennium. Chutney Popcorn Filmmaker/actress Nisha Ganatra has scripted family attitudes to the gay child with a knowing touch. The traditional mother's stumbling as she accepts her daughter, the sibling's stance of love/jealousy, the lover's hesitancy to commit to new challenges are elements for many gay and lesbian person's lives. Gay Characters or Inferences Poles Apart This documentary of four heroic women includes two lesbians as they attempt a history-making unassisted trek overland 600 miles to the South Pole toting all their own gear on sleds behind them. Beau Travail The homoerotic novel of Billy Budd inspired this adaptation set among the French Foreign Legion in Djibouti. It features music by gay composer Benjamin Britten and rhythmic movements of biceps, abs, and tushes in their drill and work routines, the envy of any choreographer. Five Senses One of the five narrative strands in this story involves a young bi-sexual who takes his search for true love back through many of his former partners using his "sniff test." He finds satisfaction in a new bed where a different aroma of love is presented to him. Just One Time This delightful gender-bending comedy is based on the premarital fantasy of a straight bridegroom to see his intended with a woman. When she requires that he reciprocate, his firemen buddies clumsily help him visit his first gay bar, the couple argue about each other's "affairs" before the priest, and a surprise "coming out" makes the ending quite satisfying. 2 Seconds A determined mountain biker declared too old to compete seeks to find her way as a Montreal bike courier. After the old bike repairman tells her of being inspired by his ideal love, she gets a loving kiss from her partner prior to her cross-town race. Chuck and Buck Adolescent obsession and experimentation carried to adulthood makes for an original plot. Do not expect easy answers like an accident or murder to simplify this story. Working through the issues raised by obsession is challenging but satisfying. East is East A rambunctious son of a Pakistani father flees his arranged marriage, sets up a chic hat shop with a swishy partner and becomes the source of counsel and comfort for his brothers and sister. Swimming In a summer beach town much like our own, a comely young girl comes of age. One of her most interesting experiments is a brief lesbian attachment to a beautiful but unavailable young waitress in her restaurant. Short Subjects Mental Hygiene: Classroom Guidance Films 1947-1961 Included excerpts from propaganda films used in your parent's or possibly your ownchildhood are: Boys Beware (watch out for the seducing old letch in trench coat and sunglasses!) Dating Do's and Don'ts (teens could never have talked in dialogue this stilted!) Have a Date With Your Family (dress for dinner, don't ask for a raise in allowance?) Seduction of Innocent (the marijuana scare never looked sillier!) Molly Grows Up (Molly discovers "mensura? menstua? menua? Oh! Mom! you know what I mean") Eight short films on gay and lesbian themes that includes an all underwater myth-like portrayal of a relationship, a Lego couple entertaining their Lego lesbian friends who want a sperm donation, a controversial piece on safe sex by Delaware native David Castle and a serial seducer who puts to unusual use the "night deposits" she collects. Glen Bowman is Chairperson of the Film Review Committee. "Star-Studded" Celebrations Add Film Fest Glamor The Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival will inaugurate its third annual event with its Opening Night Gala on Wednesday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, 229 Rehoboth Avenue, downtown Rehoboth. Attendees will "Become Submerged" in film, food and fun as fest organizers give a glimpse of the weekend ahead, guests revel in music and enjoy treats from some of the area's finest eating establishments. "We took last year's highly successful and praised Opening Night Gala, and made it even more spectacular," says Film Society President Andrea Andrus, co-chair of the Opening Night Gala. "We have developed an event around our year-long campaign of Becoming Submerged in film, and we have a terrific line-up of restaurants that we know will be the talk of the town." Prominent in the evening's line-up of festivities will be the chance for attendees to meet some of the filmmakers whose works will be highlighted during the festival. Film clips will introduce each filmmaker, and attendees will get a chance to meet directors, executive producers, and stars of some of the films that have been hot on the festival circuit this year. "We're still working on securing some of our final guests, but the line-up we will present will be remarkable," says Festival Director, Barry Becker. "This is a very rare opportunity to meet some of the new faces in the indie film world, an opportunity not to be missed." Opening Night revelers also get to sample hors d'oeuvres from the tables of some of the area's best restaurants including Blue Moon, Caf Sole, Celsius, Cloud Nine, Fusion, The Lamp Post, Sydney's Blues and Jazz Restaurant, and Third Edition. Afterwards, The Coffee Mill and Pasqualini's Bakery will serve java and sweets in the Bose Audio Visual Room, which will once again offer guests the opportunity to feast their eyes and ears and "Become Submerged" in film footage resonating the 2000 festival theme. The $40 ticket price also includes an open bar with festival sponsors Stolichnaya vodka, Beringer wines, Korbel champagne and Samuel Adams beer. Guests who may feel the urge to get out of their seats and on their feet throughout the evening will have the opportunity to do so to the Top 40 hits and R & B rhythms of this year's fest pick Murphy's Law. The weekend wrap is the Closing Night Celebration, which will follow the final film screening at the Lamp Post Seafood Restaurant, (Rt.1 & 24) on Sunday, Nov. 12. around 9:00 p.m. It's the chance to celebrate the festival's close, listen to the sounds of keyboardist Bernard Sweetney and learn the Audience Award-winners for Best Feature, Best Debut Film, Best Short, and Best Documentary. The Lamp Post will light up with an array of appetizers from the Mediterranean-style menu of chef Mark Steele. Tickets are $20.. To purchase tickets, send check to the Rehoboth Beach Film Society, 4493 Highway One, #63, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971, or stop by the office next to Radio Shack in the Rehoboth Mall. Checks or cash only. Tickets sold at the door if available. Winter Speeper Five Senses Cheerleader Aimee & Jaguar Coming to Light For more information, call 302- 645-9095 or at visit them on the Internet at www.rehobothfilm.com The Rehoboth Beach Film Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions are deductible to the fullest extent of the law. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 14, Oct. 20, 2000. |