Overview

The Florida Film Festival heads into its eighth addition this week with a growing reputation as one of the most important and well organized showcases of American Independent films. Enhancing its “mini Sundance” image of presenting Narrative Features, Documentaries and Short Films in competition, the Festival was also ground zero for the production team of Haxan Films (based in Orlando) whose Blair Witch Project is the current rosetta stone of indie film success stories.

The Festival opens June 9 at the Enzian Theater, a year round arthouse cinema complex that specializes in American Independent and Foreign Language fare, with the US premiere of Love and Sex, a comedy battle of the sexes directed by Valerie Breiman and starring fashion-model-turned actress Famke Janssen (Goldeneye, Woody Allen’s Celebrity and the upcoming X-Men) and Jon Favreau (the writer/star of the cult hit Swingers). Janssen plays a women’s magazine writer who dig into her past to come up with a realistic “how to” sex article. Janssen will be present for the screening and Opening Night Reception sponsored by the Orlando Weekly and Piper-Heidseik.

The Festival's main program are its two Competition Sections for Narrative Features and Documentary Features, respectively. Ten films are competing for Best Narrative including Bobby G. Can't Swim, a verite look at a small time drug addict/dealer living on New York's "mean streets" with a standout performance by writer/director/lead actor John Luke-Montias (streaming interview at Cognac Thriller Festivals); Dropping Out, a hilarious yet sobering satire on modern ennui and the voyeurism of filmmaking, directed by Mark Osborne; Good Housekeeping, a Slamdance Film Festival Grand Prize Winner and the only American film to be presented at last month's Semaine International de la Critique section of the Cannes Film Festival, this is a raucous, hilarious and horrifying look at white trailer trash life, directed by first time director Frank Novak (streaming interview at Cannes); Henry Hill, director David Kantar's tender romance about disillusionment and redemption set in a small town in Maine that stars Jamie Harrold (Erin Brockovich) and Moira Kelly (Unhook the Stars) and Kill By Inches, an atmospheric drama about a possibly deranged tailor who slowly goes mad, directed by Diane Doniol-Valcroze and Arthur Flam.

The remaining films include Rendezvous In Samarkand, an exotic and suspensful road movie set in the French Sahara and directed by Tim Bridwell; Spring Forward, director Tom Gilroy's hypnotic film about an old timer and a recent prison parolee whose paths cross in a small town, with standout performances by veteran actor Ned Beatty and indie favorite Liev Schrieber (The Daytrippers); Stanley's Gig, a funny and touching story about a failed musician who finds his voice while working in a retirement home, directed by Marc Lazard, and starring Marla Gibbs and Faye Dunaway; Swimming, director Robert J. Siegel's wonderfully acted and intimate coming-of-age story set in the resort community of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and The Woman Chaser, a highly stylized neo-noir comedy about a crooked used car salesman who decides to become a filmmaker, featuring a devilish performance by sitcom actor Patrick Warburton ("Seinfeld"). The Narrative Feature Jury who will determine the prizes include Dan Myrick (director, Blair Witch Project), James Byerly of Home Box Office and Jackie Tepper from New Line Cinema.

Ten feature documentaries will compete for a Best Documentary Prize including Book Wars, an absorbing and frequently hilarious look at the world of New York City street booksellers, directed by Jason Rosette; Chac, director Kim-Chi Tyler's extraordinary tale of the director's return to Vietnam to find her biological father and trace her roots; Collectors, a disturbing and highly provocative examination of two art collectors who specialize in paintings created by serial killers, directed by Julian P. Hobbs; Coming To Light, a passionate documentary portrait of famed 19th century photographer Edward S. Curtis whose chronicle of the American Indian traces a proud and sad people, directed by Anne Makepeace; and Legacy, director Tod Lending's inspiring story of one African-American family that escaped a legacy of poverty, drug addiction and violence.

Other documentary features competing for the top prize include Me And Isaac Newton, legendary director Michael Apted's (Seven Up) fascinating look at the perils and promise of modern technology as it affects our perception of life and the universe; Naked States, a humorous and startling chronicle of photographer Spencer Tunick's travel across America where he induced people to pose naked in public for his camera, directed by Arlene Donnelly; Night Waltz, an Oscar nominated film that explores the musical genius of breakthrough author Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky), directed by Owsley Brown; Rats, director James Felter's remarkable study of the entangled destinies of rats and human beings on a single street in Washington D.C.; and A Voice From Heaven, a moving tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the Pakistani singer who brought the ancient Sufi music of qawawali to a worldwide audience, directed by Guiseppe Asaro. Jurors choosing top honors in the Documentary category include Steve Fagan of theatrical distributor Artistic License Films, People Magazine film critic Leah Rozen and filmmaker Brett Morgen. Awards will be announced at a Gala Awards Ceremony held on June 17 at Universal Studios Orlando.

An International Showcase program features the premieres of From The Edge Of The City (Greece), an Oscar nominated story of a street hustler surviving on the streets of Athens directed by Constantine Giannaris; Hidden River (Argentina), director Mercedes Garcia Guevara's contemporary thriller about family secrets and betrayal, which screened at Toronto 99 and more recently at San Francisco International Film Festival; Mr Rice's Secret (Canada), an award winning family film starring David Bowie, which screened at Berlin's Kinderfest and is presently screening at Seattle International Film Festival; Rent A Friend (The Netherlands), a highly amusing comedy of manners from Eddy Terstall, the Woody Allen of Holland; and Toro (Phillipines), director Jose Javier Reyes' bracing and controversial look at the world of live sex performers in the bars and brothels of Manila.

Two exciting film personalities will be highlighted at the Festival. Robert Loggia, a veteran actor of more than 40 films, will be the focus of An Evening with Robert Loggia, a question and answer session with the veteran character actor Loggia that includes the screening of Loggia's Oscar nominated role in the 1985 thriller The Jagged Edge, co-starring Glen Close and Jeff Bridges.

Indie favorite Rosanna Arquette, whose credits include Desperately Seeking Susan, Pulp Fiction, Crash and Buffalo 66, will be present for An Evening with Rosanna Arquette, which features a screening of her rarely seen lead role in the 1998 family drama I'm Losing You, based on Bruce Wagner's best selling novel, and also starring Andrew McCarthy (Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle), Buck Henry (The Graduate) and Elizabeth Perkins (Big).

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The ninth edition of the Florida Film Festival came to a conclusion this past weekend with a gala Awards Ceremony held on Saturday night in a cavernous soundstage at Universal Studios Orlando, the Festival's main corporate sponsor. Over 500 local filmmakers, Festival sponsors, politicos and members of the Orlando media community gathered to hear the announcement of awards and see clips of the films nominated for honors.

The Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature was awarded to Bobby G Can't Swim, a gritty, hard-hitting suspense film about a small-time drug dealer surviving on the mean streets of New York City. The film, which was screened at Cognac 2000, was written, directed and stars John-Luke Montias, whose astonishing performance as the lead has been compared to the young Robert De Niro. Featuring an ensemble cast of actors and ordinary people from the tough Hell's Kitchen section of New York, the film delivers a harrowing fable of urban realism. The film, which is being represented internationally by Italian sales agent Adriena Chiesa, is about to sign with a US distributor for a release later this year.

A Special Jury Award for Narrative Filmmaking went to director Robinson Devor's noirish black comedy The Woman Chaser, which features a rousing audience pleaser of a performance by Patrick Warburton, well known to television audiences for his recurring role as Puddy the mechanic on the Seinfeld comedy series. The film, about a successful used car salesman who uses his sleazy skills to break into the film industry, will open this weekend for a limited theatrical run at New York's specialty arthouse The Screening Room.

The three-person Jury who viewed the ten films in competition was made up of Jim Byerley, Senior Programmer for pay television giant Home Box Office, Daniel Myrick, the co-director of the wildly successful The Blair Witch Project whose company Haxan Films is based in Orlando, and Jackie Tepper, Manager of Acquisitions for specialty arthouse distributor Fine Line Features.

The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, awarded by Festival audiences via ballots at every screening, went to Stanley's Gig, a humanistic comedy-drama about a bitter musician who finds his voice again through his transforming experience of working at a senior citizen center. The feature film debut of New York-based writer/director Marc Lazard, the film features character actor William Sanderson (Blade Runner) as the musician, television veteran Marla Gibbs (The Jeffersons) as a bitter senior resident, and a stand out cameo by Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde) that adds a bit of Hollywood star power to this accomplished indie film.

Historically, the Documentary Competition has always been the strongest element at the Florida Film Festival, and this year proved no exception. The Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature was awarded to Legacy, the inspiring story of how one African-American family broke free of welfare, overcame addiction and escaped the specter of violence in their community. The film, which was directed by Tod Lending, will be broadcast on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) this Fall.

A Special Jury Award for Documentary Filmmaking went to director Michael Apted for his latest film, Me and Isaac Newton. The veteran director, who has established a rare career mixing commercial cinema (Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorillas In The Mist) and documentary films (Incident at Ogala, the "7 Up series"), turns his attention to the poetry and aesthetics of scientific discovery, exploring the persistence, curiosity and vision of different scientists in different cultures and societies as they explore the age-old questions of the universe. The Award for Best Documentary Short was given to Steve Bognar for his lyrical film Picture Day, which amusingly chronicles one Midwestern US elementary school and the over 600 children in it (all in less than 7 minutes).

The distinguished Documentary Jury included such polished professionals as Steve Fagan, distributor director for US specialized independent distributor Artistic License Films, filmmaker Brett Morgen, whose documentary film on boxing On The Ropes was nominated for an Academy Award this year, and Leah Rozen, chief critic for the weekly People Magazine.

In an unprecedented tie, Legacy shared the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature with Naked States, an amusing and controversial look at photographer/art activist Spencer Tunick, who travelled across the US asking Americans of all races, shapes and body sizes to take off their clothes and pose in public before his camera. The film, an amusing satire of "art for arts sake," is directed by Arlene Donnelly and will have a limited theatrical run this year.

The Festival presented over 60 short films from around the world in anthology programs that were among the most well attended of the event. The Jury named In God We Trust, a hilarious fable directed by Jason Reitman about a recently deceased young man who eludes the heaven police and escapes back to earth to find moral redemption, as Best Narrative Short. The Special Award for Animated Short went to Steve Katz for Protest, a dreamlike meditation on endangered wildlife set to the lovely aria from the opera La Wally. The Special Award for Live Action Short was presented to Ellie Lee for Dog Days, an absurdist tale of a family whose typical American way of life is wildly disrupted by an unspecificed conflict that turns humans into animals (and vice-versa).

Jury members choosing the winners included: Samantha Levin from US distributor Lions Gate Films, Anne Rossellini, the Acquisitions Manager for internet programmer AtomFilms, Sterling Van Wagenen, a former producer (The Trip to Bountiful) and current director of the film program at the University of Central Florida, and prolific animation legend Bill Plympton (The Tune, I Married A Strange Person).

The public favorite and winner of the Audience Award for Best Short Film was George Lucas In Love, a hilarious parody of Shakespeare In Love that focuses on the better-than-real-life story of the creator of the Star Wars films. The film is the inspired brainchild of director Joe Nussbaum, who has since signed a 3-picture deal at a major studio as a result of the film's notorious success.

The Kodak Cinematography Award was given given to Suk-gu Kim, the director of photography for the short film A Nursery Tale, directed by Jieho Lee. The Korean film is a remarkably accomplished hybrid of visual styles (music video meets French New Wave) that perfectly suits the amusing story of a sexually frustrated nerd who lives in a fantasy world of supermodels and impossibly voluptuous vixens.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Distinguished Achievement In Filmmaking Award which was given to actress Rosanna Arquette, who was present for the ceremony. Arquette was honored for her 20 year career that began as a teenage actress in 1979's More American Graffiti, a sequel to the George Lucas classic. In the 1980's, she starred in such important indie films as Baby, It's You (directed by John Sayles), Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman), Black Rainbow (Mike Hodges) and After Hours (Martin Scorsese). Her career continued into the 1990s with stellar turns in such distinctive films as Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino), Crash (David Cronenberg) and the recent Sugar Town (Allison Anders). The Festival screened her 1998 film I'm Losing You, a moving drama about a dysfunctional family in Los Angeles who struggle to communicate amidst a web of secrets and lies, adapted by Bruce Wagner from his celebrated novel.

Arquette, visibly moved by the honor and a 10-minute series of clips from her quirky career, acknowledged that her offbeat looks and improvisational style made her "more suited for independent films than the status quo in Hollywood." She thanked all her directors and stated that she has had "an interesting ride down a less travelled career path." She continues her status as an indie darling, starring in the newest film from director Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging), an autobiographical story of a young girl's brutal rape set in a small coastal town in Florida. She was recently honored at Paris 2000 where she received an honorary plaque on the "Champs Elysees Walk of Fame."

The Festival is the most visible event of the year for the Enzian Film Society (Orlando-based and non-profit) that does the programming for the Enzian Theater, a unique dinner theater that is the only game in town for American Independent and International Films. The Festival and the year-round programming has created a rare synergy that has established a sophisticated audience truly curious and interested in specialized film (unique outside of the traditional urban hubs of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc).

The Festival received high kudos from participating filmmakers and professionals, who praised its efficiency and intelligent, provocative programming. Although not strictly a market, the Festival does pride itself in bringing together filmmakers and industry professionals in an informal atmosphere that allows for exchange of ideas (and business cards). The Festival also provides critical support for unfinished works through its Works In Progress section which featured sneak previews of 4 films in production, including Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton's latest opus Mutant Aliens.The audience, eager to share their views with the visiting directors, provided vital feedback that is rare to find at the larger events on the circuit.

With its program of more than 150 features and short films over 10 days, ranging from the first time efforts of novice directors to the 50th anniversary reissue of the Billy Wilder classic Sunset Boulevard, the Festival was not only a treasure trove for the local community but a model of the importance of regional events in the continuing effort to educate the audience and to raise the bar of film appreciation.

FilmFestivals.com reporter
Sandy Mandelberger