AIFF - First Films Begin at Bear Tooth - Symphony and Camille

I wasn't expecting much from Camille, so I was pleasantly surprised. A good movie isn't about the plot - though a good plot helps - but about how it all fits together. If you know it's got a guy on parole, a girl with red, red hair, and a blue horse and Niagra Falls, that's all you need to know. For the most part the acting was solid and it kept my attention. If there were any deep messages, I missed them completely. Definitely needed some polishing here and there - when the lady pointed out that Dad had forgotten the wallet, for example, we all had a pretty good idea of what was coming.

The animated short that opening things - Symphony (pic above, head not part of movie) - was a beautiful black and white of some sea creature who just misses being someone else's dinner several times to all in synch with the symphony. With my own short animation due Wednesday, I couldn't help but wonder how they did this. [Update: you can see a trailer of it here. Well worth it.]

AIFF - Animated Films in Competition Schedule

Here's the schedule for the animated films in competition.

Distraxion

USA • 2 min.• In Competition

By Mike Stern

An office worker’s job is made extremely difficult because of his boss’s taste in music.

Symphony

USA • 5 min. • In Competition

By Erick Oh

The topic of this abstractedly crafted animation applies to anything that struggles to be free. It can be a phenomenon occurring deep within the mind, or an individual confronting the standardized masses.

Mock ‘n Boyd

Canada • 4 min. In Competition

By Chris Dainty & Rita Street

Boyd was living the good life until Mock came along. Boyd’s new cage-mate is out to shake his tail feathers like they’ve never been shaken before.

Sebastian ’s Voodoo

USA • 4 min. In Competition

By Joaquin Baldwin

A voodoo doll must find the courage to save his friends from being pinned to death.

The film maker is scheduled to attend the screening.

Yellow Sticky Notes

Canada • 6 min. In Competition

By Jeff Chiba Stearns

Twenty three hundred drawings on 4x6 inch yellow sticky notes with a black ink pen, Yellow Sticky Notes is a small internal reflection on one’s role as an artist manifests into a discussion about major political and environmental crises.

The film maker is scheduled to attend the screening on Saturday, December 13 and he's presenting the animation workshop Saturday at 3:15pm at Out North.

Headwinds

Canada • 2 min. • In Competition

By Brian Sinasac

Ready for his base jump, Dan, perched high above the desert floor, leaps into the open sky. Malfunctioning equipment means doom for our daredevil, who can only be saved by the use of his head.

Operation: Fish

USA • 11 min. In Competition

By Jeff Riley

After a series of mysterious goldfish abductions, a secret agent is dispatched with a time displacement gun to bring the criminals behind the “fishnappings” to justice, and possibly save the world!

AIFF - Short Documentaries in Competition Schedule

The short docs in competition only get one showing each. It's possible one or two might be added to another feature, but don't bet on it. Click the chart to enlarge it.




Here again, just to get this up at all, I'm stealing the list from the AIFF site. Remember, on that site, the snowman in the upper left corner is a link back to the main page. Just click on it.

City of Cranes

UK, 14 min. – Documentary short - In Competition

Directed by Eva Weber

Date completed August 2007

An unparalleled and unique view of London - through the eyes and words of crane drivers.

Health, Peace and Happiness

Singapore - 24 min. - Documentary short - In Competition

Date completed 2008

Details an endearing story of friendship between two terminally ill women involving their families and the staff of the hospital.

Leave Her to Die

Canada, 49 min. – Documentary short feature - In Competition

Directed by Antonia Thomson

Date completed August 2008

An HIV-infected child was abandoned in an orphanage in Northern Thailand Her medical chart read: Leave Her to Die, but one remarkable woman’s story proves that love itself can and is... saving lives.

Reefer Madness

Canada – 23 min. – Documentary short - In Competition

Directed by Steve Hanson

Date Completed: May 2008

Reefer Madness follows Canadian graffiti artist, Fatso, on a journey across the continent to track down the rarest refrigerator boxcars shedding some light on the most recent and unlikely movement in freight train graffiti.

Monster Dudes

USA – 22 min. – Documentary short - In Competition

Directed by Lance Bauscher

Date completed 2008

Documents Boise’s avant-garde noise rock band Monster Dudes.

Splitting Hairs

Germany/USA – 28 min. – Documentary short - In Competition

Directed by F. Stone Roberts

Date Completed September 2008

Splitting Hairs is a documentary about the American invasion of the World Beard and Mustache Championships.

DELTA Meeting and ...

I've been on a statewide steering committee putting together a plan to help prevent intimate partner violence in Alaska for a couple of years now. We're moving along. Yesterday afternoon and today we met at the Sheraton - piggy backing on another education/health conference that members were going to.

Intimate Partner Violence is a broad term to cover people in relationships - whether high school kids are a married gay couple and everything in between. It does not necessarily mean sexual relationship - not all high school kids are sexually active with their boy friends or girl friends. But it also focuses on these relationships rather than other situations of violence. The prevention people focus on developing communities that promote healthy relationships - promoting conditions that lower the risk factors of intimate partner violence, rather than traditional programs that intervene once violence has occurred.

(view from meeting room yesterday)

Anyway, our project is funded with Center for Disease Control money. A key goal is to have some sort of infrastructure in place to help link people working on prevention, facilitate cooperation on developing programs and materials, finding the resources that are already available, getting better data on what is actually happening, and a few other related things. Each one of these can stir up old wounds, suspicions, misunderstandings. We're looking for ways to take advantage of existing state agencies but also giving the people working across the state access and say without this becoming seen as (or de facto) an arm of the state. We want to slightly formalize the already existing informal networks and make them a little less accidental. Sort of a non-cyber Facebook so people can keep in contact and multiply contacts and access to tools, expertise, and resources.

We were done today a little after noon, so I stopped by the Film Festival hospitality suite at the Inlet Towers. This is available for All Film and All Events pass holders and filmmakers. Rand and Tony were getting things ready. Here Rand is adding some short films to show along with scheduled feature length films.

At the Gala tonight at the Aviation Museum they will be showing three shorts continuously - The King and Dick (The real Elvis meets the real Nixon); Nibbles (something about fishing and mosquitoes I think); and Spin, about a dj.

AIFF - DAY 1: Bear Tooth at 7pm for Camille

Tonight is the opening of the Anchorage International Film Festival with a showing of Camille at the Bear Tooth at 7pm. This is the easy day. There's only one movie to see so there are no agonizing decisions about which venue to go to.

Starting at 9pm will be the "Gala Opening." I never did quite get the word "Gala" but that's what they're calling it. At the Aviation Museum. Entry is $18 (Free with an All Events Pass) to the Gala. You get food and you get to rub elbows with local and visiting film buffs and makers. And you probably get to see the exhibits in the museum as well.

Camille

Official Selection

USA - 91 min - Black Comedy - 2008

Director: Gregory Mackenzie

Cast: Sienna Miller, James Franco, David Carradine, Scott Glenn

Young love has rarely been so twisted. Silas has just been blackmailed into marrying Camille. On their honeymoon, an accident leaves Camille deceased and then inexplicably revived, setting the stage for an undead romance as the couple flees from the cops toward the Canadian border.

Friday, December 5, 7:00 PM - Bear Tooth Theatre

There's a trailer here, but it does have an ad first. (It actually didn't work on my computer.)

Anchorage International Film Festival - UFAQs

I'm not sure its cricket to have FAQs if no one has asked any questions so these are UFAQs - Unasked Frequently Asked Questions. This is information people might be or should be asking for. Below are links to posts with general information about the Anchorage International Film Festival.

Where's the official AIFF site?

What do all the categories mean? ("official selection;" "films in competition," etc. )


Workshops - Link goes to a list of the special workshops and a bit about the visiting film maker presenters.

Special Schedules - the official schedule is big and crowded with stuff, so I'm developing some specialized ones to focus on specific groups of films.

• Features films in competition
  
• Documentary films in competition
  
• Shorts in competition
  
• Documentary shorts in competition
  
• Animations in competition
  

What are your criteria for a good movie? When I made my picks for last year's best films, at the end of the post I outlined my criteria. The link takes you to that post, scroll down to second part.

Is there any public transportation in this town? If you're here for the festival from out of town and you don't have a ride to the next venue, just tell people around you and I bet they'll find someone going your way. Really, people will help out here, especially if you are a film maker. I'm told the Festival was loaned several vans that will help visiting film makers get from venue to venue.

What about family films?

The Program Guide - the link takes you to a PDF of the Program Guide the festival used to have on their website. It is what they sent to The Anchorage Press which printed it as an insert last week (Nov. 26). So, if you have that fine. If not, you can get one at the link. I also suspect these will be available at the venues.

Videos of the Festival
-At the First Movie of the Festival - Camille at Bear Tooth Dec. 5
-Opening night video at Aviation Museum Gala

Who Are You Anyways? - who's paying you to do this? does your brother have a film in competition? What is your connection to the festival? From an earlier post here's my Disclosure:

The eagle-eyed might notice that this blog is linked on the AIFF main page. What's up with that? Well I blogged the festival last year and they liked what I did and asked if I would be the official blogger. They promised me I could say what I wanted, but I decided it was better to blog on my own and then if I write something that upsets one of the film makers, the Festival isn't responsible. They also threw in a free pass for me this year.

I probably won't say anything terrible about a film, but I did rant about one film last year that I thought was exploiting its subject as well as boorishly demeaning a whole country. I mentioned in an earlier post that if I sound a little promotional at times, it's only because I like films and I like the kinds of quirky films that show up at festivals, so I want as many people to know about the festival as possible so the festival will continue. Will I fudge on what I write to get people out? No way. There are plenty of people in Anchorage who like films. They're my main target. To get them out of the house in the dark December chill when inertia tugs heavily if they even think about leaving the house. But if others who normally don't go out to films hear about a movie on a topic they're into, that's good too.

AIFF - Shorts in Competition Schedule

The Short films will be shown in groups with other short films and they have names that, perhaps after we see the films, will make sense. I've looked through the groups to find out when the ones in competition will be shown. I'm told they will be shown in the order they are listed. So if one you want to see is first at one venue and another is last at another, you could possibly pull that off. Good to get a pass of some sort rather than pay all the separate admissions if you're going to try that.

In any case, I've gone through them and tried to pick out the Short Films in Competition - those eligible to win prizes at the Award Ceremony, Saturday, Dec. 13.

But, it's possible I missed one or two, and that I haven't gotten all the details exactly right - so when you find something you want to see, double check the official Festival Program Guides at their website. Also, there will probably be a few changes now and again. Click the chart to enlarge it.




I've stolen the descriptions right from the AIFF website. I just don't have time to do more at this point.

Spielzeugland

Germany – 14 min. - Short In Competition

Directed by Jochen Alexander Freydank

Date completed: September 2007

Germany 1942: In order to protect her son Marianne Meißner tried to make him believe that the Jewish neighbors are going on a journey to “Toyland”.

Square Pegs

USA – 20 min. - Short In Competition

Directed by Ben Hicks

Date completed: May 2007

A teenage girl, her childish mother and her younger sister find themselves in a strange restaurant.

Reality Show

Mexico – 16 min. - Short In Competition

Directed by Federico Schmucler

Date completed: 2007

Can a TV reality show change the course of your own life?

Open Your Eyes

USA – 15 min. - Short In Competition

Directed by Susan Cohen

Date completed: May 2008

A journey of self-discovery begins when a woman diagnosed with breast cancer finds herself locked in a bathroom with a stranger during a bridal shower.

The film maker is scheduled to attend the screening.

Cocoon

Belgium – 19 min. - short In Competition

Directed by Jeroen Bogaert

Date completed September 2007

Martha is a passionate dancer. She and her company are at the verge of international success. A coming tour will make her ambitions come true. However, she is 7 weeks pregnant and keeps this delicate matter secret from her colleagues and boyfriend.

Land Gewinnen (Gaining Ground)

Germany – 20 min. - Short In Competition

Directed by Marc Brummund

Date completed: June 2007

A young illegal immigrant couple spends their time furtively avoiding the German authorities, until the wellbeing of their young son dictates that they resolve their untenable situation.

Animated American

USA, 15 min. short In Competition

Directed by James Baker & Joe Haidar

Date completed: May 2008

:

A 'toon hating executive has a hare raising experience when he meets an out of work toon rabbit.

The producer, Susan Cohen is scheduled to attend the screening.

Ripple

UK – 18 min. - Short In Competition

Directed by Paul Gowers

Date completed: January 2008

A black comedy. One small random act of malice forces an ordinary man off the safe road and on to a dark journey that he'll never forget.

AIFF - Film Makers Coming to the Festival

Here's a list of film makers who will be at the film festival sometime during the next ten days. This was posted on the AIFF website yesterday. [When you're on their site and can't find the link back to the main page, try clicking on the snowman in the upper left corner.] I don't have time to go through and identify them all more. You can click on the links to learn more about the films. A number, naturally, are Alaska related film makers, but a number are coming from as far as Australia and Holland. The first four are films in competition either for features or full length documentaries.

Greg Kern - Chronic Town

Brett Spackman – Coyote

Neil Mansfield – Streetsweeper

Jan Louter – The Last Days of Shishmaref

James Bolton – Dream Boy

Ingrid Veninger – Only

Ryan Piotrowicz – The Project

Matt Yeager - Resurrection County (opening night gala only)

Rory Magnus – Robot Dreaming

Mike Stearn – Distraxion

Jeff Chiba Sterns – Yellow Sticky Notes

Joaquin Baldwin – Sebastian’s Voodoo

Peter Dunlap-Shohl – XT & Me and Susitna Story

DeWayne Austin – Misadventures of Moon Kitty

Camille Ezzell – The Magistical

Andrew Okpeaha MacLean – Sikumi

Susan Cohen – Open Your Eyes and Animated American

Ellen Frankenstein – Eating Alaska

Joan Juster – Alaska, Far Away

Levi Taylor – Way Up North

Troy Henkles – In the Wake of Belgica

Skye Borgman – Junk Dreams

Brad Swenson – Stop and Go

Hanah Kaplan – Tits and Skatin’

Buzz Schwall – Butterfly’s Evil Spell

Tim Anderson – One, Two Punch

Don Reardon – Skid Marks

Donal Foreman - You're Only What I See Sometimes

Walt Monegan at UAA

Walt Monegan talked about integrity and ethics and leadership. He spoke softly - I hope it comes out on the video - and the words came from his heart. You could tell. And he knew what he was talking about.

Phil Munger asked him about the Rural Domestic Violence Prevention program he was working on, and it was clearly state of the art, recognizing that this was not simply a police issue. It included a Trooper cadet program for 18-21 year olds in rural Alaska. They would take on some of the community outreach tasks and other work that would free up Troopers to focus on other issues. It included teams of retired, but well qualified officers and judges.

He also fielded questions about running for higher office. He didn't say no. He said things like - "I like that kind of challenge - new things coming at you all the time" and "My wife and I are discussing it."

The video is about 13 minutes of the 70 or so minutes he spoke. By now I'm sure the television station there has broadcast the best soundbites, so I'm going to just play the whole thing. I think it's better that way anyway. This is not a superficial soundbite guy. I think we're about to see a lot more of Walt Monegan.

But also a note of caution. We tend to think what we need in leaders, in new employees, by what we didn't like in the last one. The Sarah Palin we saw in her VP candidate role seemed to morph into a person who was far more interested in furthering her own career than looking after the people of Alaska. I don't think that will happen to Monegan. Also, since Palin fired Monegan and then her minders tried to trash him (I think I heard the word rogue a couple of times), there's a natural tendency to compare the two. After all, we are still left with which one you believe - Palin or Monegan?

Watch the tape, then watch any tape you want of Palin and see which one you have most confidence in.

NOTE: The video freezes around 5:40, but the audio goes on fine. I'll post it as is for now and try to get a corrected video up soon. But it's a busy week.

AIFF - Documentaries in Competition Schedule

UPDATE Dec 7: Note two changes I've made to the schedule. Last Days of Shishmaref plays Saturday Dec. 13 at the Fireweed (originally I had Museum) and

Upstream has a Tuesday Dec. 9 showing at the Museum that I missed the first time around.





Here's a list of the documentary films that are in competition (for awards in the festival - more on what the categories mean here).

Short Documentary
Reefer Madness
Leave Her To Die
Splitting Hairs
Health, Peace, and Happiness
Monster Dudes
City of Cranes


Feature Documentary
Crawford
The Last Days of Shishmaref
Ballou
Upstream Battle
Nashville State of Mind
Diamonds in The Rough
The Wrecking Crew

Below I've simply copied the text from the AIFF Website, but I've taken only those documentaries in competition, the ones on the schedule above. I'll try to make a schedule for the short documentaries too.

NOTE: Diamonds in the Rough and Upstream Battle (N. California Salmon fisheries) are only shown one time each! The others all get two showings.

	A Nashville State of Mind USA • 88 mins.• 2008 - In Competition Directed by John Martin-Vogel and Eric La Rocca Samantha Gibb, daughter of Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, and her band move to Nashville after her father’s death. They enter Nashville’s Alternative music scene with some of the best local musicians on the scene. This peek into the lives of musicians/song writers who struggle to follow their dreams features guest appearances by industry professionals like Hank Williams III, Jody Williams, Dan Keen, Doc McGhee and Scott McGhee. Monday, December 8 at 5:30 PM - Anchorage Museum Wednesday, December 10 at 5:30 PM - Fireweed Theatre
	Ballou USA • 83 mins. • 2008 - In Competition Directed by Michael Patrei The talented Ballou High School Marching Band overcomes a negative environment filled with guns, drugs and violence through music, dedication and personal sacrifice. On their way to a national band competition, band members must first learn how to play instruments and overcome personal losses due to the neglect of an impoverished community just three miles from the Capital. Celebrities including Rev. Jess Jackson and Colin Powell speak to the importance of a small marching band that becomes an award-winning band. Thursday, December 11 at 7:45 PM - Anchorage Museum Saturday, December 13 at 2:30 PM - Anchorage Museum
	Crawford USA • 74 mins. • 2008 - In Competition Directed by David Modigliani Months after arriving in Crawford, Texas, population 705, George W. Bush declares his candidacy for President and uses the town as the perfect set-piece to project a folksy image. Crawford explodes overnight. Souvenir stores open. Their Baptist pastor calls it a miracle. But with the Iraq War and the arrival of 20,000 protesters in Crawford’s backyards, conflict mounts in the town itself, pushing a progressive teacher and her student to the brink – and beyond. Soon, tourists stop coming and the stores are boarded up. But the human impact of political stagecraft is far graver. Now, through the eyes of Crawford’s colorful, dynamic people, comes a unique reflection on the last seven years. Thursday, December 11 at 5:30 PM - Bear Tooth Theatre Sunday, December 14 at 5:30 PM - Anchorage Museum
	Diamonds in the Rough USA • 72 mins. • 2008 - In Competition Directed by Brett Mazurek Narrated by Michael Franti A group of young rappers in Uganda use hip hop to spread awareness about the political and social troubles engulfing their country, and to bring about positive change. Silas and Krazy Native are the two members of the Bataka Squad, rapping in their native language. Silas’s family was forced to flee to Canada when he was twelve, with his father subsequently falling victim to politically motivated murder. During Silas’s exile, Krazy Native rises to become one of Uganda’s most successful contemporary hip hop artists. When Silas returns to his homeland to set up a charity foundation for young people, he and Krazy reunite for the first time in ten years. Their journey goes from the riot-torn streets of the capital, Kampala, to the smallest villages in the countryside; from the Pearl of Africa Music Awards to the Global African Hip Hop Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa; and finally back across the Atlantic as Silas and Krazy bring their music and their message to the United States. On the way, a host of other young rappers tackle subjects ranging from genocide to AIDS in their music. Sunday, December 7 at 12 noon - Bear Tooth Theatre
	The Last Days of Shishmaref Netherlands • 88 mins. • English - Snowdance selection - In Competition and Iñupiaq with English subtitles • 2008 Directed by Jan Louter While politicians, scientists and environmentalists debate the effects of global warming, the Iñupiaq Eskimo community of Shishmaref in Northwest Alaska, just under the Arctic Circle, faces the real world consequences of climate change every day. As the ice beneath the small village melts, homes fall into the ocean. The situation is so severe that it has been predicted that the entire village will disappear within the next 10 years. How can you move an entire way of life? And should these villagers go to the edges of a city, or retain their rural ways? The transience of the Iñupiaq’s traditional way of life becomes apparent in the face of climate change, satellite television and mail order shopping. Here, the icy landscape — its water, smoke, steam and sky — is beautifully photographed, as are the village’s inhabitants. Sunday, December 7 at 6:15 PM - Bear Tooth Theatre Saturday, December 13 at 12:30 PM - Fireweed Theatre The director is confirmed to be in attendance at these screenings.
	The Wrecking Crew USA • 98 mins. • 2007 - In Competition Directed by Denny Tedesco “The Wrecking Crew” was a group of Studio Musicians in Los Angeles in the 60s who played on hits for the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Jan & Dean, The Monkees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the Mamas and Papas, Tijuana Brass, Ricky Nelson and Johnny Rivers. They were Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. Sometimes they would lay down some instrumental tracks and if the song became a hit, they would record an album and put a group together to hit the road. This happened many times — the Marketts, Routers, and T-Bones — and the next day they would do the same thing and call it another name. Just call them “The Wrecking Crew.” Friday, December 12 at 7:45 PM - Anchorage Museum Sunday, December 14 at 12:30 PM - Fireweed Theatre
	Upstream Battle Germany • 97 minutes • English • 2008 - In Competition Directed by Ben Kempas Native Americans in Northern California fight for their fish and the survival of their culture. An energy corporation is messing up their river with a series of hydropower dams, contributing to one of the worst fish die-offs in U.S. history. To confront their opponents, tribal members first travel to Scotland, then to the second-richest man in the United States. The dam owners praise hydropower as a low-cost, climate-friendly source of energy, a valuable resource they say they can’t afford to lose. Yet, the tribes at the Klamath River may trigger the largest dam removal project in history. A long-term documentary with incredible access to tribal members, utility managers, and farmers in the basin — all fighting for water. Saturday, December 13 at 3:15 PM - Bear Tooth Theatre Tuesday, December 9 at 7:30 PM - Museum **(added 12/7)