AIFF 2009 - So Many Films So Little Time

There's lots happening today.  Best bet is to look at the printed guide on what's playing or look on line for something of interest.

Here's the today's schedule copied from the AIFF website.[It doesn't fit here, so go to the AIFF site to see the whole thing.]

Bear Tooth 1230 West 27th Avenue 907.276.4200

Alaska Experience 1 4th Avenue Marketplace 333 West 4th Avenue 907.272.9076

Alaska Experience 2 4th Avenue Marketplace 333 West 4th Avenue 907.272.9076

Anchorage Museum 121 West 7th Avenue 907.343.4326

Out North 3800 DeBarr Road 907.279.3800

Sat. 12/5

12:30 Snowdance 3 People of the Seal/Unalaska/Prospector/Hugo in the Land of Lemonsharks3:00 Pachamama 5:30 Dear Lemon Lima 7:45 Bomber 10:00 Zombies of Mass Destruction

1:00 Inside the Revolution 3:15 Circus Rosaire 5:30 Peaceable Kingdom 7:45 Inspirational Aspirations Antarctica Challenge/Beyond Limits

3:30 Good Morning Kandahar

1:00 Neshoba 3:15 Playground 6:00 Perfect Cappuccino 8:00 About Face

1:00 Humoresque 3:00 Animation Workshop 5:45 Animation 1 8:00 Super Shorts 2 10:00 Homemade Vigilante

My destinations today are:

First to Out North for  Humoresque at 1pm.  I don't even know what that is, but I want to go to the animation workshop at 3pm, and that way I won't have to drive again.  I'll probably stay at Out North for Animation 1 at 5:45pm after the workshop.

Then I'll leave early so I can get to see Bomber at 8pm at the Bear Tooth.  I've seen the trailer for Bomber which is one of the films in competition and I think it will be pretty good, and I think it only shows that one time.

I'm not a zombie fan, but since I'll already be at Bear Tooth, I'll probably stay at least for the beginning of Zombies of Mass Destruction at 10pm and we'll see how long I stay. 

See you at the Festival.

AIFF 2009 - Beth Varner: Volunteer Opportunites Still Available

I got to interview AIFF volunteer coordinator Beth Varner last night after the showing of Hipster.  Want to see some films free, but low on funds?  Beth tells you how it works.



You can contact her at Three-One-Seven 2001.  Or check the volunteer page.

AIFF 2009 - Animation Workshop Presenter Callum Peterson

Callum is giving the animation workshop Saturday, December 5 at 3pm (Today as I write) along with Anchorage's Peter Dunlap-Shohl. It's at the Out North.



Callum's film Bonefeather is playing as part of the
Program Love and Pain on Friday Dec. 11 at 10pm at the Bear Tooth and
in Animated Treats on Saturday Dec. 12 at 12:15 pm at Loussac's Marston Theater

I wonder how many other films are playing in both the adult only (Love and Pain) and the children's programming (Animated Treats.)

AIFF 2009 - Audience Comments After Hipsters

Hipsters on the big screen was great. Here are just a couple of brief comments, but I did find some Russians to give their opinions.



I had a longer discussion, off camera, with some Russian women who were a little older and they too enjoyed the movie. One said that her mother went to the university in those days and people were not all dressed in gray, they could wear what they wanted. But given that it was a musical it was reasonable accurate.

AIFF 2009 - Waiting for the Opening Night Film

The Bear Tooth had a line an hour early to get into Hipsters and the opening night Gala. 

 People were in a good mood, even those waiting outside.  This couple drove up from Soldotna to see Hipsters and be at the festival. 

       

Inside, the theater was packed. These are people in line to get drinks before the film began.

AIFF 2009 - Anchorage's Paxson Woelber on His Two Animated Films

Paxson Woelber grew up in Anchorage and is back here working after college.  He has two films in the festival:

Hugo in the Land of Lemonsharks - which was chosen to be in competition
Hugo is part of the Animation 1 program which plays:
Saturday, December 5 – 5:45pm – Out North
Tuesday, December 8 – 7:45pm – Out North


The Prospector - which has some killer Alaska scenery that he created and a lead player who communicates mainly with his eyes. 
Prospector is part of the Animation 2 program which plays:
Thursday, December 10 – 5:30pm – Out North
Sunday, December 13 – 12:45pm – Out North
Breathing Room

And since Paxson is an Alaskan film maker, they both play in Snowdance 3 which plays:
Saturday, December 5 – 12:30pm – Bear Tooth
Tuesday, December 8 – 5:30pm – Out North



And if you can't make it, the links will get you to the YouTube editions of the two short films.

I videod Paxson yesterday in downtown Anchorage.  He talks about the two films and also the benefits of having his films up on YouTube.  He'll be at the Festival so look for him and say hi. 

Gov. Parnell Commits to Seriously Fighting Domestic Violence

Here's a press release and photo from the Governor's office. He's even putting resources into prevention.  He announced this initiative at Bartlett High School, Thursday, Dec. 3.

State of Alaska > Governor > News  > News Details Parnell Leads Effort to End Domestic Violence   Printer Friendly

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 09-092
December 3, 2009, Anchorage Alaska – With a goal of ending the epidemic of sexual assault and domestic violence within a decade, Governor Sean Parnell today unveiled a comprehensive initiative to fight the cycle of abuse. The package of proposed legislation, budget requests, and administrative actions will comprehensively address domestic violence and sexual assault.


“Today we’re putting domestic violence and sexual assault at the forefront,” Governor Parnell said. “We’ll make it intolerable, unacceptable and the ramifications for those committing these crimes against Alaskans, unbearable.”

The governor’s 10-year plan to stop the epidemic of violence in Alaska’s homes and communities focuses on putting abusers behind bars, protecting victims, and helping them heal, and preventing abuse.

Among the initiative’s highlights:
• In partnership with the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault and the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, production and promotion of extensive public education campaign encouraging Alaskans to “Choose Respect”;

• Provide a more meaningful law enforcement presence for every community that desires it; notably by hiring 15 Village Public Safety Officers (VPSO) every year for the next ten years, as well as more troopers;
• Toughen guidelines for prosecutors in handling sexual assault cases, including limits on plea deals;
• Lead the charge to dramatically increase pro bono legal services available to victims;
• Increase funding for shelters to continue providing victims with the means to break free from abusive situations; and
• Coordination of state, federal, tribal and non-profit programs addressing domestic violence and sexual assault through the hiring of a domestic violence and sexual assault prevention coordinator at the Department of Law.
“Domestic violence and sexual assault must be prevented and stigmatized so pervasively that offenders know that they will face irreparable social, as well as legal, consequences,” Attorney General Dan Sullivan said.
Sullivan noted that the governor’s initiative differs from past efforts to address the problem because of its comprehensive approach, broad-based public education campaign, and guaranteed follow-through with the creation of a coordinator for domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and response.

In his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011, Governor Parnell has allocated funds for positions and programs to end what he describes as “this blight on our state.” This includes $75 million for the state’s new crime lab, $1.6 million for 15 VPSOs, and $1 million for VPSO housing.

Meanwhile, the Department of Law is moving ahead with updated guidelines for prosecutors “to ensure that sex offenders are dealt with harshly and shown no leniency,” Sullivan said.

Under the guidelines, when accepting plea deals these perpetrators will be required to plead guilty to sex crimes so that they do not avoid being registered as sex offenders.
Audio from today’s press conference is available at: http://gov.state.ak.us/audio/DomesticViolenceRollout_Dec3-2009.mp3.
More information on the governor’s initiative is available at: http://gov.state.ak.us/pdf/DVSA%20Fact%20Sheet%20final.pdf.
###

In the audio tape, Gov. Parnell sounds serious. He lists statistics:

• Over 50% of Alaska's homicides involve domestic violence.
  
  
• The reported rate of sexual assault is two and a half times, at least, of the national average.
  
  
• The estimated rate of child sexual abuse in our state is six times the national average.

I am concerned with the emphasis on punishment and making life 'unbearable.'  That sounds more like torture.  Most abusers, research suggests, were abused themselves.  They need to be isolated so they cannot continue the cycle of violence, but we, as a society, must recognize how such violence gets learned and how to heal the pain. 

How is he going to handle the evangelical churches that advocate corporal punishment? Henkima had a long post about this in September. In addition to quoting from James Dobson's book (via Max Blumenthal's book),  Dare to Discipline,  which advocates corporal violence, she also cites a 1985 Anchorage Daily News article:

Prevo, whose Anchorage Baptist Temple runs the school, said corporal punishment will no longer be used on the pre-schoolers, “based on the fact it’s hard to spank and not take a chance of accidentally bruising.”

“When that happens, it puts our employees in an awkward position, and it’s not worth the hassle,” Prevo said. . .

He said corporal punishment will continue to be used at the grade school, junior and senior high school levels. [Ref #7]

Is this why Prevo's most visible public stands are against gays and not against domestic violence?   Or is it because he can get his congregants to rally and donate to fight homosexuality, but if he acted as vigorously against domestic violence, he'd be acting against quite a few of his congregants?  There really are victims of domestic violence who need our help and the State's help. 

AIFF 2009 - Finding What's in Each Program - Animation

The Anchorage International Film Festival website is a big step up from last year, but there are still some problems.  One is how to figure out what is in each program.  Programs are the groups of shorter films that are shown together.  They're on the AIFF website, but they are hard to find.    This part is easier to do in the newsprint guides that are all over town.  So here are the links for animation.  I'll get Snowdance, shorts, and supershorts up soon.

**** Indicates films in the animated films in competition.  You can see more details on them at the link.


Animation 1:  Should I Go or Should I Stay?
Saturday, December 5 – 5:45pm – Out North
Tuesday, December 8 – 7:45pm – Out North
Birth
Bonefeather
Burn The Whole Place Down ****
Calypso ****
Cubes
E.T.A
Frozen Shorts - Snowdance too
Hugo in the Land of the Lemonsharks ****  - Snowdance too
I Slept with a Cookie Monster ****
Manifestations
The Mouse That Soared ****
Sagan om den lille Dockpojken (The Tale of the Little Puppetboy)
This is Where We Live
Topi ****
Transparent Movement
The Veiled Commodity
The Very First Desire Now and Forever
We Are All Here



Animation 2: It's A Wild, Wild Life
Thursday, December 10 – 5:30pm – Out North
Sunday, December 13 – 12:45pm – Out North
Breathing Room
Calypso
Cravings
A Dog’s Life
Dried Up ****
Duck [Heart] Teslacoil ****
E.T.A.
For a Fistful of Snow
How To Animate
The Mouse That Soared ****
Nature on its Course
Otis V Monster
Puffer Girl
The Prospector - Snowdance too
Skylight
Smart Machine
Snakes on the Brain - Snowdance too
Topi ****
Yonder


Some of these are by Alaskans, so they will also show in the Snowdance programs.  The ones I know for sure I've marked Snowdance, but I may have missed some.

AIFF 2009 - Finding What's in Each Program - Snowdance

The Anchorage International Film Festival website is a big step up from last year, but there are still some problems.  One is how to figure out what is in each program.  Programs are the groups of shorter films that are shown together.  They're on the AIFF website, but they are hard to find.    This part is easier to do in the newsprint guides that are all over town.  So here are the links for the Snowdance programs.

Snowdance is the category that includes films made in Alaska or made by Alaskans.   These films will also be in other categories such as animated, short film, etc.  The festival website doesn't necessarily mention on the individual film pages that there will also be these Snowdance showings. 

Snowdance 1
Sunday December 6 – 3pm – Bear Tooth
Thursday December 10 – 5:45pm – Alaska Experience
Year of Denali
In the Company of Moose


Snowdance 2
Tuesday, December 8 – 5:45pm – Alaska Experience
Saturday, Dec 12 – 5:30pm – Out North
Doing The Norway
Balls of Ice
Frozen Shorts
Sizzling Pleasures
Fat Bike
LoLo’s Music Box

Snowdance 3
Saturday, December 5 – 12:30pm – Bear Tooth
Tuesday, December 8 – 5:30pm – Out North
People of the Seal
Unalaska
Prospector
Hugo in the Land of Lemon Sharks


Snowdance 4
Saturday, December 12 – 12:45pm – Bear Tooth
Sunday, December 13 – 5:30pm – Alaska Experience
A Beautiful Journey
Queen Salmon
The Woods Between

Snowdance 5
Friday, December 11 – 6:00pm – Anchorage Museum
Ice Bears of Beaufort
Blood Red Shoes
Fast Food
Snakes on the Brain

AIFF 2009 - HIPSTERS, Dance, Don't Walk, To Go See It!!

I read some reviews of Hipster online that sounded promising.  But people have different tastes. One guy said after he saw it, he ordered the Russian only, no subtitles version, because that was all he could get, but he had to have it.  I just got a sneak preview of Hipsters, the opening night movie for the Anchorage International Film Festival. I now understand how he felt. I've only seen a couple of the features, but if there's another feature as fun and interesting as this one, then this is going to be one hell of a festival.

OK, it's not perfect.  For one thing it's too long for American attention spans.

But anyone seriously interested in film, and in the 20th Century, not to mention jazz, is going to be fascinated by this film.  It's a Russian film about the Russian hipsters in the 1950s who flouted the Soviet system by wearing wild hipster fashion and playing and dancing to American jazz.

This is a movie about being free to be yourself, free to be different.  And taking risks to be free.

                                                                 

These three pictures in the lecture hall were like a scene out of Pink Floyd's The Wall.  The Hipster Mel is expelled from the Communist Party organization at his school.

The contrast between his grey uniformed, chanting classmates and the hipster styled Mel says it all as the party head rails in song against all the evil that Mel represents.

Look at the power of those shots, especially the middle one.



I wish I had time to show this film to some Russian friends and have them fill in so many missing details of this period.  I'm dying to know what they'll think of this film, especially those who were in Moscow in the time of the movie.  Until then, I have no clue what this movie means to Russians, whether it has any serious meaning to them or whether they think this is the equivalent of High School Musical.

Did I say this was a musical?  It's an American musical in the same way the the Russian hipsters were American hipsters.  It's a completely Russian version of an American genre.

Opening night tickets at the Bear Tooth are $25 Friday, December 4, 7pm, but they include the opening Gala party.  A reason to get an "All Films and Events" pass. If that's too steep - the money helps pay for the festival - it plays again Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Bear Tooth, at 7:30pm for the regular $7 price.

Work out your schedule to be at one of the showings.

Some people have asked me what my relationship to the festival is. Are they paying me to promote it?  I'm blogging independently on my own blog, not theirs.  I like the kinds of films a festival brings to Anchorage and I want to see the Festival succeed.  They do give me a media pass,  and they treat me well, but I'm not a promoter.  I'm blogging for my readers, not for the Festival.  To let you readers know what's available, and when I get to see something I really like, to let you know.  And if I think something is pretty bad, I'll warn you of that too. 

 
Hipsters defies standard categories.  I'm currently creating new braincells in an attempt to grasp what it's very existence means about the Soviet Union, about Russia, what I thought I knew, and what I'm going to have to study to fill in lots of gaps.  But, be warned, it is long.  But the final number (clip above) is absolutely worth staying for.  The subtitle - hipster style conquers all fear -  is clearly an important theme of the movie; unfortunately you can't hear the music now.  You'll have to go to see the movie.  And bring you sweetie to this one.

[Update Dec. 22:  This is old news (October 22), but I just ran across it from ScreenDaily: 

Valery Todorovsky’s Russian entry Hipsters (Stilyagi) won the $100,000 narrative feature Black Pearl award as the Middle East International Film Festival (MEIFF) came to a close at the weekend.]

[UPDATE:  To get a link for the DVD with English subtitles, go down to Chris Churchill's January 2013 comment below.]