AIFF 2009 - Loose Ends and Albert Shin on Point Traverse

The Anchorage International Film Festival 2009 went well.  A real step up from last year. There were very good films in all categories and I don't think there were any complete dogs.  But I still haven't figured what percent of all the films I saw.  Probably a reasonably high percent, but only because I saw so many of the shorts and animated programs.  There are lots of films I totally missed.  While I think that Birthday should have been among the feature winners and Prodigal Sons among the documentary winners, that's all a matter of taste.  The films that did win were good solid films.

But once the gala was over Sunday night, some loose ends started showing.  The website had problems - Rand mentioned at the Gala that they were having trouble posting the best of the fest schedule.  But when I looked Monday night, I could find only a few of the winners categories posted.  My list was much more complete, but I was trying to blog and video simultaneously and so I had a few gaps and one clear mistake.  I'm still trying to square the AIFF's website list of Snowdance winners with what I thought I heard in a couple of cases. 

Also, Monday night's showing of People of the Seal   AND Best Snowdance Shorts at 5:30 was replaced by Mount St. Elias.  Something was wrong with the compilation disk apparently.  There were a few unhappy film goers.   I found out after ordering some food to eat in the theater, but I really didn't want to see Mount St. Elias again, so I got some quiet time over dinner with my wife in the restaurant, took care of an errand, and checked out some books at Title Wave until the 8 pm showing. 


All the film makers I've talked, said they really have enjoyed the friendly nature of the festival and the enthusiasm and helpfulness of the volunteers. (I'll put up some video comments by three film makers later.)  This is not a fussy or pretentious festival.  It runs on the volunteer power and a few main folks who work non-stop for ten days plus prep.  So, a few kinks are probably the cost of having a low key, but high quality festival. 


And as we left Monday night, I got to talk to Don Chan who's been coordinating film makers' visits and Albert Shin, whose film Point Traverse had its world premiere Saturday night in Anchorage.  Had I known it was a premiere and that Albert was there, I would have stayed in the museum Saturday night instead going to see From Somewhere to Nowhere.  But that too was a good film that intimately took us into the lives of migrant workers in China.   All this is preface to the short video below where Albert briefly talks about his film.  As I  write this at 2:15 am, his plane should have just taken off as he journeys back to Toronto.

AIFF 2009 - Best in Fest Schedule Dec. 14-17

Here's the schedule for best in fest - the award winning films to be played again this week at the Bear Tooth,  two programs per night.

MONDAY, DEC. 14:

5:30 - People of the Seal   AND Best Snowdance Shorts


8:00 - Award Winning Short Films  and Mixed Live Action and Animation

TUESDAY, DEC. 15:


5:30 - Best Documentary Tapped and Best Short Documentary A Time Comes

8:00 - Runner Up Audience Choice Best Feature - Dear Lemon Lima



WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16:

5:30 -   Runner Up Best Feature - Bomber

8:00 -   Runner Up Best Documentary - Mount St. Elias



THURSDAY, DEC. 17:


5:30 - Best Documentary - Paddle to Seattle

8:00 - Best Feature - Hipsters


Here's the video of the end of the Awards Gala announcing the schedule:

 

AIFF 2009 - All the Winners In The Last Post

I hope  people weren't waiting for the next post. 

What I ended up doing was updating the last post over and over - so there were no new posts, just continual updates in the last post.  All the winners are now listed in the previous post. 

I'm going to try to get the film schedule for this coming week up soon. 

Then I'll catch up on the backlog of video and thoughts that I have about all the films as I can in the next couple of weeks. 

AIFF 2009 - Awards Gala Live - The Winners Are...

[UPDATE Monday Dec. 14 late: Trying to blog live and video at the same time meant I didn't quite get everything perfect.  So I finally got around just now to checking the AIFF see who the winners were.  They don't have all of them up though and I have the Snowdance winners different.  I have video of the announcements of the winners, but haven't had a chance to check it yet.  I'm going to correct the ones I know are wrong (Das Pocket - there was a film with Pocket - should be Das Paket.  And I didn't catch the name Deadspiel.)  Then I'm going to check the video to see what they said.  I think almost everything I have up is correct, but some of the names of the Snowdance categories are not quite right.  Also I didn't get up the Quick Freeze Winners.  I'll fix what I can now and get the rest later.  Sorry to Deadspiel and Das Paket particularly.]

8:23pm The gala's opened with dancers. I'm sitting too close to the front to get them in my camera.

8:27pm The dancers and music are really quite interesting.

8:29 The name of the local dance group was announced, but I wouldn't even try to spell it.
Starting with the Super Shorts Category (all the films in competition except in this category
are listed in the post before the last one). Over 90 films

Runner up: Countdown
2nd Place:  Not sure what she said Deadspiel
Winner: Das PocketPaket


Short Films:  
 Runner Up:  Luksus
2nd Place:  Miracle Fish
Winner:  Next Floor


8:53pm

Animation
Runner Up: Calypso
2nd Place: The Mouse that Soared
Winner: Topi

9:06pm
Rand Thornsley, the President of the Film Festival Board is now thanking everyone, with Tony and Dawnell at his side.  He mentioned this is the lowest price festival in the US - and the $7 admission price will go up next year.  (Boos in the audience)

Now he's going to recognize some volunteers.  Volunteer from San Francisco, Don Chin [Chan,] coming up to the stage.

Beth Varner, Volunteer Coordinator, from Seattle Film Festival.

There's going to be a break now, then the rest of the awards soon.  Coming up:

9:50pm
Snowdance  [UPDATE Monday Dec. 14 late - checking on the categories and places - I've put below my original list in this category, what the AIFF website says, but it's at odds with what I remember from last night.  Will check the video.]

Can't Wait to See More Category:  Paxson Woelber,
Captures the Alaskan Experience:  Fat Bike, Maria Williams, Beautiful Journey
Best that shows the beauty of Alaska:  Josh Thomas and JJ Kelly for Paddle to Seattle


Best Outdoor Adventure:  Mount St. Elias

Honorable Mention [Short Film]:  Michael Conti Play Balls of Ice
2nd Place:  Peter Dunlap-Shohl Frozen Shorts


Winner:  Mary  Katzke -   About Face

[UPDATE Dec. 14 late:  here's from the AIFF website - About Face is missing

Frozen Shorts (Snowdance best short film)

Hugo in the Land of Lemmonsharks (Snowdance ‘can’t wait to see more’)

The Prospector (Snowdance ‘can’t wait to see more’)

Balls of Ice (Snowdance Honorable Mention Short Film)

The Perils of Technology (QuickFreeze 2nd place)

Smoke and Shadows (QuickFreeze winner)]

10:30 This is really embarrassing. My battery died as we went into the documentary winners and I couldn't find an outlet where I could also see what was going on.  Here's the list and I'll clean this up later.

 






Short Documentary
Runner Up:  Trip to Hell and Back
2nd Place:  Frequent Flier
Winner:   A Time Comes

Documentary
Runner Up:   A Sea Change
2nd Place:   Playground
Winner:   Tapped

Feature
Runner Up: Son of the Sunshine
2nd Place:  Bomber
Winner: Hipsters

10:40pm

Audience Choice Awards

Documentary
Runner Up:  Mount St. Elias
Winner:  Paddle to Seattle

Feature:
Runner Up:  Dear Lemon Lima
Winner:  Hipsters

AIFF 2009 - Today's Films While Awaiting the Awards Ceremony

We started out at 12:30pm today watching Pachamama - a Bolivian film that took us on the salt caravan.  The llamas carried blocks of salt through the mountains to villages that are off the road system.  The man leading the caravan said several times, that this might be the last caravan since trucks are much more efficient, but he was going to these villages the trucks couldn't reach.  It was like going to off-road Bolivia for 90 minutes.  Last night we were in China the same way, traveling with migrant workers and seeing glimpses of their lives as they went from the villages to the larger cities in search of work. 

From there I went to the Alaska Experience theater to Neil Mansfield's film maker workshop.  I loved Neil's film last year and hearing him talk about the tricks of the trade was fascinating.  I've got some video of the workshop and will get that up.  I did feel a little self conscious though making my hip pocket video of this guy talking about how to really make film. 

Then to Out North where I got to say hello to Robyn Bliley, who filmed Circus Rosaire, and who had just finished her workshop.  Then I got to watch Vincent.  An interesting film about this Chicago character who wears flamboyant colorful suits and does little shows for the tour boats in downtown Chicago.  The movie took us past the stories that various people had made up to explain Vincent to show us who he really is.  I love it when we get past the facades like that. 

Now I'm at the Awards Gala.  I'll stop here and start a new post. 

AIFF 2009 - Getting Ready For the Awards

Here's a list of the films in Competition.  At 8 tonight is the Award Ceremony.  I'll try to cover that live. 

My favorite among the shorts is Luksus and then The Capras Tide.

I'd go with Birthday and Hipsters.  They're both really

different and it's hard to compare them.

Topi is my animation pick.

My favorite documentary ISN'T on the list - The Prodigal Son. 

Of the ones I've seen on the list, I'll pick Trip to Hell and Back.

We'll see soon. 

AIFF 2009 - Brief Chat with Jennifer Burns and Vincent P. Falk

We skipped Vincent Saturday because it conflicted with another movie we wanted to see and it plays again on Sunday, Dec. 13 (today) at Out North at 5:30.  But I did get to meet Vincent and Jennifer (the director) Friday night at the Bear Tooth.  Here's a brief video of our chat.

AIFF 2009 - Cedric Sanders Talks after The Least Among You

It's exciting for a small town like Anchorage to see one of their own on the big screen with established Hollywood actors.  Not just on the screen, but the lead.  After the Anchorage premier of The Least Among You, he took questions from the audience.




And I caught him for a couple of minutes in the lobby afterward too, a little closer:



The movie was solid.  Sanders plays the first black student at a seminary after the Watts Riots in 1965.   Here are some audience reactions after the movie.

Houston Elects Gay Mayor, Anchorage Falls Behinder and Behinder

From today's Sunday New York Times:

Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.

Published: December 12, 2009

HOUSTON — Houston became the largest city in the United States to elect an openly gay mayor on Saturday night, as voters gave a solid victory to the city controller, Annise Parker. . .

With all precincts reporting, Ms. Parker, the city controller, had defeated Mr. Locke 53 percent to 47 percent.

A month ago Salt Lake City ok'd a gay rights ordinance.  

But Anchorage is still being bullied by Jerry Prevo.  When will we catch up with the 20th Century? 

AIFF 2009 - Picks for Saturday

Some of the best films we've seen are on again today.

Documentary:  Prodigal Sons plays at 1pm at Alaska Experience Theater.  This was a real surprise and my favorite in the documentaries that I've seen. 

Features:  Hipsters at 7:30pm   and Birthday at 10:15pm at the Bear Tooth


I'd try to get tickets in advance for the two features. I suspect they'll be sold out. They are both outstanding - though very different - films. The Least Among You is at the Bear Tooth at 3 and is worth seeing. The lead actor - Lou Gosset Jr. is also in the film - is an Anchorage East High graduate and he'll be there to answer questions after the movie.

We're going to try to catch up on ones we've missed: Supershorts 2 at 1 at Out North, Shadow Billionaire at 3:15 at the Alaska Experience, and uncertain about after that. And there's the film workshop at Out North at 3pm, but we can only be at one place at a time.

We also want to see Vincent, but that plays again Sunday.