SUPERSHORTS IN COMPETITION:
Bip Bip (Beep Beep)
Blue Dame
Gutty
Her Next Door
Matriarche
O.V.N.I (UFO)
Polarized
HONORABLE MENTION:
Polarized
FIRST RUNNER UP:
Matriarche
WINNER:
Her Next Door
Sunday, December 09, 2012
AIFF 2012: Snowdance Awards
SNOWDANCE IN COMPETITION:
Catching Alaska’s Light Waves
I Met Her In A Coffee Shop
Mothers Against Pornography
No Horizon Any More
PNBMOWE
Rousseau's Children Runner
HONORABLE MENTION:
Scared: Matt Jardin
FIRST RUNNER UP:
No Horizon Any More - Keith Reimink
WINNER:
Rousseau's Children - Monica Scharer
Catching Alaska’s Light Waves
I Met Her In A Coffee Shop
Mothers Against Pornography
No Horizon Any More
PNBMOWE
Rousseau's Children Runner
HONORABLE MENTION:
Scared: Matt Jardin
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| Keith Reimink at Awards Ceremony |
FIRST RUNNER UP:
No Horizon Any More - Keith Reimink
WINNER:
Rousseau's Children - Monica Scharer
AIFF 2012: Awards - Last Night's Quick Freeze Awards
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| Max and Olivia Quick Freeze crew |
Teresa is now thanking the programmers and volunteers. They're still counting audience award ballots so some of those might not be announced until midnight. Here's a video of the Quick Freeze winners from last night.
AIFF 2012: Live Blogging Awards - UPDATED
7:19 The musicians are gone and they are setting up the stage.
I'm at the Organic Oasis waiting for the awards ceremony (a rather inflated word for what they do here) to begin. It's going on 7pm and should be starting soon. There won't be a live feed, but I'll just keep updating as things happen starting a little after 6pm Alaska time. I suspect the awards won't be given out until about 7pm. Then I'll post as things happen.
But last night they showed the Quick Freeze movies - had to be done in three days and somehow include 'duct tape,' 'sunrise,' and 'hostess.'
I've got video of the Quick Freeze Awards from last night and I'll add it here as soon as it finishes uploading and downloading.
 | |
| Matt Jardin and Harvey Hubbell from Disleksia the movie with OA staff |
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| Carl and Nathan Weber - Alaska Tier 2 Zombie Hunter |
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| Linda Beja and Jon Benedict - Snowdance Programers |
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| Keith Reimink - No Horizon Anymore South Pole |
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| Folks waiting for the Awards to begin |
I'm at the Organic Oasis waiting for the awards ceremony (a rather inflated word for what they do here) to begin. It's going on 7pm and should be starting soon. There won't be a live feed, but I'll just keep updating as things happen starting a little after 6pm Alaska time. I suspect the awards won't be given out until about 7pm. Then I'll post as things happen.
But last night they showed the Quick Freeze movies - had to be done in three days and somehow include 'duct tape,' 'sunrise,' and 'hostess.'
I've got video of the Quick Freeze Awards from last night and I'll add it here as soon as it finishes uploading and downloading.
AIFF 2012: Passionflower, Fairbanks Nigerians, Scottish Cons With Scissors, Elder Ping Pong, Havana, and Lots of Duct Tape
My Saturday at the film festival was one very satisfying movie after another. [Check the AIFF 2012 Tab above for what's on today.]
I'll start with two movies that will show again today (Sunday Dec. 9) that are very well worth watching.
Passionflower plays today (Sunday Dec. 9) at 3pm at Alaska Experience Theater.
For some reason I do not understand at all, this film was not selected to be in-competition. It deserves to be. I chatted with the director Shelagh Carter briefly the other night - the video is here - and that's the only reason I went to see it tonight. This film isn't easy, and it doesn't offer any easy solutions. Nevertheless, even though this film didn't begin until close to 11pm I was wide awake and completely in the film the whole way. It's the story of a young girl whose beautiful mom is behaving badly. Today we have a word for this - mentally ill. Actually, the story is about the mom, for the most part from the girl's perspective. Making the film even more powerful was that I knew from my chat with Shelagh that the little girl was sitting near me in the theater. And Shelagh will be at the showing tomorrow as well. BTW, she's all grown up now, art has gotten her through all this, and she is a professor of film and theater in Winnipeg, Canada.
Alaskaland plays today (Sunday Dec. 9) at 5pm at Out North.
This film takes place entirely in Fairbanks. It's in the Snowdance category, but it could just as easily have been in the features. It focuses on a Nigerian family - Dad's a professor of engineering at UAF - and the struggles of the children living in three cultures - the family's Nigerian culture, the general Fairbanks culture, and the black Fairbanks culture. An outstanding film by a UAF alumnus and with the help of the newish UAF film program. Good stuff that tells an Alaskan story that most of us had no idea existed. I do think this film would be improved if it had a title more indicative of the story.
Now I can talk about the others. I'll just mention them briefly now and I'll write about some of these at more length later. All of the films I saw today were good, so I won't keep repeating that.
It started with a pair of in-competition documentary films - Ping Pong and Cutting Loose. Cutting Loose was exactly right from my perspective. Scottish convicts who know how to cut hair, and act as prison barbers, have a hair cutting contest. But really, the story itself doesn't mean much - it's how they tell the story that matters and they did it well.
Ping Pong highlights eight contestants in the octogenarian world ping pong championship in Inner Mongolia. An inspirational movie for all of us for whom 80 is getting to be in the foreseeable future.
Unfinished Spaces. Wow! I was going to go home and get a nap before the afternoon films I had scheduled but Kelly talked me into staying. For now, I'll just say this is the Buena Vista Social Club for Cuban architects. More later.
Quick Freeze. These were the films made since earlier this week (I forget now when), using the three terms - duct tape, sunrise, and hostess. They were staggeringly good for such a quick turnaround. I did ask one director if he hadn't started working on an idea before the words were given out and he said, "No."
I'll start with two movies that will show again today (Sunday Dec. 9) that are very well worth watching.
Passionflower plays today (Sunday Dec. 9) at 3pm at Alaska Experience Theater.
For some reason I do not understand at all, this film was not selected to be in-competition. It deserves to be. I chatted with the director Shelagh Carter briefly the other night - the video is here - and that's the only reason I went to see it tonight. This film isn't easy, and it doesn't offer any easy solutions. Nevertheless, even though this film didn't begin until close to 11pm I was wide awake and completely in the film the whole way. It's the story of a young girl whose beautiful mom is behaving badly. Today we have a word for this - mentally ill. Actually, the story is about the mom, for the most part from the girl's perspective. Making the film even more powerful was that I knew from my chat with Shelagh that the little girl was sitting near me in the theater. And Shelagh will be at the showing tomorrow as well. BTW, she's all grown up now, art has gotten her through all this, and she is a professor of film and theater in Winnipeg, Canada.
Alaskaland plays today (Sunday Dec. 9) at 5pm at Out North.
This film takes place entirely in Fairbanks. It's in the Snowdance category, but it could just as easily have been in the features. It focuses on a Nigerian family - Dad's a professor of engineering at UAF - and the struggles of the children living in three cultures - the family's Nigerian culture, the general Fairbanks culture, and the black Fairbanks culture. An outstanding film by a UAF alumnus and with the help of the newish UAF film program. Good stuff that tells an Alaskan story that most of us had no idea existed. I do think this film would be improved if it had a title more indicative of the story.
Now I can talk about the others. I'll just mention them briefly now and I'll write about some of these at more length later. All of the films I saw today were good, so I won't keep repeating that.
It started with a pair of in-competition documentary films - Ping Pong and Cutting Loose. Cutting Loose was exactly right from my perspective. Scottish convicts who know how to cut hair, and act as prison barbers, have a hair cutting contest. But really, the story itself doesn't mean much - it's how they tell the story that matters and they did it well.
Ping Pong highlights eight contestants in the octogenarian world ping pong championship in Inner Mongolia. An inspirational movie for all of us for whom 80 is getting to be in the foreseeable future.
 |
| Most common use of Duct Tape in Quick Freeze films |
Quick Freeze. These were the films made since earlier this week (I forget now when), using the three terms - duct tape, sunrise, and hostess. They were staggeringly good for such a quick turnaround. I did ask one director if he hadn't started working on an idea before the words were given out and he said, "No."
AIFF 2012: Lapse Director Gilles Guerraz Talks From Paris
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: Sunday morning (Dec. 9) at 11:15 am Native Tongue short film program plays at the Alaska Experience Theater.
This is a strong set of four short films.
I've posted an email exchange with Mossadegh director Roozbeh Dadvand and I've posted a video with Calcutta Taxi director Vikram Dasgupta.
I've even posted a link to the whole third film - Suddenly Zinat . . .
I chatted with Lapse director Gilles Guerraz and one of the writers, Grayson Wolfe, via skype. Lapse was missing from this program last week - they had trouble with disc/project compatibility. I'm putting some of the skype chat up now.
In the video portion below we talked about how he budgeted the film (Ulule helped), the crew, learning by doing, and the camera. Gilles speaks slowly, but it's worth the effort to listen.
Grayson Wolfe, one of the writers of Lapse, wrote on his blog about watching the final version of Lapse at the Cannes Film Festival.
This is a strong set of four short films.
I've posted an email exchange with Mossadegh director Roozbeh Dadvand and I've posted a video with Calcutta Taxi director Vikram Dasgupta.
I've even posted a link to the whole third film - Suddenly Zinat . . .
I chatted with Lapse director Gilles Guerraz and one of the writers, Grayson Wolfe, via skype. Lapse was missing from this program last week - they had trouble with disc/project compatibility. I'm putting some of the skype chat up now.
In the video portion below we talked about how he budgeted the film (Ulule helped), the crew, learning by doing, and the camera. Gilles speaks slowly, but it's worth the effort to listen.
Grayson Wolfe, one of the writers of Lapse, wrote on his blog about watching the final version of Lapse at the Cannes Film Festival.
I watch Lapse again. No English subtitles this time, and I enjoy it even more. On a second viewing, I can’t find anything about it I don’t like. This time I pick up on more subtleties, things I missed when I was reading subtitles. The film works without dialog, a definition of pure cinema. I am very impressed with Vincent Londez’ performance, the lead actor. I wish I had promoted it more. Not that I had the time, of course.
Saturday, December 08, 2012
AIFF 2012: Paul And Bryant Make Out With Everyone
When they told me the title of the film, it didn't register. I realized why when I checked out the program where it is listed as P.N.B.M.O.W.E. Paul Jones and Bryant Mainord are local film makers and their film is in competition in the Snowdance category. They told me a little about the film Friday night at the film makers reception.
It plays
SATURDAY 10 PM at Alaska Experience Theater.
It plays
SATURDAY 10 PM at Alaska Experience Theater.
AIFF 2012: Growing Up With Mentally Unstable Mom - Shelagh Carter Talks About Passionflower
[Check the AIFF 2012 Tab above for what's on today.]
I got to talk to Shelagh Carter Thursday night. Her film Passionflower is about a young girl whose mom's mental illness makes this difficult. It takes place in Winnipeg. But let her tell you. It shows
Today (Saturday Dec. 8) at 10:30 at the Alaska Experience Theater and
Sunday, Dec. 9, at 3:00 pm at Alaska Experience Theater
It was a little noisy in the Bear Tooth lobby when we did the video.
I got to talk to Shelagh Carter Thursday night. Her film Passionflower is about a young girl whose mom's mental illness makes this difficult. It takes place in Winnipeg. But let her tell you. It shows
Today (Saturday Dec. 8) at 10:30 at the Alaska Experience Theater and
Sunday, Dec. 9, at 3:00 pm at Alaska Experience Theater
It was a little noisy in the Bear Tooth lobby when we did the video.
Friday, December 07, 2012
AIFF 2012: From Miss India to Kenyan Runners
[Check the AIFF 2012 Tab above for what's on today.]
I saw two films Thursday:
Things I Don't Understand seems to fit well here at What Do I Know? I'm too tired to write usefully about the film now. It shows again Saturday night at the Bear Tooth. There are a lot of characters with issues, including a musician who turns down a paying job as a coffee bean because he has to be true to his art. You can see the trailer at the film's website. The small Alaska Experience theater was full - about 30 people.
The World Before Her - is an Indian-Canadian documentary that looks at the boot camp to train the dozen or so finalists for the Miss India contest and a nationalist Hindu camp for young women. The juxtaposition of the new and old India makes for a stark contrast. For me the most interesting characters were the young woman of ambiguous gender and her father. She is the trainer at the fundamentalist camp and pushes the campers hard as she espouses an extreme Hinduism. Yet she does not plan to get married and describes herself something like half woman and half man. Her father will have none of this because a wife's place is in the house.
Then I went off to the film-maker reception at the Spenard Roadhouse where I talked to a few film makers. Mark Mudry is in the video below. His film Where Dreams Don't Fade, about Kenyan runners, will be screened
Friday Dec. 7 at 10pm at the AK Experience Theater and
Sunday Dec. 8 at 7pm at Out North
I saw two films Thursday:
Things I Don't Understand seems to fit well here at What Do I Know? I'm too tired to write usefully about the film now. It shows again Saturday night at the Bear Tooth. There are a lot of characters with issues, including a musician who turns down a paying job as a coffee bean because he has to be true to his art. You can see the trailer at the film's website. The small Alaska Experience theater was full - about 30 people.
The World Before Her - is an Indian-Canadian documentary that looks at the boot camp to train the dozen or so finalists for the Miss India contest and a nationalist Hindu camp for young women. The juxtaposition of the new and old India makes for a stark contrast. For me the most interesting characters were the young woman of ambiguous gender and her father. She is the trainer at the fundamentalist camp and pushes the campers hard as she espouses an extreme Hinduism. Yet she does not plan to get married and describes herself something like half woman and half man. Her father will have none of this because a wife's place is in the house.
Then I went off to the film-maker reception at the Spenard Roadhouse where I talked to a few film makers. Mark Mudry is in the video below. His film Where Dreams Don't Fade, about Kenyan runners, will be screened
Friday Dec. 7 at 10pm at the AK Experience Theater and
Sunday Dec. 8 at 7pm at Out North
Thursday, December 06, 2012
AIFF 2012: Dan Mirvish Created Eisenstadt - A Fake Journalist Who Leaked Palin's Africa Is A Country
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| Mirvish's fake McCain advisor leaker Martin Eistenstadt |
Between Us film maker Dan Mirvish, it says in the Dan Mirvish Director's video, is a shameless self-promoter.
I'd seen Between Us and liked it a lot and wrote a very positive if short review. Dan saw it and emailed me and soon we were chatting over skype - some of which you can see below in the video. He mainly talks about the film but mentions in the background creating Martin Eisenstadt, a character who admits to being the McCain staffer who leaked the story that Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country that MSNBC picked up as a real story.(Link goes to Martin Eistenstadt video.)
Between Us plays again Friday at 8pm at the Bear Tooth. Go see it.
Some interesting points - the play the film is based on was in two acts: 1. The midwest house and 2. the NY City apartment. In the film they switch back and forth as both evenings unfold. Falling off the ladder in the movie was inspired by Dan's falling off a ladder while remodeling and breaking his leg.
A part that I didn't get on video answered my question about the links to Virginia Wolfe. He told me there is a whole genre of Virginia Wolfe movies that include two couples that argue, such as Polanski's Carnage.
This video is really long for me (17 minutes). I finally decided to just let it run almost unedited. I don't see my role here as producing video as entertainment, but as documentation. So I don't want to cut out some part that might be important to someone researching Mirvish in 20 years when he's a household name, and he will be if he keeps this up.
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