AIFF2016: Monday Choices Are Easy - Columbia and A Trip To Oregon To Die

From a blogger's point of view, today is the easiest of the festival - there are only two choices.  From the Sched website:

Both films are "Features in Competition."  Both are at the Bear Tooth.

Feature means it's a fictional story 55 - 140 minutes.  In Competition means they have been chosen by the programmers who selected the films that would be at the festival as one of the best and to be eligible for a prize in the festival.  One of the programmers told me that ALL of the Features in Competition this year are very good films. I would agree on that for the three I've seen.

I have more on each of these on my post about all the Features in Competition here.

You can also click on the image and get to the Sched website and the drop down menus for each film will work and tell you about the films.

AIFF2016: Another Good Day of Films

We watched animated films at the museum after going to the AK Experience first, by mistake.  We missed the first one or two.  The best of what I saw was  My Life I Don't Want - which in very basic and simple terms tells the universal story of women.  

Serena Dykman, Nana director

We stayed at the museum to see Nana, a granddaughters film about her grandmother's life after Auschwitz.  Her grandmother made it her mission to be an eyewitness who would let as many people as possible know that what life in Auschwitz was like.  I was impressed by her dedication to helping people connect to what happened so that they could prevent it from happening again.  When asked how she survived, she answered that it was luck  She wasn't smarter or more capable than others, she just got the breaks that others didn't.  She also said that no, others can not understand what happened no matter how long she talks.  And it struck me that experiential learning programs are needed to get a sense of this.  There was an elementary school experiment called Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes.  Teacher Jane Elliott divided the class up by eye color and then said that the blue eyed kids were less important, less capable, less smart than the brown-eyed kids.  The next day she switched it around.  The affects, in just two days were staggering and a follow up about 20 years later showed that the impacts were lasting.  You can see this powerful experiment at this link to the Frontline show.

I mention this here, because I think without doing that kind of exercise, people don't get it.  And, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to do that kind of exercise today in schools.  While I understand the concerns for not traumatizing students, I also know that true learning often involves a certain amount of mental distress.

Lalihta Rajan

Because we were at the museum watching Nana, we missed the Global Village program of shorts that had Lalihta Rajan's G;aswAsians in it.  But here's a picture I took of her at the AK Exp Theater Saturday.

Haper's Farce before Prince Achmed showing

At the Bear Tooth, the band Harper's Farce was playing before The Adventures of Prince Achmed started.  I'll put up more on that amazing film with great live music.


The 8:15pm Bear Tooth movie was one of the Features in Competition - the first girl I loved.  I'll do more on this later, but it was an excellently made film.  Two of the producers were there and answered questions after the film.  I'll try to get some of that up.

Michael Faulkner, Director of Shu-De

And I'll just add this picture of director Michael Faulkner, whose Shu-De played Sunday night.  It was really a concert tour sort of movie, but it took place in the republic of Tuva and the concerts featured throat sincere.


The first weekend is over.  That's usually the most hectic part because a) I haven't quite figured out the program and how to see as many of the films I'm interested in as possible.  It's also films from 11 or 12 am until 10:30pm.  But Monday is just a couple of films in the evening at the Bear Tooth.

The festival is off to a great start.  The live music interludes at the Bear Tooth have been great - particularly Blackwater Railroad Company because their music was in the film that came right after.  Everything just seems to be a little smoother.  There are lots of big cameras around - meaning more media are taking a serious interest in the festival.  And audience awards are back.  Since I've often been critical (constructively I hope), it's important to also pat people on the back when they're doing it right.  Good job to the festival board and staff and volunteers!

AIFF2016: Sunday Choices From Climate Change to Auschwitz to Love

Films in competition today, not a lot, maybe there are some shorts hiding.

First Girl I Loved (Feature in Competition)  8:15pm at the Bear Tooth

"The funny and touching story of Anne Santos, who has decided it’s not worth coming out as a lesbian at her LA public school — until she falls in love with Sasha Basañez, a star athlete even more in the closet than she is."

There's a Short Docs and an Animation program at AK Experience at noon today. [UPDATE 1:15pm: Whoops, we got to the theater and found out Animation was at the Museum where we went, and the Short Docs were at the 49th State Brewing Company.  Sorry.  The rest looks right.  But going to a festival is a little like being a ball on a pool table.  You may be going to do something, but you meet a film maker, or something is full, or you go to the wrong venue, and you end up going in another direction, that turns out to be interesting.  There was one film in the animation today that I thought was brilliant - a Burmese film called My Life I Don't Want - which in very basic and simple terms tells the universal story of women.

[UPDATE January 23, 2018:  I've removed mention of a film and the video on the request of the film maker, who has removed the film from circulation.]

NANA - is a film by a granddaughter about her grandmother who died when the younger one was 11. She learns Nana had been in Auschwitz and reads her memoir.  And makes this movie.  2pm at the Anchorage Museum

Global Village is a program of short films at 3:45 at AK Experience Theater today.
At the same time (3:45pm at AkExperience) is the Holly Kane Experiment.  I'd asked one of the Feature programers about good features that didn't get into competition and he mentioned this one.


Age of Consequences is a climate change doc at 4pm at the museum.

The Adventures of Prince Achmed is a 1926 German animated silent film that will get a live musical accompaniment at the Bear Tooth at 6pm.

AIFF2016: Audience Member Talks About Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show

I guess there is sort of a genre category for this film.  The closest I can think of are the comedy acts before an audience on Netflix.  But this one was more than that.  The camera took you back and forth from the nightclub to the streets of New York where the two actors talked about the show and what it means, but then would also go into the routines that were seamlessly picked up back in the nightclub show.  But they also talked to the audience about what they were doing as well.  And there was singing and a violin.

But more significantly, this was two Asian-American women, well, Chinese, well half-Chinese, at least one.  It was a little unclear.  And they talked, sang, rapped about cross cultural, assimilation issues within the Asian-American community,  And they didn't spare anyone.  It's a film that ought to be watched by a lot of folks and then discussed in interracial groups.

While I was taking an advantage of a break between films and trying to write up my comments on the shorts I'd just seen along with Happy Lucky  . . ., John walked into the room so I asked him about his reactions.

He wanted to talk, but not particularly with a camera recording.  But he agreed.  He was much more comfortable when I shut off the camera.  But here's a bit of his reaction.

AIFF2016: Hard Knocks - Wow! Powerful Shorts Program - UPDATED

The first film in this program blew me away - and it's not even in competition.  Sing For Your Supper takes place in a world where you have to sing to get fed or to buy anything.  A good voice and song is the currency, and the star has lost his voice and ends up a bum.  What an amazing world this film creates.  Plus it's done well and all the little details work.  Great concept, great acting, great everything.  This is my favorite film so far.

But the other ones in the program were noteworthy too.  On Time was powerful, luck a punch in the gut.  I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say it too was really well done all the way around.

Virgin Territority  was also good, but just not as original as the others.

The next show is starting gotta quit.


UPDATE:
It's 2:52 and we just got out of Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show.   This is one I wasn't sure I wanted to see, but it was starting and I figured I could go see Dropka at the museum if this didn't work out.  But really, this one is like Chinese rap - or as they call themselves - the Slanty Eyed Mamas - doing very political racial cross cultural comedy rap.  I'm not sure there's a word for what they were doing.  It wasn't easy to watch, the humor was oppressive (literally and figuratively).  But it's much more important to watch a movie like this that isn't like any movie I've seen quite before, than another slick Hollywood formula movie.

OK, this will be continued . . .

UPDATE again 3:13 - next movie starts soon.  I talked to John who grew up with Cantonese speaking parents and I got him to talk about Happy Lucky etc. on video and I'll put that up later.

We're now waiting for Planet Ottakring, which I'm looking forward to.

UPDATE again Dec. 4 1am - Trying to put this post to rest.  But I did want to say that two more of the shorts program were really powerful.
Pay Day was a black and white Hungarian film that took place in a small community where the money lender comes out to collect his payments.  Grim, but very well done.  And then there was My Mom And The Girl  the story of the director's mom's Alzheimers with her mom played by Valerie Harper.  It took a bit to draw me in, but then it happened as mom walks out of the house with her caregiver in bathrobed pursuit.

Two more - Virgin Territory and No Touching - were good, but not at the same level as the others.  And only two of these are in competition - On Time (short docs) and My Mom And The Girl,  My favorite was Sing For Your Supper which just had such an imaginative premise and was beautifully carried off.

Briefly - Planet Ottakring was lots of fun, a solid move. (The second movie of the day that had sinister loan sharks.)   Demimonde didn't disappoint my high expectations.  (My second Hungarian movie of the day.)  And Shu-De . . . I looked around and guesstimated about 80-100 people at the 6pm showing of what can be described as a documentary about Tuva throat singing.  That's amazing.  But it makes more sense to call this a concert tour movie in the Tuvan republic of Russia.

Past my bed time, but just wanted to get this a little bit caught up.  Saturday was a very good day at the movies.  Everything was worthwhile and quite a bit was outstanding.

AIFF2016: Saturday Suggestions - Demimonde For Sure

My advice is to go to the Festival's Sched Page for Saturday.

It looks like this (for the morning):

Click on this image and it will take you to the whole Saturday Schedule with all the dropdown windows working

It's good and will help you plan.  But it doesn't show the overlaps very well.  Unfortunately they continued what they did last year - program films that end after the next films nearby begin.

My key recommendation for Saturday is Demimonde at 8:15pm at the Bear Tooth.  Attila Szász's The Ambassador To Bern was the AIFF best feature in 2014.  It was a fine movie.  He has the same crew for this film about a famous Hungarian courtesan who was murdered and shocked the whole city.  It's a period piece and the trailer is exquisite.

I had a skype interview with Szász in 2014 about The Ambassador To Bern. At the end we talked a little bit about the new production he was beginning - which turns out to be Demimonde.  You can see it below.




But there are other films in competition showing today as well:

Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Dragon Panda Fun Fun Good Time Show is a documentary about a comedy act  known as Slanty Eyed Mamas.
Dropka is doc about Tibetan nomads.
Both are discussed in the Docs in Competition post.

Planet Ottakring  is an Austrian feature that I've discussed in the Features in Competition post.  (Along with Demimonde).

There are also panels where you can participate in discussions with some of the filmmakers.

Lots of good stuff.

AIFF2016: Full House For Opening Night North American Premiere of Sugar Mountain

Blackwater Railroad Company

Seats were getting scarce 40 minutes before things were schedule to start.  Anchorage International Film Festival director Rebecca Pottebaum enthusiastically welcomed everyone to the festival, thanked all the sponsors, and introduced the Seward based Alaska band Blackwater Railroad Company, whose music is in the film.

I'd note that another Alaskan - Portugal the Man - came up on one of the characters iPod in the movie as well.

Shot in and around Seward, Sugar Mountain was a respectable and interesting film, with very recognizable scenery for most of the audience.  I was impressed that it was made, in part, when there was snow and ice on the ground.  The main characters, facing debt and the loss of their boat, concoct a plot to have one of them get lost in the mountains and then sell their story to the media when he's found.  Things don't go quite as planned but the dig at the media's willingness to pay for such stories is clear.  The acting was good, the story had twists and turns and surprises.  The scenery was spectacular, but the grittiness of Alaska winter also comes through.

Two of the actors - Drew Roy and Haley Webb - were there to answer questions after the movie.  They talked about coming to Alaska (which they loved) to meet co-stars they didn't know, and their relief to find each other to be serious and talented actors.  Haley agreed with a questioner that her character was the antagonist - like a submarine, below the surface, but powerful in directing things.

The film opens in theaters next week, Dec. 9.

After the Q&A, there was champagne and dessert and a time to meet and talk with folks.  I got to talk to some of the programmers for features, documentaries, and shorts.  I asked the features guys for tips on movies that didn't get into competition, but were must sees.  Some suggestions:  Money, The 6th Friend, The Holly Kane Experiment, and Hunky Dory.  I also was assured the film I've been excited about from the descriptions I found on line - Planet Ottakring (Saturday at 3:15) - is a good one.  And, my assumption that Demimonde, the film by Atilla Szász who directed the festival's 2014 Best Feature, The Ambassador To Bern, is spectacular was confirmed.  It plays Saturday at 8pm at the Bear Tooth.

Alex Myung

Among the people I got to talk to was Alex Myung, whose animated film Arrival plays Tuesday night along with the feature Gayla film Real Boy.

Shot from Alex Myung's Arrival

#Brazen

From a Washington Post story that ran in theADN today.  This was supposed to be a post-election forum at Harvard, but it apparently got out of hand:

"At which point, [Kellyanne] Conway accused Clinton’s team of being sore losers.
“Guys, I can tell you are angry, but wow,” she said. 'Hashtag he’s your president. How’s that? Will you ever accept the election results? Will you tell your protesters that he’s their president too?'”

Kellyanne Conway has a gift for talking quickly around any subject with total confidence.  She could talk herself out of being arrested even when a cop caught her red handed robbing a bank.  And this is just one example of her brazenness.  [There's video at the link above.]

She's been Trump's spokesperson.  Trump.  The guy who spent several years denying that Obama was a US citizen thus he couldn't be the president of the US.  He knew it was total fabrication.  It was a power game for Trump.  Like a three year old having a tantrum to get everyone to pay attention.

Given that context,  his spokesperson has the nerve to complain that Clinton folks, whose candidate has over 2 million more votes than Trump, and want a recount in some key states like Wisconsin where Trump won by only 10,000 votes, protesteth too much?

But she goes by the Trump  playbook - Attack, Counterattack, Never Apologize.

I'm guessing that many of the Trump supporters know she's all bluff, but they take great pleasure when the highly educated Democratic spokespeople don't know how to respond to this outrageousness.

"Hashtag he's your president." Really?  We're in Twitterspeak?  Would would George Orwell say?

They were taught in school to be rational, factual, and debate a logical argument.  They - I probably should say 'we' - have trouble debating total nonsense.

This is like when Mao gave kids the power to humiliate and beat their teachers and parents.  Facts and science had lost all their power.  The Communist Party line became truth.

This is the humiliation all people of reason and civility face when ruthless power takes over and all logic, law, decency fall by the wayside.  Truth is what power says it is.


It's going to get worse before it gets better.   Trump doesn't see the law as a barrier.  He simply does what he wants and then if he gets caught, asks, "how much do I need to pay to make you go away?"

This is going to get uglier.  I suspect that the people Trump is lining up for his cabinet are not used to following orders from a grade school bully.  If Mitt Romney thinks that he can help steady the course working from the inside, he's in for a big surprise.  But I'd like to have people like him inside there and keeping a diary of what transpires outside the view of the media.

I'm supposed to give readers positive things to do when I rant like this.  I suggest you read  Lord of The Flies.  It describes where we are right now very well.

AIFF2016: Sugar Mountain Opens Festival Friday At Bear Tooth

I don't know much about this film, but it takes place in Alaska and looks like it was filmed here.  [Festival description says in Seward and other Kenai Peninsula spots.]

Opening nights used to spotlight one of the films in the festival.  That seemed unfair to competing films and for the last three or four years (maybe longer) opening night has featured a film not in the competition, but having something to do with Alaska.  Some have been very powerful - I'm thinking particularly of documentaries - and others have been movies that simply took place in Alaska, but otherwise I probably wouldn't have watched or missed much.  On the other hand, this looks like a film that is likely to get some folks who normally wouldn't go to the festival to come.  And you're sure to recognize places you know in the film.

Here's the plot from Teaser/Trailer:  (Look for the Alaska mistake in the synopsis)

SUGAR MOUNTAIN Truth gets lost.
 Plot synopsis: “Deep in debt to a local thug (Jason Momoa), Miles (Drew Roy) persuades his girlfriend Lauren (Haley Webb) and brother Liam (Shane Coffey) to help fake a disappearance in the Alaskan wilderness. While the town works together to find Miles, the local sheriff (Cary Elwes) begins to suspect foul play. As he closes in on the truth, Liam struggles to conceal the hoax, and in the process exposes a secret that rocks him and Lauren to the core. Now the two are struggling to stay one step ahead of a sadistic thug and the tenacious cops before Miles is gone for good.”
Tomorrow night we'll find out where Sugar Mountain fits in.  Either way, opening night at the festival is always fun and it's a chance to start meeting all the film makers in town.  Anchorage folks don't need to be shy (and usually aren't) and the film makers appreciate hearing from the viewers and locals who can give them tips on what to do while they're in town.

Did you find the Alaska error?  Look again.  If no one puts it into the comments, I'll add to this post later.

Actors include Drew Roy,  Haley Webb, Shane Coffey,  Jason Momoa,  and Cary Elwes.

Here's the trailer.  says the movie opens December 9, 2016, so we're a week ahead of the opening.




Film plays at 7pm.  Bear Tooth.  This is a pricey film - $25, while the others are $8 - but it's the opening night, a bit of a fundraiser for the festival, and there's a party after.   And the filmmakers and cast members will be on hand.  The price is waived for this gala if you buy a film festival pass ($120).

Random Notes: Origins of Hogwash, Tracks On Snow, Warm Young Fingers, And Überzeugen

Notes I've made in the last couple of days.  None is long enough for a post on its own.  

1.   I noticed that a few people have been finding their way to my post on the origins of hogwash in the last few days, but I didn't really take notice until I got this one:

(Yes, you do leave lots of tracks when you surf the internet.  Some people leave more tracks than others.  This is just part of what you leave.  Proxy servers help hide your tracks and there are other ways that probably will become more important in the future when government and other tracking will become more problematic.)

2.  Wow! The Alaska Dispatch News has a new online viewer and the pages don't randomly skip from here to there as I try to scroll down the story.  Now they scroll smoothly up and down like every other page.  Good move, about time.

3.  What a joy when your 3 year old granddaughter takes your hand in her warm soft fingers as you walk down the street.

4.  I was enjoying the wonderful resources for translation online these days while working on a synopsis of an Austrian film - Planet Ottakring - that's in competition at the Anchorage International Film Festival.  While I was checking my choice of the word 'eager' (not quite right) for überzeugt when this sentence popped up which seemed very appropriate for the times.

A number of sites now give lists of sentences with the word you are looking up so you can see how it's used in different contexts.   From http://en.bab.la/dictionary/german-english/ueberzeugter:

überzeugen [überzeugte |überzeugt ] {v.i.}
to satisfy [satisfied|satisfied] (be convincing) {v.i 

Example sentence:
Ich entscheide hiermit, dass die Abstimmung zu überprüfen ist, damit sich alle davon überzeugen können, dass das Ergebnis tatsächlich so ausgefallen ist. 

Translated sentence:
My decision is that the vote will be checked in order to satisfy everyone that that indeed was the result. 

5.  We got back last night from Seattle in time to see that our housesitter had nicely cleared our driveway of snow.  With a south facing inclined driveway, it's helpful to keep snow from building up. Otherwise, with vehicle tracks in the driveway pressing down the snow followed by freeze and thaw cycles, we get a treacherously icy driveway that is tricking to walk up and down.

This morning we woke up to about four new inches of snow.  I like shoveling snow and so I did before J drove off to do errands and left compressed snow tracks in the driveway.  It was still snowing  - almost like drizzling salt size pellets - so after I got the driveway and sidewalk and around my car in the street, there was a thin dusting of new snow.  I swept away some of it.  What you see on the right is the track J left on the swept and not swept snow.













6.  The Anchorage International Film Festival begins tomorrow night at the Bear Tooth.  My tab at the top left under the orange heading organizes all my posts on the festival and what's happening.