Page 12 - the NOISE February 2015

Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF) commences st
just 25, revolutionized filmmaking because of the limits set by budget. He taught filmmakers to embrace their limitations as challenges to do whatever it takes to produce a worthy film. A “dangerous” outsider who frightened establishment money in Hollywood, a rebel with a cause, he was shunned for his slant on William Randolph Hearst in Citizen Kane. At the time, Hearst still had enough power in Hollywood at the age of 71 to squash any future the “boy genius” might have had. Welles never had final cut or artistic control again for any of his films.
The Magnificent Ambersons was a 21⁄2-hour gem the Studios cut to 90 minutes, much to the filmmaker’s dismay — the full potential of a 40-year ‘independent’ Welles career unrealized. As a cautionary tale: always be aware of whose toes you step on! Come hear the stories & celebrate Mr. Welles’ 100th birthday with his daughter Beatrice, who calls Sedona home. This will be a unique journey into a creative artist’s mind. Don’t miss the Wellesian events happening all week!
This editor interviewed Jane Rosemont, the director of Pie Lady of Pie Town, showing at SIFF.
Her subject in this documentary, Kathy Knapp, left a privileged life in Dallas in 1995 and came to the small community of Pie Town, New Mexico. She saw a sign on a door in Pie Town reading: “There used to be pie, there ain’t no more.” Kathy’s mom thought it ‘un-American’ to not have a pie shop in Pie Town, so, she bought the store for her daughter, now the newest generation of the pie lady.
Says Ms. Rosemont: “What I initially envisioned as a 10-minute doc ended up three times longer. It is 29 minutes long and we had 35 hours of footage. My editor knew the rules and I love breaking rules. I heeded his advice but mostly went with my gut ... the film premiered in Hollywood and has been to dozens of film festivals, was Academy Award qualified & has won 10 awards, so far.
“My editor & I now agree — that, in the end, we each won the right battles. To know that for one half hour, people are enjoying life, they are happy, entertained and uplifted — that’s the tremendous power filmmakers have. It’s so much hard work, so many tears and frustrations, doubts and fears. But I couldn’t be happier with the result ... Everything came together like the ingredients in one of Kathy’s pies. All the pieces are there, you add love & passion & you can’t go wrong.”
Don’t miss this great short film & look for scheduled times at: SedonaFilmFestival.com
NAU’s College of Arts & Letters Classic Film Series runs Tuesday nights in Cline Library at 7PM for free. This spring semester the Classic Series presents “The Screenwriter: Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated Original Screenplays.” Paul Donnelly is back from his semester hiatus, of which it is rumored he conversed with the Dali Lama while in India, to join Paul Helford for informative discussions on the art of script writing.
Insanity, fear, guilt — and the ideas of love & God comforting the afflicted are the themes of the 1961 film Through a Glass
Darkly written & directed by Ingmar Bergman. With a cast of only four, this Swedish chamber classic depicts 24 hours of a family vacation following an estranged father’s return home, and his daughter’s mental deterioration due to schizophrenia. It is the first in a trilogy that includes Winter Light & The Silence. The 89-minute film earned the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962, and is considered an important classic workbymanycritics. ThroughaGlassDarklywillbeshownon February 24. The film will be shown in its original Swedish with English subtitles. nau.edu/CAL/events/filmseries
NAU’s International Film Series runs Wednesday nights for free in the Liberal Arts Building, room 120, at 7PM. This spring semester Jude Costello and a group of knowledgeable film enthusiasts explore the theme of “Oppression & Liberation.” Most films are unrated, so viewer discretion is advised. Parking is free behind Cline library.
The Fake Case, a documentary directed by Andreas Johnsen, tells the story of the Chinese artist & activist Ai Weiwei focusing on a duplicitous case of tax evasion ordered by the Chinese government — and the effects of his imprisonment on his art and personal life. The film begins with Ai Weiwei’s release from his 81-day detention spent in solitary confinement and the beginning of his house arrest. He struggles with memory loss and sleep disorders, deals with 24-hour surveillance and police officers following his every move as he finds new ways to provoke the Chinese government and fight for free expression and human rights. The film won Best 2014 Documentary in Denmark and played in the official selection of 2014 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. The film will be screening on February 4.
Gu`eros (White Kids) directed by Alonso Ruiz Palacios, is a road trip movie set entirely in black & white. The story centers around privileged urban youth. The group of college-age friends in Mexico City are thrown out of their apartment. From this ensues a wild road trip where the friends struggle to either find themselves or lose themselves. The kids conceivably discover their place in society while searching for an elusive folk singer. Their inconclusive search for meaning creates a realistic portrait of urban youth in the 21st century. The film will be screening on February 18. nau.edu/CAL/ events/international
Prescott Film Festival (PFF) has a few “reserved” theatre dates in a light February schedule but on Valentine’s Day, PμFF serves up dinner and romantic shorts! Also on February 22, there’s a pre-Oscar cocktail party & a live streaming of the Oscars at the Yavapai Performing Arts Center. PrescottFilmFestival.com
|Bob Reynolds has not been drafted by Central Intelligence, nor Information Retrieval, nor the Ministry of Peace, and no, he has not seen Lowry. film@thenoise.us
its 21 year with big names, great films & tremendous parties. In the last six months, this cinema editor has been to Telluride, Austin & Sundance. And to be frank: Sedona’s right up there with these “A-list” festivals. Every year this iconic Southwestern festival is more refined, raising its own bar & running with a precision that’s the envy of the circuit.
Make a pilgrimage to Sedona in February and see if it’s not your favorite film festival. Buy a ticket packet of ten films, spend a night or two in Sedona and participate in a mini- fest! SIFF’s intimate nature and the glorious way its maestros & maestras treat filmmakers & members alike — with first class accommodations, VIP treatment, parties & meals from the best restaurants in the Southwest — all winners in this guy’s book. The filmmakers are treated to media coverage, PR campaigns to help their films; they’re fêted, given the red carpet treatment, and as an added bonus, the theatres fill up with cinephiles hungry for something more than the usual Hollywood fare.
You’re introduced to a culture of film from around the world, with documentary and feature narratives, shorts, animation and informative “question & answer” sessions. If you’ve never been to a film festival, give SIFF a try, you won’t regret it. It’s still my favorite!
SIFF’s Executive Director Patrick Schweiss disclosed a few of the highlights for the 21st annual Sedona International Film Festival:
“The people coming and the films coming will make this the best festival yet,” Mr. Schweiss said. “We are fortunate to have a week long tribute to Orson Welles with Jeffrey Lyons interviewing Beatrice, Orson’s daughter.
“We have special events planned like: The Magician, the new documentary about Welles that played at Telluride Film Festival. Touch of Evil and Citizen Kane as well as Othello and maybe even Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight. We hope to have a panel from Cannes to discuss the long lost, newly restored Welles’ film: Other Side of Wind.
“Our friend Kathleen Glynn (Producer of Bowling for Columbine) will be back to lead the daily workshops that discuss topics ranging from ‘Music in Movies’ and ‘Women in Film.’ We also plan on having Sharon Stone as well as a special tribute to John Waters, with his one man show This Filthy World.
“Also, festival friends Ed Asner & Mark Rydell (director of On Golden Pond) share their present live work and their films Oxymorons, Good Men & My Friend Ed. Asner will perform his one man show about FDR.
“Some of the films we’re proud to have this year are: Two Days, One Night, The Overnighters and Merchants of Doubt. Many foreign films and documentaries will grace our screens this festival. We expect to have our biggest fest yet.”
Orson Welles said: “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” His first film Citizen Kane, made when Welles was
with contributions from
Grace Fenlason & Caleb McClure
A tribute to master filmmaker Orson Welles headlines the Sedona Film Festival this year, and rumors are flying as to whether a rare uncut version of Falstaff will be released.
12 • FEBRUARY 2015 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us