Thursday night kicked off the 15th
year (although only the 13th season, because it hasn’t always been
strictly annual) of the High Falls Film Festival, which celebrates the artistry
of women in film, and was inspired by our location as both the birthplace of
film, as a hub for women’s rights. Apparently, of all professionals working
behind the camera, only 17% are women. To be considered for the festival, a
film must have women in key positions, or the film must focus on women. 74 films
were submitted for consideration this year, and the volunteer committee that
chose the films watched 110 hours of movies before making their final selection
of 15 features. The festival also presents 5 programs of short films, one of
which was reserved for the women of RIT’s School of Film and Animation. For the
4 remaining slots, there were 225 shorts submitted.
Many of the films are premiers, although
some have been screened at other festivals. Sadly, many of these independent
films will only be seen in festivals like High Falls – they will never get a
wide release, so you won’t see them at a neighborhood cinema or on Netflix. When
I learned that festival pass-holders would be seated before single-ticket
holders, I sprang for the pass (even though it wasn’t necessarily economical,
since I don’t plan to spend the whole weekend, morning till night, downtown).
That way, I was assured of a seat, as long as I arrived early, even if the film
sold out. And I contented myself that I was contributing to a good cause! As
with any festival, unfortunately you can’t see everything, since multiple events
happen at the same time. The flip side is that, with multiple offerings,
there’s more opportunity to find something that appeals or intrigues.
The opening night film was Last Laugh, a documentary exploring
humor and the Holocaust, how soon is “too soon” when it comes to tragedy and
humor, and where you draw the line of "appropriateness." It was extremely funny, touching and
thought-provoking, and provided a welcome temporary escape from the recent
current events (although a line that “comics are the conscience of the
people” made me think of the recent attempts by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Trevor
Noah, and Samantha Bee to sound the bell). At the post-film Q&A, the director, Ferne
Pearlstein, talked about the long process of making the documentary – the first
comedian she lined up was Rob Reiner; the hardest comedian to get was Sarah
Silverman; and the two who got away were Joan Rivers, who died two weeks before
her interview date, and Chris Rock, who pulled out around the time his personal
life was in crisis. The film has been making the festival circuit; it debuted
at Tribeca, and has been shown in Munich (the non-Jewish audience was silent during most of
the Holocaust jokes) and Jerusalem. Pearlstein shared that the film will air at
some point on PBS’ Independent Lens. This is definitely one to watch for! In
the meantime, there’s a chance it will be selected as the Audience Choice Best
Documentary and be rescreened Monday evening. My friends Bernie & Cliff and
I all gave it a top rating when we voted!
For information on upcoming films in the
festival, visit the website: http://highfallsfilmfestival.com/2016/
No comments:
Post a Comment