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NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2002 (II) Send This Review to a Friend
A lot more than feature films stirred interest at the 40th annual New York Film Festival. For one thing, there was the inexcusable behavior of the U. S. government that prevented renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami from attending because he was not given a visa. This affront was to an artist who had been in the States before and had his film "Ten" selected for the festival, and the prevention of his making the trip demeans the reputation of the U.S. as a place of cultural freedom. It also reflects the reckless disregard for liberty that characterizes the present administration with fighting terrorism as the excuse. Kiarostami is no terrorist.
French director Bertrand Tavernier, whose film "Safe Conduct" was showcased by the festival, expressed it well in the statement of protest that he sent to be read. He stated in part concerning the visa denial: "It reveals an inflexible arrogance which reminded me of the dark years of the 50s. To prevent the visit of someone who in all his films pleads for better understanding--it's not only stupid, it's insulting. It reveals a tremendously smug ignorance, a real contempt--contempt feeds actively on ignorance--for an artist as great as Kiarostami, and through Kiarostami, contempt for all film directors and for the very art of motion pictures."
Tavernier recalled a story about Billy Wilder's experience when in 1934, after leaving Germany and then France, he awaited a visa to the U.S. in Mexico, and having arrived with a fake passport, had forged papers, which were recognized by an immigration official, who nevertheless stamped his documents and said, "I hope you make good movies." Commented Tavernier: "Between that man and the official who refused Kiarostami a visa, there is a yawning gulf. I mean, they belong to two different worlds. Between them is all the difference that opposes the world of Franklin Roosevelt and the world of George W. Bush.
"We are under the boot of a very dangerous dictatorship: the dictatorship of fundamentalism, globalization, the dictatorship of ignorance. Culture and film, indeed any form of art can be a shield, a weapon against all dictatorships, against all forms of ignorance, especially when produced by artists like Kiarostami, who makes films that explore society and culture; who tries to show that history is not behind us; who do their best to deepen the audiences' curiosity, broad-mindedness and knowledge; who try to open the world up to itself."
Fortunately, the festival did have its share of directors to speak to the press and to audiences, as well as other aspects that made its 40th anniversary year especially interesting. The festival also offered a retrospective, in collaboration with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, "The Actor as Activist: Celebrating Shabana Azmi," which included 13 films devoted to the star of what was dubbed "New Indian Cinema."
Kino International also provided a new 35mm print of "Faust," the classic tale as adapted and directed by F. W. Murnau, complete with a new score by Phillip Johnston, with lyrics by Hilary Bell and performed live by Johnston's quartet. Another special event was "An HBO public forum: "True Living Color: Race in Film and Television in America Today and Tomorrow." The forum was a joint presentation by the festival and HBO Films.
One impressive accomplishment was raising the level of short films that were chosen. In past years groans have sometimes met some of the shorts, which often tended to be of the experimental kind that seemed more pretentious than rewarding. That is not to say there haven't also been some very good shorts on the programs over the years. But this time there seemed to be more of them.
One I particularly enjoyed was the Australian "Lamb," in which a farmer's blind son has a pet companion, a little white lamb. But food is scarce and the father has to provide a meal. What to do? His ingenious little scheme is as amusing as it is touching. Another of my favorites was Julian M. Kheel's very funny satire of the world of TV commercials and audience responses. His "Exceed" gets progressively more hilarious as what starts out as one commercial idea is shaped into one change after another when different people make suggestions. Then we see a viewer reaction.
There was also the strange and droll "Burn" by Patrick Jolley and Reynold Reynolds, as a family tries to ignore ever-encroaching flames. One of the best was the Iranian "Candidate," directed by Mohammad Shirivani, in which a mother is on the prowl to find a woman who would be a suitable bride for to her son. She interviews scores of women who say no, and her hunt reflects contemporary attitudes among prospective brides. But the film has a kicker when we survey the wall of her home, plastered with pictures of the women she interviewed and photographed, and then, as the camera pans, a portrait of her son with a revealing addition.
I couldn't see all of the shorts, but the trend this time favored those with a story to tell. There is, of course, difficulty in finding venues where these shorts can be viewed, and there are many worthy ones whose filmmakers are seeking such venues. Just recently, for example, I received a copy of a short titled "A Walk in the Dark," directed by Bruce Lucas. It is a well-shot, absorbing tale told in about 22 minutes involving a young woman and a pizza delivery man and what happens and is revealed when they make contact. With a good cast, Lucas demonstrates that he can tell an absorbing story in a relatively short amount of time.
Years ago theaters used to show shorts before the features. Today there is too much time spent instead on oppressing the paying customers with advertisements and allowing time for buying popcorn and other refreshments and squeezing in the maximum showings of a film. But there is such good material out there that audiences would enjoy along with the feature.
The New York Film Festival is to be congratulated for continuing to highlight shorts and that goes for other festivals that do so, in addition to the annual New York Exposition of Short Film and Video, which bills itself as "the longest running festival of independent shorts."
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