Mammoth Lakes Film Festival presented its winners on Sunday of the two day festival, as the 2020 virtual iteration of the always exciting fest concluded with an awards ceremony.
The conclusion was as happy an occasion as it is in person, where it is always a joy to talk to the filmmakers one last time and see first-hand the enormous satisfaction of being chosen as a winning contender.
But prior to the fest’s conclusion there were plenty of other stellar viewing experiences to be had, each of which translated just as powerfully on my lap top, phone, and TV as they did at the festival, because utterly unique cinematic experiences are enormously involving no matter how they are viewed. For opening night, Thursday, and Friday coverage of the five day festival, visit our earlier article, here. Now, welcome to the weekend.
Saturday began with a perfect panel, an hilarious conversation with and tribute to the creators of Airplane! The seminal comedy celebrated its 40th birthday this year, and MLFF director Shira Dubrovner moderated an informative talk with directors Jim Abrahams and David Zucker, followed by a Q & A with attendees. Abrahams and Zucker were joined by a surprise guest, actor Robert Hays.
Asked if they could make the film today, Zucker shook his head “Only without the jokes. People who do this type of movie and do puns, it wouldn’t be funny today.” Discussing the way the film came together, Abrahams said “There was something special about having dramatic actors like Lloyd Bridges doing comedy…it was unique.”
Why was there no Airplane! 2? Zucker says the reason was simple “I couldn’t think of any jokes to do on a plane. I went to Paramount with the idea of [characters] Bob and Julie going to meet his family, and they’re like characters in The Godfather. Paramount loved the idea, but Coppola wanted to do Godfather 3 at the time, and so he said no.”
After the rollicking conversation, it was on to the films. Both Shorts Block 4 and 5 had some terrific works; they were followed by a screening of the moving doc Acasa, the very surreal Revolution Laundrette, and a lively Zoom Disco Dance party (below) which gave attendees not only a sense of the fun at the festival’s usual-in-person dance party, but a glimpse of participants’ pandemic homes.
Shorts Block 4 gave viewers Nero, an intimate and darkly comic portrait of a man creating a product made literally from the sweat of his labor.
Le Coup des Larmes offered a somewhat terrifying, always fascinating, look at an actress immersing herself in a role, and a confrontation with a former lover.
The Fourfold (above) Lushly and glowingly animated, the film unfolded a somewhat cryptic tale of gods and myths set against the backdrop of environmental crisis.
A grubby dairy farm and the relationship between worker and boss – and the woman who lights the match that burns them – fill the bleak but mesmerizing Sinful Pleasures.
And the Israeli film Touch provides an amusing look at the burgeoning relationship between an internet troller and her would be beau – who almost meet IRL.
In Shorts Block 5:
Marriage Counseling for Friends Episodes 1&2 gives viewers an amusing look at two platonic friends who look for a way to enrich their relationship with a marriage counselor’s help.
A Living Sculpture looks at the relationship with a muse – as artists connect and disconnect in a wry short from the U.K.
The Star Sisters (above) are nothing if not playful and chatty – but their past is dark, and this involving short was both sad and sweet. This is a story of overcoming – or perhaps simply attempting to – an epically bad backstory with heart and eccentric verve.
In the Still Night – in a film both surreal and haunting, an art curator enters a mysterious new realm in an empty museum.
Now 2 also dove into the surreal, but in a different way entirely, with an animated look at the macabre underbelly of suburban life.
Between examined the lives of middle schoolers with grace, while Love at 48 presented a wistful and rich look at a couple on a date that went nowhere through a path in the woods.
As to the features: Acasa took viewers into the life of a displaced gypsy family in Romania, a story that was as suspenseful as it was mournful. Depicting the passing of a way of life, the film chronicled the lives of the Enache family—nine kids and their parents— who spent 20 years living in a shack in an abandoned water reservoir eventually reclaimed by the authorities as parkland. Uprooted, they are resettled in an apartment, and it was not a happy transition.
Revolution Laundrette was a fever dream of images and events, taking protagonist Tomo into various unusual subcultures and a final uncovering of the purely and existentially bizarre. Definitely not a conventional film, its visualization and involving surrealism was a cinematic experience it would be difficult to find anywhere but MLFF.
On Sunday, the documentary Democracy on the Road to Savah was followed by Shorts Block 6, the dry comedy of Tapeworm, and the bold vision of the documentary Pier Kids.
Democracy on the Road to Savah offered biting humor it its portrayal of political campaigning in Tehran, proving that politics are, well, politics – no matter where they’re taking place. Dark and funny, the documentary film offered an interesting look at life in Iran.
The narrative film Tapeworm was a restrained, ironic comedy set in Winnipeg, taking us among the lonely loser lives presented in a series of emotionally linked vignettes as amusingly bleak as the setting.
Documentary Pier Kids (above) was a stand out for its riveting, heartbreaking look at transgender youth on the streets, ushering audiences into a world of both friendship and loss.
In Shorts Block 6, viewers were also treated to a vibrant series of films. Take It and End It was a poignant look at the life of a Greek butcher asked to slaughter his pet lamb for veal. His moral conundrum was thoroughly involving in a film with visuals reminiscent of the work of Old Masters in lighting and palette.
Kikokids of Paris was also moving: a look at homeless girls having a “holiday” together on the streets in the City of Light.
And I Need A Haircut offered a brief but comically harrowing look at stressed women in a short well-suited to these pandemic times.
Rio was another favorite of mine. The initially elliptical film was lonely and mysterious as it took a look at two young women working at a Russian border hotel; the arrival of a stranger changed everything, creating an emotionally intense experience with a burst of sudden action.
Wild Game was equally harrowing; a bleak Czech film about a woman caught in a nightmare when three uninvited men show up at her door.
Not to be forgotten were shorts that played exclusively before feature-length films during the festival. These included: Lover, an Iranian film depicting a necessary killing of a wolf; Wash, a deeply dark Swedish film about the terror of childhood and horror of abuse; the comedic Ava’s Dating a Senior which depicted the controversy of a younger girl dating an older boy who may not be her true love after all; and the fraught but superficial relationship between frenemies in Ding Dong.
The award winning Huntsville Station (above) gave viewers an insightful and absorbing look at incarcerated men as they are released from prison; Mason presented a heartbreaking look at a small child experiencing the toughest of love from his grandparents. And finally, debauchery doesn’t bring true pleasure in Buck; while the French film Hors Champs lets viewers participate vicariously in a strange daily ritual involving tourists, the police, and migrants.
And that brings us to awards night, Sunday evening, the conclusion to the eager devouring of 56 feature and short films by film fans.
The Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature, went to Residue ,directed by Merawi Gerima; and the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature, to Feather & Pine directed by Star Rosencrans and Michael James Beck. Narrative dramatic film honorable mention went to my personal fest favorite this year, Marlene, directed by Andreas Resch. The Jury Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature was given to Democracy on the Road of Saveh, from Turaj Kalantari.
Marjorie Conrad’s Desire Path (above) won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature; the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature, went to The Wind, directed by Michał Bielawski. Both are powerful films.
This year the Special Jury Award for Bravery, a prize awarded for a documentary film that goes above and beyond in taking risks, was won by Pier Kids (dir. Elegance Bratton).
Jury Award for Best Narrative Short was taken by Elinor Nechemya’s Follow Me; honorable mention: They Won’t Last from Portlynn Tagavi.
Jury Award for Best Documentary Short, Huntsville Station (dir. Chris Fillippone and Jamie Meltzer).
Jury Award for Best Animation Short, went to Fourfold (dir. Alisi Telengut). Honorable mention was claimed by Bryan Lee’s Cage Match.
New this year was the festival’s first annual screenplay competition. Screenwriter Matthew Dixon was selected for his screenplay, Fish Story. It’s already time to submit for 2021.
Whether submitting or attending, or both – don’t miss Mammoth Lakes Film Festival in 2021 whether it stays virtual one more year or goes back to real life. Either way, it’s a film lover’s dream.
- Genie Davis; photos Genie Davis and MLFF