Friday’s Fine Films at MLFF

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A fine Friday unfolded at today’s Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, the third day of this stellar fest in the scenic Sierras.

First though, a quick take on a film left out of yesterday’s reviews, Unnamed, a short paired with yesterday’s evening screening. The vivid story profiles the challenging life of a trans volleyball pro navigating discriminatory Iranian life.

We began our morning today with another Iranian entry, Winter Threshold, a  documentary feature depicting a pandemic period of stressful education and family life and a mother’s deep love for her son, Kasra. The film also turns inward to Mahsa’s dedication to her son’s education and the hope and loss embodied in her own marriage.

Directed with a careful eye for emotional detail by Soudabeh Beizaei, the reason’s for the father’s jail sentence are unclear as to political or criminal enterprise, but it remains an interesting view of Iranian life during Covid lockdowns.

The film was paired with a German- made lengthy short subject about the difficult journey to the U.S undertaken by a Guatemalan immigrant, in a visceral film from German director Alan Rexroth. The 32 min. short #WAY_Aurelio is part of a quartet of films about one’s place in the world.

Narrative Shorts Blocks 3 was a lively mix of themes. A stand-out for me was the beautifully shot and movingly realized story as a father, separated from his estranged wife, spends a weekend camping with his eight year old, emotionally precocious daughter.  A  Tidy House poignantly depicts the breakdown of her father and the young girl’s caring emotional support. Lushly  shot and emotionally perfect.

The Year of Staring at Noses hilariously chronicles filmmaker and star Karen Knox’s nose job over a three year period, with directors Knox and Matt Eastman using a faux audition for The Bachelor as the impetus for alter ego Samantha’s nose job, undertaken as a quest to find love. Witty and wild, the film quotes and makes good use of the famous Goddard quote about the three elements to make a film: a girl, a gun, and a camera.

Gabriel Bellone’s 1 minute hand-cranked 16 mm piece is his emotional, double-time take on his own mother’s decision to call the police on him with a falsified story about his behavior – at age 10. The short piece Mom is conceived of as part of a broad story about policing, and is intense.  Bellone not only shot on 16mm he edited on a Steinbeck for a raw, gritty look.

Directed and written by Louisiana filmmaker Arcos, Quilly is a richly involving story about a toxic and cyclical relationship that in part hinges on the couples relationship with a crudely handcrafted stuffed animal, their pretend-child. Funny, dark, and intimate, this is a short that makes viewers want to see even more. Arcos has presented other exciting entries at previous iterations of MLFF, and is consistently evocative and resonant as a filmmaker.

Jared Greenberg’s The Girl Who Cried is both a tacky laugh track sitcom, horror story about the gaslighting of a sexual assault victim, and a dog – picture the 2010s FX series Willardgone horror in a fun genre mashup.

The Mojave to Mammoth shorts series is a favorite of mine of MLFF, shaped by local area filmmakers. This year, entries featured three docs and two features.

Documentary screenings included the intense and moving 109 Below. Directed by Nick Martini, the film relates the hazardous stories of rescue volunteers who help climbers lost or in trouble on frigid Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. A rescue in 1982 changed two climbers’ lives, with one of those rescued losing his legs but going on to do incredible work at MIT developing prosthetic limbs. One of the rescuers tragically died saving him. The film Is a moving tribute to these heroes on the mountain.

Tracing History was also deeply moving and beautifully shot as a mother and daughter explore their heritage in the area between Reno and Mono Lake. Chinese American filmmaker Jalena Keane-Lee leads views on a journey of reclamation touring the railroad sites built under extremely hazardous conditions by their ancestors generations earlier.

In the thrilling Never Again, director and climber John Cramer takes viewers on a personal journey along a perilous new route up Mt. Morrison’s extremely dangerous north face. While Cramer and two friends initially claim they’ll never take that route again, they nonetheless return three times to challenge their ability to find a better way up to the peak. Amazing images in an adrenaline elevating tale.

Moving in to narrative shorts, Intruder, directed by and starring Cal Arts masters program student Abbs Stoiber, illustrates a literally present shadowy figure of anxiety and doubt tormenting a college student attempting to find her wings. Stoiber is not only a local filmmaker, as a pre-teen she attended acting programs taught by festival founder Shira Dubrovner.

Extinction Story Origin Story, shot in moody and loving black and white and directed by Terrie Samundra, offers a spooky story of a mysterious event changing the world in which two school friends live, as their LA playground becomes a haunted desert that includes footage shot near Fossil Falls. The production was a family affair featuring Samundra’s daughter and goddaughter, with her husband shooting the lustrous film on 16 mm.

The Other Profile from French director Armel Hostiou explores the idea of truth and lies, fake and real, and the myths of storytelling itself that arises when he pursues the creator of a Facebook account that purports to be him and invites women to audition for his next film, supposedly set in the Democratic Republic of Congo.When Hostiou goes in search of his double, he learns new layers to the real and the fake in a country in which the presidents and even the cemeteries are fake. In the bargain, his fake self becomes his co-director of the film the unfolds, creating a mind-bending take  on what constitutes the truth. The film screened with a short that we didn’t have the chance to view.

The Complex Forms is an absolutely stunning film from Italian filmmaker Fabio D’Orta. If Antonioni and Fellini made a horror film together it would be this beautiful and dread-seeped story set in an ancient villa where desperate people have an opportunity to make a great deal of money by temporarily selling their bodies to mysterious entities in exchange. With escalating horrific appearances by these monstrous aliens, three roommates plan their escape. Eerie and gorgeous, D’Orta is a force to be reckoned with creating seamless digital special effects, shooting in richly evocative black and white on a Black Magic 4 that he has made appear like classic film. D’Orta and program director Paul Sbrizzi conversed and translated in Italian.

The feature was accompanied by a poetic short,  Chrystel Egal’s Freerunner which was amazingly filmed on her iPhone also in black and white. Accompanied by a graceful narration, the film depicts Simon Nogueira, a French Freerunner, Parkour champion and poet. With “invisible wings,” he dances he dances on rooftops, in awe inspiring acrobatic moves. The piece is just one of many studies of unique individuals created by Egal.

The evening ended with a filmmakers bowling party at Mammoth Rock n’ Bowl for great conversation plus pizza and beer. Best fest indeed.

It’s not too late to join in the festival experience and fun – for more info and to buy tickets, click here.

– written by Genie Davis; photos by Jack Burke 

 

High Altitude Filmmaking at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival on First Full Day

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Our first full day at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival offered an eclectic and exciting mix of films.

We started our morning with Narrative Shorts Block 1.

Among my favorites was Messy Legend, an hilarious and perfectly realized story of a party girl on the streets of Montréal for an elusive “one last night of party ‘til you drop.” The filmmaking team of James Watts and Kelly Kay Hurcomb created an indelible character played by Hurcomb. Accompanied by a terrific original sound track from the duo’s musical project Voyeurism, this is vibrant, shoestring filmmaking at its best.

Also quite wonderful was Bridge/Keeper from Sinclair Rankin. This film offered an ethereal connection between an inspector of structures and an aging, musical bridge which became a character in its own right. It’s also a beautiful elegy for a real life soon to be demolished bridge between Brooklyn and Queens.

And speaking of elegiac, there was the richly poignant Portuguese film Ode. A grieving father and mother mourn the passing of their son from a hate crime and their lack of acceptance of him when he was alive. As recipients of a balloon that their son blew up as his last act, the couple communicate their true feelings of loss through its haunting  presence. Set at Christmas time, this was a lovely, somber story.

Also in this shorts block, Hyun Kim’s animated short Hills for the Head, in which a young man is forced to run a marathon by his therapist in an analogy to his mental health.

From China, the complex Burning Moon told the tale of Ying, accompanied by her husband and his boss’s mistress Qiqi, returns to her hometown for her sister’s wedding. It’s a story of female oppression and rebellion, couched inside an eerie series of shifting relationships.

Runaway mixed cinematic mediums in the study of Alexia, a runaway who left behind video footage revealing hateful scenes from her parents’ marriage, and her crush on another girl.

Next up, we viewed the documentary feature Union, in which recently fired Chris Smalls took on the behemoth that is Amazon in an effort to unionize at an Amazon warehouse near JFK airport in New York. While serving as a rallying cry for unionization, the compelling film also depicts the internal challenges of organizing amid Amazon’s intensive effort to prevent  employees from joining the union and conflicts among union members.

Immersive and galvanizing, the film also reveals the difficulties of managing the expectations of unionized members and the continued roadblocks enacted by Amazon to prevent meaningful change. Stellar work from filmmakers Stephen T. Maing and Brett Story.

We began our third film block with the short Chomp, paired with the feature Welcome Filmmakers. These experimental horror films did not compel me, so we switched to the other festival programming option, the often mystically lovely narratives short films screening in Narrative Shorts Block 2.

 Ciela was a gorgeous work of magical realism from Mexico, in which an imaginative young girl imagines a stuffed octopus come to life and given magical powers. A truly lovely film from  Mauricio Sierra.

Mothers and Monsters was a surreal, spooky story of an upper class woman hosting a surreal banquet in which her guests are served cabbages containing perfect babies – all except her. It serves as a haunting take on motherhood from Canadian director Édith Jorisch.

A ribald cross between Cabin in the Woods and Mean Girls unfolds at a bachelorette party in the darkly comic Isaac from Samantha Carroll.

Mirage, a mysterious revenge film from Iranian filmmaker Atefeh Salehi, follows a hitchhiking woman on a journey with a truck driver who reminds her of past abuse.

Two other entries in this block of shorts were not viewed.

Finally, we saw the harrowing, exceptional documentary feature, Inheritance. Filmed over a ten year period in a small, decaying Ohio town, filmmakers Matt Moyer & Amy Toensing explored the ravages of addiction, the bonds of family love, and the hope for a better future for the intelligent Curtis, who grows from age 12 to 18 during the course of the film’s depiction of five generations of his extended family. Grandma and family matriarch, Cheryl is another key protagonist in this riveting film.

Do check out the story behind and continuing from this film on the filmmakers’ website, INHERITANCE the film | documentary film.


And before calling it a night, there was a generous late night party at Distant Brewing in Mammoth Lakes – delicious beers and fantastic brew staff plus an opportunity to mingle with filmmakers, fest staff, and sponsors.

It’s not too late to join in the festival experience and fun – for more info and to buy tickets, click here.

  • Written by Genie Davis; photos by Jack Burke

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Starts 10th Season with Powerful Film

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Celebrating its 10th year of stellar cinema, Mammoth Lakes Film Festival opened tonight with a visceral, important film.

Lucy Lawless of Xena:Warrior Princess fame directs a compelling documentary which has justifiably wowed audiences at a cadre of film festivals this year.

Never Look Away is a wild ride, telling the story of a woman who commanded so many to view the human story of war, involving and riveting her viewers as she skewered expectations as a gutsy CNN camerawoman traversing the globe in perilous times.

Both the stories she revealed and her own personal story are passionate and haunted.

Margaret Moth grew up in an abusive New Zealand home, immigrated to Houston, Texas. There she embraced a punk/Bohemian lifestyle, dropping acid, playing music, and taking lovers, including a 17 year old high school dropout, a relationship essential to both of them for decades.

Grabbing a camera on her many global travels, Moth covered the Middle East for CNN in the turbulent 80s and 90s, putting her life on the line, partying hard, and developing new friendships and loves that were as essential to her life as water.

Her penchant for putting her life on the line to depict horrifying scenes of war with compassion eventually caught up with her. Covering the siege of Sarajevo in the early 90s, she was shot in the face by a sniper.

While the tragic injury severely disfigured her, she endured 25 surgeries to regain as much normalcy as possible – and went back to work.

Lifelong friends admired her, lovers helped or distanced themselves, and her visual stories awakened many to the horrors of war and loss. Her bravery and empathy were only halted by cancer, leading to her death at age 59.

The persistence of a CNN colleague in telling her story and the wistful recollections of her lovers through the years inform the film with personal footage that round out the story of this consummate visual journalist.


Presenting this film as an opening night Spotlight event, MLFF appropriately gifted viewers with a fine film about the power of the moving image, something this festival is well-known for.

Helmed as always by festival director Shira Dubrovner and director of programming Paul Sbrizzi, 2024 looks to be an incredible year of cinematic storytelling.

Rounding out the night, the festival’s opening party presented a tasty spread of hors d’oeuvres and local craft beers, wine, and Yerba Matte along with its signature conviviality in introducing new and accomplished filmmakers to an eager audience – all in the beauty of snowy California mountains.

What are you waiting for? It’s Memorial Weekend, spend it taking in super films amid the pines. For more information and to purchase tickets or passes, click here. 

–  written by Genie Davis, photos by Jack Burke 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wind on the Water – Day Three Musical Magic at Beach Life Festival Blows Out a Bit Early

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Wind was not a band on the Sunday Beach Life Festival playlist, but nonetheless, it played the final song. Extreme wind gusts, swaying lights, blowing sand, and ZZ Top’s beards flowing like flags left and right were all the unfortunate signs of the imminent closure of the fest four hours early.  While Fleet Foxes, Trey Anastasio, and My Morning Jacket were unable to
perform, there was still a great line-up for a Sunday musical brunch to partake of earlier in the day.

It began at 11:30 am on the Hightide main stage with a terrific, power-packed set from Australian pop rockers Atlas genius. Playing a heading mix of songs from 2012 to their latest album release just last week, End of the Tunnel.

The group was generous of time and spirit, strutting the cat walk and sharing stories from pandemic times between melodic hits, including “If So,” “Symptoms,” and “Trojans,” which captivated with extensive radio play in the States nine years ago, as well as new tunes such as “On A Wave.”  It was a great start to the day and another festival highlight.

Next up: the lush harmonies and silky vocals of Sugar Ray on the Lowtide, interspersed with banter about aging, hangovers, and the veteran funk rock performer’s fourth performance with the fest.

The set began with “Someday,”  and ran through a joyous set of hits including “When It’s Over” and pop hit “Fly.”

An unexpected and previously unheard delight was St. Paul and the Broken Bones out of Birmingham, Alabama. Preaching the gospel of “Wolf in Sheeps Clothes” and the semi-eponymous “Broken Bones and Pocket Change,” among others, this mix of New Orleans-style jazz and Southern Soul was absolutely riveting.

Lead singer Paul Janeway has an unbelievable set of pipes, and he took his magnetic personna and vocals off the stage and into the wind blown audience, even climbing up into the VIP viewing area to summon all listeners to his church of music and joy.

All revved up and ready to party, the crowd spilled out the sides and back of the small Riptide stage for the exuberant Latin jazz stylings of Tito Puente Jr.

Wild, profound, and danceable musicianship by Puente and his band,  from “Junior’s Mambo” to “Unforgiven Love.”

Meanwhile, on the increasingly windblown Lowtide stage closest to the water, country girl Margo Price offered a virtuoso country rock n’ roll sound including melodic rockers like “Shelter Me” and “Cocaine Cowboys.”

Playing guitar and drums and belting out tunes of country life, painful love, and independent swagger, her heart was still showing for the simple pleasures of “Tennessee Song,” with lyrics like “Seasons go, seasons come/Who we are and where we’re from/The truth is clear to those who know/As above, so below.”

Another strong performance by a fine female rocker came from Courtney Barnett back at the Hightide main stage. A real wow of a performance from Barnett, her set list shone like a hard bright diamond in the late afternoon sunlight.

Barnett noted the wind several times, but didn’t let it stop her,  offering up greats like “Rae Street,” “History Eraser,” and “Walking on Eggshells” before a strong finish with “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party.” Her muscular indie alt rock sound has a bit of country twang and a bite of the blues. The Australian artist is one to watch with the release of her latest album at the end of last year,  End of the Day.

Classic blues rock was next up from ZZ Top. Beards whipping around in the increasingly sand-strewn wind on the Lowtide stage, the band vibrated power-packed songs like “Under Pressure,” the band’s big radio hit “Legs,” and a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Sixteen Tons.”

While they got in 12 of 14 songs, the last two were cut off by wind cancelling the rest of the set as the lights swayed and palms bent dramatically above the stage rigging.

We’d alerady switched stages ourselves after the Haggard cover due to the blowing sand, catching the bottom half of a set packed with great tunes from the terrific Gaby Moreno at the Riptide.

Moreno’s music ranges from Latin to jazzy folk and Americana. Great lyrics and passionate vocals delivered to an attentive crowd dancing on the astroturf.  “Dance the Night Away” is a gem; so to is the very different and vibrant “Solid Ground” from her new Dusk.

We were having a fantastic day, and super looking forward to Fleet Foxes back at Hightide, pausing to pick up a slice of pizza before grabbing a spot. But that was when the announcement was made for everyone to calmly evacuate from the nearest exit. We were close to the main entrance, so leave we did, pizza in hand, momentarily glad there’d be only an hour’s break and delay before resuming the fest when wind gusts ceased.

But as soon as we were out of the venue proper, watching fronds fall from palms and the waves crash up against the Redondo Beach pier, it became obvious to me at 5:30 that the fest wouldn’t be resuming an hour later. When  we returned to the press office at 6:45, rumors abounded, and 15 minutes later the official call was made that the festival would not start back up.

While the wind had the last song – a real howler – the fest was a wide-ranging, smooth running, extremely fun event. It was a joy to hear artists new to me, such as Grace McKagan, Jordana, City and Colour, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones, as well as experience favorites like Local Natives, Atlas Genius, and Courtney Barnett all serving up generous full concert-length sets. Classic acts Seal, Sting, DEVO, and Incubus were great to hear live, too. Wind or not, we were blown away by the array of musical talent.

If you missed the event, you’re in luck – you can listen to the fest for free on YouTube – the recaps are on the Beach Life Festival Live You Tube channel. You can also stream via Soundcloud.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Jack Burke