Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Day Two: Mountain High

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Beautiful day in the snow dusted mountains, and of course a stop at Schatt’s bakery is mandatory. Try the English toffee. But don’t stop there: try the fresh baked, often warm from the oven chocolate chip cookies for sale at the Edison, one of the ML Film Fest’s venues.

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Now let’s get to the films.

Shorts Block 2 began our film programming, with another eclectic mix of 8 films. The incredible animation matched the Elmore Leonard-esque v/o on the animated The Lingerie Show, a fresh cinematic short story well worth noting. Next up was the delightful comic tale of almost-adultery, The Truck. Below, the film’s charming screenwriter and producer Maryse Latendresse explained that the dryly comic near-sexual-liason was produced as part of a Canadian 72-hour filmmaking challenge project, and that the story line came out of her desire to, as a writer “write about the things we’d like to do but don’t do ourselves.”

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Below, Zach Strum and Micah Vassau director and writers of The Panty Symphonic, along with their music director and co-producer, explained the zany, anti-film-school approach to cinema in their surreal film – where a pair of magical panties creates a semi-feminist ideal, and involves a cellist, a last will and testament, and a man in a tutu in  a child’s swimming pool. The piece was shot on VHS, which was an interesting artistic choice. Speaking personally, while recognizing the element of craft the buzzy video medium added to the surrealist vibe,  the VHS medium was a bit of a distraction from an otherwise mysterious fairy tale set to music.

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A standout: A Night in Tokoriki,  a Romanian love triangle with a twist, offered a fresh take on a 21st birthday celebration.  Lots of buzz around this one, which took awards at the Berlin film fest earlier this year.

Next up, the feature Baby Bump.  How to describe:  a Polish Pedro Almadovar-esque chronicle of the tribulations facing an 11 year old boy whose mom doesn’t want him to grow up, but puberty is happening all the same.  Visually arresting, somewhat surreal, and a universal insight into the mind of an 11 year old boy.

Playing with this film was the short Infinite Water, a delicious animation of pastel-drawn art created by CalArts grad Sunn Liang, below.

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Last but not least, Beware the Slenderman from acclaimed doc director Irene Taylor Brodsky, below, with festival programmer Paul Sbrizzi.

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Brodsky chronicles the horrific attempted murder of a 12-year-old girl by her two best friends who lured her into the woods to appease the demonic Slenderman, an internet myth. While the film postulates the internet as a possible cause for the crime, a source of psychological terror for two impressionable girls, the more interesting story is that one of the two perpetrators is schizophrenic, the other, who tested completely normal, an outlier who may or may not have sociopathic tendencies. A cautionary tale of urban myth, impressionable youth, and a judicial system intent on punitive consequences regardless of age, this is a compelling doc that is well worth a view.

The second full day of the fest leaves this impression: eclectic, cutting edge, interesting works that shape a persona for this still-new festival as the place to be to see cinema that is thought provoking and unique.  Viewing all the films on tap results in an experience unlike other festivals – a mix of genres and unusual and often surprisingly wonderful cinema that you won’t see anywhere else. Slenderman’s director said she looks forward to saying her film was at this well-curated festival when it was still small – and to participating again as it grows. So do we.

 

 

 

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival: Intimate and Exciting

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The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is entering its sophomore year with a wonderful, eclectic selection of films and intimacy as refreshing as the crisp Mammoth Mountain air. We’ve been enjoying views of the recently snow-dusted peaks (yes, in May) along with three film offerings on the fest’s first full day.

 

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First up: Shorts Block One featured 5 cutting edge short subjects. Above and below the female duo behind The Emily & Ariel Show,  a fast moving, witty combination of stop-motion puppetry and live action depicting a night between 20-something friends.  Visually arresting.

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Below, fest programmer and Slamdance alum Paul Sbrizzi asks questions in Q &A’s refreshingly run right after each short with attending filmmakers.  No more mass questions at the end of the program – these immediate sessions provided a lot of insight into the making of the films.

 

 

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Below, director Adrian Geyer discusses Tisure,  my favorite of the shorts viewed so far, an incredibly poetic take on a relationship, set in a vast, natural setting in the hills of Venezuela. The remote location, which Geyer said took 8 days on horseback to reach, was discovered while he was researching a feature-length documentary. This beautiful short serves as both a fictional imagining of the early life of his documentary subject, and a completely immersive, experiential rumination on the fragile construct of human life and the awesome and fearsome timelessness of nature. Don’t miss.

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The filmmaker shot on 5D, but the look is that of classic widescreen film.

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Below, Got a Girl director Isaac Blade.  A witty study of relationships, this short played before a feature presentation later in the evening. Blade spoke on the collaborative process behind his project, and the strong use of music in a lively and truly fun film.  Blade, who fine tuned this perfectly crafted love story for nearly a year,  is already at work on his first feature project.

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And now the features:

Atlan is a simply terrific Iranian documentary that takes on a “man and his horse” story that stuns with its visual images and moves with its presentation of a Turkman horse trainer and his beloved but intensely stubborn horse, Ilhan. The title refers to a phrase its protagonist learned as a small child just beginning to speak “Mount a horse and depart.” Another must-see.

Mad is a narrative first feature by director/writer Robert G Putka, who while he was unable to join the audience in person, nonetheless participated in  a post-screening Q & A via iPhone. This family dramedy features wonderful performances by two estranged daughters and their just-past-a-nervous-breakdown, bi-polar mother. The “fun” is definitely in dysfunctional here,  as are plenty of poignant moments.

The fest also hosted a happy hour at the official accommodation of this 5 day event, Sierra Nevada Resort and Spa. It was a truly enjoyable beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres gathering that allowed attending filmmakers, attendees, and press to mingle and discuss their work. The resort, by the way, is gorgeous.

So far, the fest has lived up to its founder, Shira Dubrovner’s wishes that the programming be thought-provoking and the atmosphere unpretentious. We look forward to tomorrow’s films – and if you have free time this Memorial Weekend,  consider a drive to the mountains.

 

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  • Genie Davis; All Photos: Jack Burke

 

Film Lovers Nirvana: Mammoth Lakes Film Festival

Film buffs should head to the mountains this memorial weekend, as May 25 through May 29, The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is serving up a bevy of unique films and festival favorites.

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The annual fest is opening for the second year in a mountain setting perhaps a little reminiscent – there is a ski season, and there are independent films on screen – of the Sundance Film Festival, but with a more intimate vibe.

Shira Dubrovner Festival Founder

Festival director Shira Dubrovner, above, is currently the artistic director of the Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre, but spent 17 years working in film here in Los Angeles. After successfully producing theater in Mammoth Lakes, with the help of her programming director, LA-based filmmaker and film programmer Paul Sbrizzi, Dubrovner started her film festival last year. Sbrizzi has programmed for Slamdance, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and Outfest.

“I picked an amazing programmer who has programmed for fifteen years. He really knows how to identify amazing films and find raw talent,” Dubrovner says.

After moving to achieve a “more community-based lifestyle,” she worked exclusively producing theater in Mammoth Lakes. But Dubrovner says she missed working in independent film,  reached out to Sbrizzi,  and the fest was born.

Mammoth makes a great location for a festival. As a ski resort just five hours north of LA, many industry pros have second houses here, Dubrovner notes, resulting in a solid support system of filmmakers.

“Since we put on the festival, people have started coming out of the woodwork in terms of contributing to the idea and giving back to the community,” she says.

One such local, cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen, connected Dubrovner to her first sponsors, Red Digital and Panavision.

This year, the festival is showing over 50 films, including Saturday morning indie cartoons for children, 17 feature films, and 40 shorts.

“Around 20% of our films are world premieres. After the first year, Movie Maker Magazine named us as one of the top fifty festivals worth the entry fee, and that helped us to create a nice balance between festival favorites and obscure films that have not been seen. We’ve grown in the number of films we’re screening this year, but I like to not bite off too much more than I can chew, and become a well-oiled machine rather than growing too quickly,” Dubrovner explains.

One new addition is the festival’s Spirit Award, which this year is going to director Joe Dante. “He came out of the indie film world, starting in Roger Corman’s camp. We thought he would be the perfect recipient. He’s never been to Mammoth, but I think he’s going to fall in love with the area,” Dubrovner laughs.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Unimedia Images/REX Shutterstock (2586013a) Joe Dante Joe Dante at the Nocturna Film Festival, Madrid, Spain - 09 Jun 2013 Joe Dante was honoured at the Nocturna Madrid Fantastic Film Festival
Photo by Unimedia Images/REX Shutterstock (2586013a)

The Spirit Award event will screen Dante’s classic film Innerspace, followed by an award presentation, an in-depth Q & A with Dante and actor Robert Picardo, and a lively after-party.

The festival hosts all of its attending filmmakers, and some 26 films are sending directors, producers, and actors to the festival. Along with accommodations and festival passes, these filmmakers will be taken on excursions in the area, including a private tour to the ghost town of Bodie.

“It’s kind of like giving a party, you want all your guests to have a good time. I really want them to leave revved up, ready to move on to the rest of their career, and reconnected to nature. That does something to the spirit that is undeniable. I’m excited and proud to be a part of that experience for them,” Dubrovner reports. “Our filmmakers come first. We like to screen risk taking, unapologetic films made by creative, artistic people.”

But the festival director wants not only to inspire filmmakers, but her audiences as well. “I want them to leave still thinking about the stories and images they’ve experienced, so that it is a continuing process for them that doesn’t end when they leave the theater.”

Operation Avalanche
Operation Avalanche

 

Among the festival’s top picks are the quirky, engaging, opening night offering, Operation Avalanche, set in 1967, and involving the moon landing, Soviet spies, and stunning conspiracies; the intense Beware the Slenderman, the story of an Internet bogeyman; and closing night, Sonita, an inspiring story about Sonita Alizadeh, an 18-year-old Afghan refugee in Iran.

Beware the Slenderman
Beware the Slenderman

“We have a mix of all different styles of filmmaking which support the indie film world,” Dubrovner says. “We schedule many films that haven’t been seen elsewhere, films that are edgy and push the limits.”

All but one venue are within walking distance of each other, making the festival’s logistics as personal as its warm director. Dubrovner has created a festival in which attendees can easily interact with filmmakers, and vice-versa.

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“We want to create an intimate and accessible experience for everyone. We kind of leave Hollywood at the entrance to the town, and just get back to everyone’s creative roots. When you’re inspired in a natural setting, the walls come down, it’s just artist to artist, filmmaker to audience. Accessible and intimate, that’s what I love,” she says.

As do most filmmakers and film lovers. So get ready to hit Mammoth mountain – where a still-new film festival is offering cinematic marvels alongside the region’s natural ones.

While many screenings are filling up, there are still tickets and passes available. See http://www.mammothlakesfilmfestival.com/#!mammoth-lakes-film-festival-tickets/cq53 for more information.

Note: We’ll be reviewing the festival lineup and covering the inaugural Spirit Awards as well.

  • Genie Davis; Photos: Courtesy Mammoth Lakes Film Festival and Unimedia Images