By Cynthia W. Gentry, © 2001 by Cynthia W. Gentry, published on Dailygossip.com, April 2001.
When we last left off, I’d just finished the first whirlwind weekend of films, parties and schmoozing at the 11th annual Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. Yes, I know the festival happened in early March. Some of us have been a tad distracted by the new sundresses in the Spring J.Crew catalog. But I haven’t forgotten you.
My punishment for the fun I had at Cinequest’s first weekend came the following week. I boarded a plane for Austin, Texas, where I spent three days in a windowless computer room writing software documentation. (One has to pay for those sundresses somehow.)
Once I’d done my penance, I hopped back on a plane for San Jose. I arrived in town just in time to to see Spike Lee do his thang a standing-room-only crowd in the ballroom at the San Jose Fairmont. My boy Spike—with whom I share a birthday, which explains a few things but not many—answered the seemingly endless (in length, not quantity) questions of moderator Rudy Langlais with wit and poise. He reserved special scorn for Hollywood’s recent depictions of the “magical mystical Negro” in films like “The Green Mile” and “The Legend of Bagger Vance.”
Referring to “Bagger Vance” (he replaced “Bagger” with another word I shan’t mention here), Lee quipped, “They were hanging ‘em high in Georgia then. If Bagger Vance really did have magical powers, wouldn’t he help out his brothers? Do you really think his number-one concern would be helping Matt Damon with his golf swing?” You go, Spike! Here’s hoping that Cinequest gets someone to address the plight of women in film in 2002.
Afterwards, we streamed over to Cinequest’s VIP/Filmmaker Party, where we packed ourselves into the tiny Agenda nightclub. Jetlagged and cranky (yes, my usual effervescent mood evaporates every so often), I dragged myself home to prepare for a weekend of panels and movies.
Cinequest prides itself on its digital cinema focus, and sure enough, the festival expanded its offerings this year with a veritable cornucopia of panels on the next wave in digital film. I learned more about progressive scan—no, it’s not how yours truly works a room—and variable frame rates than I ever thought I would. These technologies will let almost anyone with an opposable thumb wield a camera and an editing system. Whether that’s a good thing remains to be seen.
After seeing so many crystal clear digital pictures, I naturally felt faint with hunger, so it was off to the Fairmont Grill for a little board member luncheon. The cheese platter wasn’t the only attraction. I made the acquaintance of a darling young cinematographer who, at the next panel, was able to explain to me the difference between miniDV and 24P (and no, they aren’t fashion terms).
At this point, I’d had my fill of camera lingo. It was time to see an actual film. So I loaded up my Passat with my cinematographer friend and assorted other pals and raced over to Saratoga to catch a screening of Spike Lee’s docu 4 Little Girls, introduced by the director himself.
Kids, let’s get serious for a moment: if you haven’t seen this look at the Birmingham church bombings, you need to buy it immediately. It’s truly one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. Despite the fact that Lee was late returning to the theater for his post-film Q&A, audience members stayed rooted to their seats, and before you knew it, we were holding an impromptu consciousness-raising session about race relations. I knew there was a reason I loved the Bay Area.
The last day of the festival held even more goodies. A panel headed by director Ron Shelton poked a much-needed hole in the auteur theory (yes, it is time for the possessory credit to go the way of bell bottoms) took a look at the collaborative process of filmmaking as exemplified by Shelton’s recent Play It To The Bone. Not being a boxing fan (to make an understatement), I’d never had the slighted desire to see this film, but by the end of the panel, I did.
Shelton, Lolita Davidovich (his wife and one of the film’s stars), his cinematographer Mark Vargo, editor Paul Seydor (who skillfully moderated the panel), and composer Alex Wurman were way more honest than I’d ever be about the trials and tribulations of filmmaking. Sure, things can get rough when you’re making a film – like having one of your stars, Woody Harrelson, break his hand just before the big fight scene because he was riding a scooter – but at least you don’t have to sit in a windowless computer room writing computer manuals (see author’s Austin trip, above).
Seeing Woody Harrleson and the ever-hunky Antonio Banderas beat the shit out of each other made me hungry, so after a power lunch at the local café, I sat myself down for Cinequest’s final panel, “Have Things Changed? Black Portrayals in the Media,” moderated by former San Francisco 49er and “Any Given Sunday” screenwriter Jamie Williams. I’m making yet another understatement when I say that a zesty discussion ensued.
Despite my passion for cinema, even I was too exhausted by this point to take in Cinequest’s closing night film, the Oscar-nominated Amores Perros (which apparently translates to the rather obvious “Love’s a Bitch”). I zipped home for a quick costume change into a black velvet bustier, grabbed my date, and then raced off to the Closing Night Party at A.P. Stump’s, which serves up some pretty damn fine party food for San Jose.
We grabbed a booth near the bar where we could hold court, do our own progressive scan of the crowd and gossip to our hearts’ content. (Don’t worry: said gossip will be forwarded in due time to our very own ShananC.) The winners of the festival competition were announced (sorry, my little producer friend from last week’s column), people cheered, we said our goodbyes. Another film festival over: time to hang my VIP pass up and get ready for the next one. We may not be able to depend on the stock market, but we can depend on the fact that somewhere in the world, someone’s having a film festival. It occurs to me that “to festival” has become a legitimate verb form—and if it hasn’t, I’m making it one right now. Festival on!