In just a few days Central Florida
film-goers will be up to their eyeballs in new, undiscovered moving
pictures. Yes, it's time for the Florida Film Festival, now in its
28th year at the Enzian theater. This year, the
Oscar-accredited festival includes special guests Richard Dreyfuss,
whose 'Evening With' features his film The Goodbye Girl,
and the 20th
anniversary of the groundbreaking Blair Witch which opened the 1999
FFF. Cast and crew from that film will be in attendance as well.
So
those are the big names that the Enzian is hoping will create a big
buzz around the fest. Many well-known stars have roles in a multitude of the FFF offerings, and it's always a treat to find an unexpected gem.
As for me, I most enjoy speaking with the blossoming filmmakers, those who may be enjoying their
first-or-second time displaying their wares at the Enzian. From my
experience, speaking with them about their digital children is always
rewarding.
This
may be the first time they've shown their film on a big screen, to a
live audience not made up by family members or fellow students.
Their excitement is always palpable, and they're always eager to
share their insight and answer questions about their current and
upcoming projects.
That
being said, though I have not yet had the opportunity to speak with
the majority of the filmmakers whose projects I will now review, I
hope that they keep in mind what they say about opinions. I can't
say I loved them all, but I do appreciate the effort it takes to
bring their ideas to life.
|
The Biggest Little Farm |
The Biggest Little Farm,
a Spotlight film in the Doc category, takes you inside a family farm
about an hour outside of Los Angeles. Molly and John Chester made a
promise to their adopted dog, Todd. That promise – that they would
always remain a family, is tested beyond what they ever expected. When Todd's barking within the city limits
of LA proves too much for their neighbors, the Chesters pack up the
plantation and head off into the hills, to build the farm they've
dreamed about. Neither Molly nor John have any idea what to expect,
and this film takes you through 8 years of their successes as well as
their hardships. Drought, fires, predators and loads and loads of
poop. Through the direction of a 'farm guru', Alan York, they make
it work, as does this beautifully shot film. Bringing the birth and
beauty of Apricot Lane Farms to the screen was definitely aided by
eye of Chester, an Emmy-award winning director. Biggest
Little Farm is tasty and
fulfilling.
|
Yomeddine |
Yomeddine,
an International feature, comes to Central Florida by way of Egypt.
As a child, Beshay was abandoned at a leper colony outside Cairo.
Now I'm sure you're thinking, a movie about lepers? Well, not
really, It's actually a moving 'road' film about the adventures of
Beshay and Obama, his young orphan travel-buddy, and Beshay's donkey,
Harby. After the death of his wife, Beshay decides it's time to find
what may be left of his birth family. Though he works in the refuse
piles of Cairo, pawing through the discarded trash of others, Beshay
never fails to look for the silver lining. As he enters the leper
colony, he shouts out “Greetings sick people!” Unusually
accepting of his lot in life, Beshay loses much through the course of
Yomeddine, but keeps
on keeping on. The heartwarming feature is a study about those living on the
fringes of society, who form families out of the detritus that the
rest of society deems useless.
|
Kado (A Gift) |
Kado (A Gift)
is the Narrative Short that precedes Yomeddine.
And it's a bit of confusing commentary on sexual identity in teenage
boys in a Muslim community. The center of the film, Isfi, is a male
with the boys, but a female with everyone else. The problem I had
with this film was not the content, but with the locations. Without
establishing shots, it was very unclear to me where Isfi was at
different points in this short film. This made his reactions as
confusing to the viewer as his actions were to himself.
|
Amazing Grace |
Amazing Grace,
starring the incomparable Aretha Franklin, is shot over the course of
two days in 1972. A live performance in which Ms. Franklin explores
and embraces the music of her Baptist roots, the film showcases her
otherworldly vocal talent. There are truly moments of elation as she
belts out song after song. But it's the small moments, such as when
her father, the Reverend C.L. Franklin, walks up to the podium and
wipes the sweat from his daughter's face, or when Sidney Pollack,
the Director of the event and film, whips out his Instamatic camera
to take snapshots of Aretha and her joyful coterie, while the flash
cube whips around, that I found most satisfying. Of his daughter,
the Reverend proudly tells one and all, “Aretha is a stone singer.”
And she is also one of the listed producers on this film. But even
with all that talent, I found something missing from Amazing
Grace. This Spotlight Doc
never reveals who Aretha is when she's not belting the blues to the
adoring audience. Perhaps I wanted more of Aretha than an extended
music video, and I hoped that Spike Lee's production company would
unearth a bit of her actual soul. But you can't watch what wasn't
shot. And that may be the downfall of Amazing Grace.
Stay
tuned for more sights and sounds, as the 28th
Annual FFF rolls out over the next 10 days.
Lisa Blanck is the Associate Editor for In Focus Magazine. She's a News Editor at WESH2 in Orlando, an NBC Affiliate Station. She was formerly with WKMG6 for 14 years as a News Editor. She spent nine years in advertising, marketing, promotions and live special events at Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite and MTV Networks. She also worked as an on-air host for local cable access programs. Lisa has covered the Florida Film Festival for the past 26 years as well as the World Peace Festival. She was a columnist for Lady Freethinker, a featured columnist for ShelterMe.tv and for the now-defunct Examiner.com. She has been a columnist for the Focus In Newspaper and now for In Focus Magazine.
Lisa Blanck can be reached at: [email protected]