Highlight was The Whisperer in Darkness, a film based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft. With the surge of interest in horror films, H.P. Lovecraft's works could do well in today's film world. This film was made by people who are big fans of Lovecraft's work, which shows in the care they took with the production values, and the latter part of the story, which was fleshed out to provide an ending that Lovecraft did not have in the original. That part of the film, which was a big chunk, felt as much a part of the story as what came before it. Made in black and white, the filmmakers also chose to keep the style of the film as if it was made in the era in which the story takes place, around the 1930s-40s. In addition to the great production values, the music also felt very much of that time. I'm looking forward to reading the making of blog from earlier this year and seeing what other projects these guys have done/have coming up.
This year the Fest was awarded a three-year grant to spotlight some areas of the world that deserves notice. This first year shone on South Asia, with films from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Although these countries have not been overlooked by the Fest in past years, the spotlight helps to bring more films to us from this area of the world. I also attended a panel discussion by three Asian filmmakers who had works screening at the Fest. I was able to catch one of the South Asian films, Azhagarsamy's Horse, about a rural town whose religious icon of a horse goes missing before an important festival. When a real live horse shows up, there are problems of ownership and mistrust, as well as some romance and comedy thrown in.
Local focus was also shown at a retrospective screening of Cooley High, which was shot here in Chicago in 1975 and takes place in the 60s. Although some of its humor is a little dated for me, it is still a reflection of the lives of black teens who live in the more impoverished parts of our city. The film stars Glynn Turman and Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs as friends whose lives slowly diverge as they grow up, live with poverty, and suffer gang violence. I was sorry to see that there was not a big turnout for this movie, seeing as these themes are still prevalent in many cities including Chicago. Several of the people involved in making the film stayed for a Q&A and there were many remembrances and laughs.
The Fest's awards were also announced yesterday. Some winners from among the ones I watched:
--Gold Hugo for best film, the top honor, went to Le Havre, Aki Kaurismaki's latest film about the poor working class, which is a central topic for his works. Although his stories usually take place in Finland, this story took place in the harbor city of Le Havre in France, which is central to the events of the story. An aging French shoeshine man harbors a young illegal African refugee, which is against the law in France. The shoeshine man also has the problem of caring for his sick wife, played by Kaurismaki regular Kati Outinen. Despite these tragic human themes, there is also a lot of dry Scandinavian humor, as is usual in Kaurismaki's works.
--Silver Hugo went to Cairo 678, where three women from different social backgrounds and economic classes fight against sexual harrassment and the devaluing nature of women in their Egyptian culture. Although I don't think western audiences are blind to women's issues in Middle Eastern countries, this film showed characters who were not black and white personalities, they all had faults and conflicts with each other as well as good points that made them and their struggles believeable. It was also realistic how the men in their lives also have ingrained opinions on women's roles, some changing, others not.
--Maged El Kedwany won Silver Hugo for acting in Cairo 678. His role as the police detective investigating some vigilante crimes against suspected harassers gave the story a bit of levity, but still contributed to enlarging my view of Middle Eastern traditions and values. Although he, like many of the other male characters, had established views of women, he was shown to be more open and accepting (although clandestinely) to what the women were doing to bring more public focus to their problems.
--There were many other awards including the Chicago Award for the local short film L Train by Anna Musso, a wordless but impressive story about a young black teen from a poor neighborhood whose outlook is made less depressed when she encounters another girl with bigger problems. It personifies the saying, "I wept because I have no shoes, until I saw a man with no feet." This film was shown in the shorts block, City & State, which focuses on local filmmakers and topics; it was a last minute addition to my schedule, so I am glad I caught it for L Train.
The Audience Choice Award will be announced on Monday, October 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment