In the 1970s, you could count the number of nationally established film festivals on one hand, with Filmex as the lone Los Angeles contingent.
These days, festivals are plentiful, though the AFI Fest, which in 1986 became the second incarnation of Filmex, is still the jewel of Southern California.
Beginning this evening, the 11-day, 90-plus-movie event focuses primarily on new works by top veteran and young international directors, while also featuring films directed by several Americans.
"When other festivals started cropping up, we felt it necessary to strengthen our programatic focus to distinguish ourselves," said Christian Gaines, the festival's director. "We wanted to be the festival of record for the best and broadest selection of films from around the world.
"Also, we wanted to create a festival atmosphere by having most of our screenings or events at Arclight (the city's newest upscale cinema complex, encompassing the rehabbed Cinerama Dome)."
The films are broken into several categories, including a Latin Cinema showcase and an International Shorts Competition.
Of the 10 Latin Cinema films selected, one of the most anticipated is "Don't Tempt Me," written and directed by Agustin Diaz Yanes, and starring Penelope Cruz ("Blow," "Vanilla Sky"). The dark comedy pits two angels, one from heaven (Victoria Abril) and one from hell (Cruz), fighting over the soul of a boxer.
Yanes, an established screenwriter, has directed only one film. But his first effort, known in English as "Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead," won Goyas (Spain's version of the Oscars) for screenplay and film. "Don't Tempt Me" was nominated for the same honors this year.
"I had the idea for a long time, six or seven years," said Yanes from his home in Spain. "I wanted to talk about good and evil, but with a tone of comedy."
Yanes visualized heaven as 1950s Paris, which he shot in black and white. Hell is futuristic, and everyone speaks English, which Yanes chose because it is the dominant language. In the film, hell is overflowing while heaven is having a tough time admitting anyone.
Yanes never writes without a commitment from actors he wants to use. Abril was the star of his first film, and he chose Cruz because he was looking for someone who was "sexy and a good actress."
"She had become such a big star in America by the time we made the movie, but she still was willing to do it," Yanes said.
The Arclight screenings of "Don't Tempt Me," are at 9:45 p.m. Friday and 4:30 p.m. Sunday.
Shorts rarely are seen outside of festivals, and the most talked about of the more than 30 in this year's AFI Fest is "White Like the Moon," by first-time director Marina Gonzalez Palmier.
The 22-minute work, which will be screened with seven other films at 1:45 p.m. Saturday and at 7 p.m. Nov. 11, concerns a 13-year-old girl in 1950s San Antonio, whose mother forces her to bleach her skin in order to fit in better with Anglos.
Palmier, who is from San Antonio, won't go into details, but she alluded to the film resonating with instances from her childhood.
"White Like the Moon" was created as part of the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Palmier, a veteran actress who was seen on this season's premiere of "The West Wing," was one of seven women chosen for the annual program.
"I felt confident that I would be chosen," said Palmier, of Savannah, Ga., where she was attending the screening of her film at one of the festivals that selected it. "This topic has not been approached in a film that I've seen, but it's an issue that affects people of many cultural backgrounds.
"Also, I've been a working actress for a long time, and I know what it takes to get a film made."
Still, owing to budget constraints and the AFI-mandated five-day shooting schedule, there were plenty of challenges.
A dream sequence on the beach had to be shot in one specific 45-minute span because of the lighting.
Palmier and her husband/producer Richard Pierce had to find a public pool in Los Angeles that would close during the day for free.
And to set the period of the piece, Palmier had to enlist members of a car club with vintage vehicles to participate.
"And because children are in every scene, we had only nine hours a day to shoot," Pierce said.
The hard work seems to have paid off, as "White Like the Moon" has won several awards, including best short at the New York International Latino Film Festival and best short drama at the International Family Film Festival in Santa Clarita.
"We work hard to choose only high-quality films," Gaines said. "And there truly is something for everyone, even if you're not a film buff."
For 'Rent'
Six years after "Rent" opened on Broadway, people still ask the same question: Would this rock musical about the lives of struggling artists, AIDS and drug addiction have been such a success if its creator, Jonathan Larson, hadn't died unexpectedly the night before its first preview?
It's true that Larson's death -- which many people feel could have been prevented if doctors had properly diagnosed his heart condition during two visits to the hospital -- greatly increased the show's initial visibility.
But "Rent," which won a Tony for best musical and a Pulitzer Prize, continues to thrive in New York and with several tours around the world.
The U.S. tour of "Rent" is back in Los Angeles for a blistering schedule of eight performances in five days.
Keeping with the show's tradition, the cast is mostly newcomers to major productions. In fact it's the first musical of any kind for Kevin Spencer, who plays Roger, a musician who hasn't left his apartment for months after his girlfriend's suicide.
"When I auditioned, I hadn't seen the show. I didn't even know what it was," said Spencer, a Canadian musician who has toured the United States and Canada with several rock acts. "Then a couple of years later in Toronto, this girl asked me to have a drink. I went out with her and it turned out she was in 'Rent.' So I went to see the show and I loved it.
"The next day I left on a tour and five days later I got the call that they wanted me."
Though he has been appearing on stage for years, it didn't stop Spencer from experiencing a serious case of nerves. He had never acted and had only three weeks to learn the part.
But that was dozens of cities and hundreds of performances ago.
"I'm still learning as an actor, but it helps that everyone on this tour is like a family member," he said. "We're always there for each other. And things that happen between us during the day, good or bad, we can use that in our performances."
Spencer said that he feels deep respect for Larson and that he tries to honor the messages in his lyrics.
"What I hope everyone gets from this show is to measure your life in love, and remember that there's no day but today."
"Rent" is playing Nov. 13-17 at the Wilshire Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Performances are at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 and 11 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $32-$69.50, with $20 tickets (cash only) in the front two rows available at the box office on the day of that performance. For tickets, call 583-8700.
E-mail Jeff Favre at jjfavre@yahoo.com.
Home
)
