MOUNTAIN VIEWS.

Lake Placid Film Forum

Lake Placid, New York 

June 8-11, 2000

In keeping with a tradition of filmmaking that began in the silent film era and continues to some degree in the dramatic, four-season Adirondack mountain region of New York, the first annual Lake Placid Film Forum was held at various venues around the Olympic Village, the site of the 1932 and 1980 international competitions. The Forum comes partially in response to Hollywood's general trend away from the essence of narrative rooted in exploration of character and storytelling toward glossier, big budget films and even technologically-enhanced script production. The Forum is the brainchild of two area natives, artist Naj Wikoff and Kathleen Carroll, veteran film programmer and long-time critic for the New York Daily News. It came together within the last year after two novels (The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction) by local writer Russell Banks were made into films, and support for hosting the premieres of both films locally proved strong. With Banks support and literary connections, Wikoff and Carroll were able to secure financial sponsorships from such entities as I Love New York, the Writers' Guild East, the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council, New York State Council on the Arts and several corporations including HarperCollins Publishers.

The debut Forum included a dozen panel presentations and workshops, screenings of two dozen new independent feature films and documentaries, the reading of an original screenplay, book signings and four programs of short films. This year's forum placed particular emphasis on two overriding themes: film as storytelling and the related craft of the screenwriter and the effects of emerging digital technologies on the industry. The screenings also had a distinct, and purposeful, East Coast and European bias. Billed as a forum, not a festival, the Lake Placid event was intended to be "educationally based," says Wikoff, instead of providing a venue for Hollywood financiers and deal-making. Filmmakers and participants were encouraged to interact in the hope of stimulating dialogue about the practice of storytelling and its importance in our lives.

The presentations began with "The Art of Collaboration." The writer and director, editor, producer and lead actor of Other Voices (2000), an independent psychological thriller, shared not only the satisfaction of engaging with the collaborative process but divulged some of the less savory personal challenges demanded by necessary acts of compromise. Writer and director Dan McCormack explained that his editor's "gift is to make people unsure of what they believe" and that "collaboration is only an art if it works." McCormack conceded, despite the pains he went through to remain true to his initial vision and refine his screenplay that, "where you put the camera is how you tell a story." In "Role Models: Finding Inspiration in the Work of the World's Great Filmmakers," novelist and screenwriter Donald Westlake, French director Pascal Aubier and director Robert Downey spoke of being inspired by the usual suspects: Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Jean-Luc Goddard respectively. Screenwriter and actress Greer Goodman (co-writer and star of Jenniphr Goodman's comedy The Tao of Steve [2000]) said she and her co-writers, members of the current generation of young filmmakers, were particularly struck by the work of John Cassavetes, who once stated that the only thing his films were really about was love.

"From Novel to Screen" brought together the Forum's heavy-hitters in Banks, novelist Michael Ondaatje and directors Paul Schrader and Milos Forman to explore the ramifications of the popular practice of translating literary works to film. Schrader, when asked why filmmakers so readily choose to adapt novels, claimed that the appeal is due to a "paucity of imagination" and the fact that good stories are a "precious commodity." Besides, Schrader continued, "people's [real] lives do not have narrative arcs--novels do." The panel discussed the issue that while film is linear, books are inherently based in a more abstract and subjective realm, and it thus becomes the scriptwriter or filmmaker's task to select the one story from among many inherent in a written work to tell on film. Forman boldly. declared, "Directors should have the... right to take... work and make it in[to] a cinematic version," despite how it may differ from the original author's voice, as the film medium demands an abridgement and linearizati on of a novel's plethora of possible interpretations. Schrader underscored his conviction that film will continue to function as a medium for storytelling above all else, regardless of the dizzying possibilities of digital technology, if for no other reason than we have come to depend upon it as our primary conduit for fulfilling our cultural needs for relaying myths and stories.

As the Forum's creators intended, the Lake Placid event facilitated a lively dialogue among its participants, particularly regarding the brave new world of digital technology. A Saturday afternoon session entitled "New Technologies: Pitfalls, Strategies & Opportunities" presented an introduction to the new technologies--DVD, digital television, Internet streaming video, cameras, editing software and projectors--before moving on to explore the ramifications of a technological revolution being likened to the advent of sound and the industry's shift to the "talkie." Of those participating were John Barker, editor of Inside Multimedia; Jason Tugman, founder of Digitalldiots.com, a Chicago-based Web site providing technical information for digital filmmakers; and director Richard Rush. Of particular interest were the developments concerning "convergence," the long-threatening technology that will ultimately turn the world's televisions into computer monitors. In an industry where every film has its own Web page and film libraries (of both features and shorts) are being bought up for Internet distribution, the gap between audiences experiencing film in a communal setting and those viewing it from the confines of their home is shr inking at an alarming rate. What this means in terms of a story transmitted to the big screen and experienced in a communal setting remains to be seen. Despite breakthroughs in digital projection systems, converting theaters to accommodate such equipment remains an expensive proposition. Recent developments in the deregulation of theater ownership is quickly changing this economic landscape, however, and a return to studio-owned theaters might cause this shift to occur more quickly. (It is rumored that George Lucas is insisting on a certain percentage of digitally converted theaters for the release of his next Star Wars epic.) Ultimately, as more film is experienced on small, home-based monitors (with the increased flexibility of personal interaction with the medium), the craft and approach to storytelling is destined to continue its unpredictable transformation. Tugman summed up the future of digital filmmaking by saying, "this is about what we are going to do in spite of the industry."

Most valuable to the independent filmmaker was Tugman's crash course in "Digital Video Filmmaking." In a comprehensive DV101, Tugman guided participants though a hands-on, camera-to-final product overview of the new possibilities available to the independent filmmaker. Preaching the gospel of "everyone is now a filmmaker," Tugman broke down camera and lens specifics, camera feature options, format choice pros and cons, editing software options, video to film transfer concerns and cost-cutting tricks. A wellspring of useful advice and enthusiasm regarding the digital revolution, Tugman and his staff provide free technical support and access to editing equipment to aspiring filmmakers in the Chicago area.

The culmination of the dialogue surrounding digital technology occurred early Sunday morning with "The Impact of New Technology on Screenwriting." Once again the question of film as communal art versus private experience presented itself, this time in terms of the tension between digital technology and the craft of screenwriting. Panelists Banks, Irish screenwriter and director Terry George, BroadcastDVD's Jerry Adler, and indieWIRE co-founder Eugene Hernandez discussed the implications of working within a traditional industry scrambling to take full advantage of the digital revolution. Literary heavyweight Banks, while acknowledging that if he were young he would be drawn to filmmaking instead of writing, questioned the staying power of the interactivity made possible by new technologies. Banks criticized the current use of new technologies as an "attack on our consciousness," and expressed disdain for the prevalent view that "the mind is a mall." Although his sentiment is difficult to argue with in a media -driven climate where power and money are elevated over the art of storytelling and authentic human experience, it remains to be seen what will become of the forthcoming digital-savvy generation, all of them wired in, all of them potential filmmakers.

The organizers chose to mix new films--many of which are still seeking distribution in the United States--presented by their directors or cast members, with older titles. For instance, Rush presented his 1980 film The Stunt Man to coincide with the release of his new behind-the-scenes documentary of the making of the film, also shown at the Forum. Forman was honored with a tribute screening of three films spanning the breadth of his career--Loves of a Blonde (1965), Amadeus (1984) and Man on the Moon (2000)--as well as a gala reception.

The feature-length programming remained true to the organizers' mission statement of showcasing writing-centered films. The solid four-day lineup provided an arena for films strong on story, interpersonal dynamics and the inexplicable undercurrents of the human psyche. The Affair of Love (2000, by Frederic Fonteyne, France) follows two nameless strangers engaged in a short-lived affair that while intended to be purely sexual, instead evolves into something much more intimate. In the tradition of Last Tango in Paris (1972, by Bernardo Bertolucci), Belle De Jour (1967, by Luis Bu[tilde{n}]uel) and Bitter Moon (1992, by Roman Polanski), Fonteyne deftly covers the vast and complex terrain of human need, desire and the inevitability of attachment. The viewer is provided with unparalleled access to the shifting emotional worlds of the two lovers, and is shown how easily different perceptions of the same event lead to misunderstandings. In The Citizen (2000, by Jay Anania), an American journalist is sent to cover t he Civil War in El Salvador in the 1980s, and is seduced by the fervor of a charismatic rebel leader. More than just an exercise in exploring the romanticism of the revolutionary spirit and the heartbreak of betrayal, The Citizen is an accurate historical rendering of the Sandinista struggle for independence and the concomitant American intervention.

Shower (Xizao, 2000, by Zhang Yang, China) is a poignant commentary on a society threatened with the loss of its most cherished traditions amidst the backdrop of a family run bathhouse. A colorful cast of local characters compliments universal themes of the father/son relationship, generational rift, the disintegration of community and the beauty of simple ritual. McCormack's Other Voices also explores the complexities of human relationships, and how different personas and different voices of the psyche manifest themselves over time. Campbell Scott's uncharacteristic turn as a Hunter S. Thompson-like day trader helps set the film's dark and ironic tone. Also screened were festival circuit favorites Saving Grace (2000, by Nigel Cole) and The Tao of Steve, both slated for ambitious summer distribution. One of a small handful of documentaries, Poles Apart (n.d.) by Greg Stiever is a concise examination of the first all-female crossing of Antarctica in 1993. Juxtaposing trip footage and post-trek interviews with these four highly trained and equipped, grassroots-funded American women against the folly of two highly funded but ill-prepared male British trekkers, the film provided both an inspiring and humorous account of an extraordinary adventure.

Other feature highlights included Cinema Verite: The Defining Moment (2000, by Peter Witonick, Canada), about the filmmaking rebels who "changed the way we see the world" in the late 1950s and 1960s by using lightweight handheld cameras. Responding to the staid, lecture-style documentaries of the past, cin[acute{e}]ma v[acute{e}]rit[acute{e}]'s reality based documentaries would forever alter the medium of film. The film includes footage from revolutionary filmmakers Michel Brault, William Greaves, Wolf Koening, Barbara Kopple, Richard Leacock, Al Maysles, D. A. Pennebaker and Hope Ryden. Also screened was Greaves's landmark film Symbiopyschotaxiplasm: Take One (1968), which has never been released theatrically. Shot entirely in New York City's Central Park, it is an amusing critique of cin[acute{e}]ma v[acute{e}]rit[acute{e}]. A contemporary heir of the cin[acute{e}]ma v[acute{e}]rit[acute{e}] tradition, Big Monday (2000, by Michael Rehfield) follows a young professional through the streets and subways of Ma nhattan on the morning of a job interview. Shot in one unedited take from the moment the protagonist awakes (with the movements and placement of other characters he encounters entirely, but naturally, choreographed), this 56-minute black and white cityscape epitomizes the true spirit of independent filmmaking pioneered by directors like Greaves and Pennebaker. It also highlights the relative ease with which contemporary film practitioners can realize their cinematic vision technologically, especially in documentary-style work.

While the genre of the short film had a presence at the Forum, it was rather downplayed in both screenings and presentations. The workshop "Short Films" paired educator and critic David Steritt with director Au bier (who continues to make shorts while enjoying a successful career as a feature director) and addressed the process of creating and marketing shorts, focusing on new opportunities for makers on the Internet and with companies such as Cineblast in New York City, which utilizes innovative strategies such as distributing compilation tapes of short films. "The Festival Circuit" workshop, however, focused on the screening and acquisition of features, while the majority of the filmmakers in the audience were interested in shorts. Unfortunately, the festival relegated most short program screenings to .the ancillary Lake Placid. Art Center, and screenings were generally less well attended than those at the Palace Theatre, the historic, refurbished, three-screen venue where most Forum attention was focused. Two films were particularly notable among the new shorts. Joan Stein's One Day Crossing (2000) was screened as part of the Columbia/New York University award-winning films program. Filmed in Hungary, One Day Crossing is a poignant yet unsentimental story of a young mother's strength and courage during the Holocaust Charles Call's Peep Show (n.d.) is a clever twist on what usually occurs in those small, coin-operated private rooms as an increasingly enthusiastic young woman empties her wallet to hear more hyperbolic romantic talk from the two men working behind the window.

Sunday's closing party was hosted by the Hurricane Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club, at a historic Great Camp, where the audience award for Best Feature Film was given to Saving Grace, a quiet populist British comedy that has been picked up for distribution by Fine Line Features. Tulip (2000), a 15-minute comedy by Australian director/actress Rachel Griffiths about a man struggling with the loss of his wife of 45 years who must first learn to milk her cow, won the audience award for Best Short. Screenings culminated with a Sunday matinee of the fantastical 1924 silent version of Peter Pan by Herbert Brenton (acquired and conveniently "lost" for three decades by Disney) from the George Eastman House Archives and three concurrent double features of the "Best of Film Forum." All awards were determined by audience response surveys.

The success of this initial Forum was made evident by sales of nearly 500 full-access passes at $345 each, in addition to more than 1000 single ticket sales to films and related events. Future forums will continue to focus on screenwriting and issues surrounding new technologies. In response to feedback, says Wikoff, they will also include more information for producers. The challenge will be to draw crowds to this mountain resort town without succumbing to the pressure to become a hype-driven, industry-influenced, East Coast Sundance.

PETER HUTCHISON writes about film from his home in Upstate New York. KAREN VANMEENEN is editor of Afterimage.