STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL MID-WEEK REPORT

The Starz Denver Film Festival is now well underway, with screenings occurring not only at the one-time festival central at the Tivoli Center but also at the new film center on Colfax next door to the cities two most treasured retail institutions The Tattered Cover and Twist and Shout records.   The festival's big-ticket items take place at the swanky Caulkins Opera House, which is a well suited, glamorous context for film or just about any affair.    That's where a packed house caught Danny Boyle's latest  127 hours, a spectacle that perhaps sounds better on paper but managed to pull its weight for the most part on the big screen.  While Boyle was set to receive the Mayor's yearly career achievement award the following evening, he was not available to introduce his big night film, leaving some in the audience to wonder if he was trapped under a rock in a Utah Canyon.  Fortunately the subject of his latest was in town, and in fact a Denver resident, providing as unique an introduction to his story as one could ask for, a nice and fitting touch for the festival.  His story is, of course, quite simple: man goes on an outdoor expedition to the Canyonlands of Utah, tells nobody where he is going, briefly meets and carouses with a couple of young women (whom he does not sleep with, even though he looks like James Franco), continues on his merry way and all of a sudden ends pinned 7/8 ths of the way down a slim canyon by a boulder that dislodges as he confidently traverses through.   It's definitely a fatalistic moment that could have ended much worse from the start, but if you believe in a playfully vengeful god, this scenario is far more appropriate.  And of course there are a ton of different possibilities in how to direct this material, Boyle proves as capable as anyone to ride this one-trick pony though I'd be hard pressed to call it his best (and I for one was not a Slumdog fan).  There are a lot of good reasons why people will connect with the film, however, whether it's having suffered any kind of injury involving a severed digit, or the mutual appreciation of isolation from your fellow man as a superior state of being.  And just about everyone I know has done something stupid that they end up regretting, though few go so far as to be able to contemplate the site of their own grave over it. The whole thing makes for a good night of drinking and storytelling, and the fact that the subject hails from Denver makes it all the sweeter as a major component to get the festival rolling.

My following evening out proved to resonate on a much different level.  Longtime film society patron and collaborator Joey Porcelli unveiled her first short film Condemned to an appreciative audience preceding one of the superior documentaries of the festival There once was an island. Joey's anger over the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989 once brought her to the brink of creating her first short film, a simple combination of text and imagery relating the tragedy in straightforward terms.  That she ended up shelving the project could be due to a lot of reasons, but she found new reasons and a stronger context to reprise the piece once this summer's BP oil-spill began to impact the collective consciousness.  It's hard to really critique a brief, socially aware work such as this, the timing and context is really what gives it impact.  But it's as much a statement about history repeating itself as it is a view of how visual history and our access to it have dramatically changed in just twenty years, for aspiring filmmakers everywhere.  Regardless, it was a nice moment in the bigger picture of the festival that brought one of it's longest and probably best patrons to the forefront on screen.

The feature that followed proved to be well worth the trip, the treatise of a remote island and existence of a 1000-year old culture being threatened by global warming proving to be significantly less heavy-handed than I would have imagined.  What is depicted is a scenario that captures the drama of life on many different levels, the context of sea-levels rising simply forcing many ageless issues that at the root of humanity. Some of the Islanders are against the option of moving en-masse to the larger mainland of Papua New Guinea, while others embrace the concept of being the "first" to make new roots and get on with their lives.  Much of the problem comes from the scale of the island economy and how that relates to the mainland culture, but the issues relating to it are relevant to a larger picture and one gets the feeling that it's more a matter of motivation than anything.  It's hard to watch the beach-side homes get flooded in real-time from an unusually high-tide, but the question begs as to why the islanders don't move their homes further inland to avoid such catastrophes in the first place.  Beach-front property is a costly thing no matter where you are, but the people of the film are also greatly limited in resource and education that might help them to adapt to the threat that's slowly brewing.  Ultimately, there are no firm resolutions offered and there is unlikely to be any.  The wider context of how many people across the globe may be threatened by nature's evolution drives the final point home, one most of us may or may not ever know in our lifetime.

The big-screen experience is definitely the high-point of attending the festival, but fortunately I had time to review several other films in advance of their festival screenings, including another local effort of feature-length in the narrative category that will make its debut towards this week's end.  Starz Film Festival staffer Neil Truglio's We are the sea has nothing at all to do with rising tide's, at least not those of the earth, but it has everything to do with impending change and understanding of the human spirit and personal evolution that can be enhanced through the interaction with others.  This quite, understated film was very impressive on a number of different levels, though it's most noted as an interpretation of the music by the Sub-pop band "Iron and Wine."  Truglio shows a fine gift for composition and pacing, one that is rare from a first-time effort and should allow him to move on towards a more developed career in film.  His acting leads (which include our ex-babysitter Chantelle Frazier) deliver honest and inspirational performances that could also pave the way towards greater careers in film.  It's nice to see this kind of talent so close to home, and I don't think the selection of "We are the sea" is gratuitous at all, particularly judging by how many other festivals across the country it has already been included in.  Perhaps there is a true movement occurring here in Colorado, and hopefully our new governor might find it wise to finally advance the cause of film production across the state so that one day big-time directors like Danny Boyle might decide to spend their budgets in Colorado instead of our neighbor Utah (though we must say the creative talent in the industry there is extremely high!).

It's nice to have the opportunity to watch something like "We are the sea" and compare it to other current indie-fare such as Tiny Furniture, a quirky narrative whose director has been touted as one of the 25 US filmmakers to watch by Filmmaker magazine.  Director Lena Dunham shows obvious ambition and ability with her film, providing a level of much-needed depth to the proceedings by serving as actor, writer and director.  But her vision might leave some audiences cold, as a lot of the proceedings come across as pretty pretentiousness, including the contemporary art context which rarely if ever seems genuine in narrative film.  I like to laugh and so wanted to but only on occasion did laughter come naturally with "Tiny Furniture," even the more inspired moments that are kind of funny. But it should speak well to a younger audience that takes "youtube" artists seriously and is a fine example of contemporary society finding a voice in film.

The changing of the guard

Two other films gained entry into Starz this year most likely on the basis of their major awards through prior prestigious festivals, including Berlin's Silver Bear winner How I ended this Summer and recent Cannes jury prize winner A Screaming Man.  Both also fit the mold of their relative festival wins quite well, and neither is likely to see much box-office outside of the festival circuit. These are excellent tales of human nature getting the best of the individual, along with elements far out of anyone's control having the greater impact.  In the case of the Russian "How I ended the summer", two men of tremendous age-disparity and circumstance share a remote work station at the Arctic Circle, their breakdown in communication leading to potentially tragic results. The film fits well into the genre of Russian existentialism as well as a contemporary dialogue on culture shift amongst the generations, and it's as well crafted as one might imagine for a polar narrative.  It's also fantastically long and slow paced, so those who prefer the hyper-speeded up action of "127 hours" may not do as well here.  "A screaming man" is a more sustained and perhaps durable affair that shows the context of impending rebel-based war in Chad as a disruptive force on ordinary lives, with a slow building family conflict leading to tragic (and most likely quite common) results.  The simplicity of the narrative is handled with strong, subtle direction by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, which seemingly defies much tradition for the Cannes prize by virtue of location though really it's as solid and thoughtful a piece as anything likely in contention this year.  And it's definitely in keeping with the mission of Starz or any caliber film festival in providing substantial world cinema that might otherwise go unnoticed.

STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW PART TWO

The Starz Denver Film Festival officially kicks off today, with a bounty of national and international features, shorts and special programs on tap for the next ten days (and nights!).  The festival has a lot to celebrate this year, as does the city of Denver with our current mayor having just been elected to the govern the entire state of Colorado.  But all the good news comes with major sorrow for both the festival and the Mayor, as news broke out last weekend that George Hickenlooper passed away unexpectedly (and at a young age) shortly after his arrival in Denver and prior to the premier of his latest film "Casino Jack" on Thursday night.  The festival will pay tribute to George (who we previously had misstated as John Hickenlooper's brother, he's actually his cousin) all week and of course the state of Colorado will pay tribute to John as he takes the reins and hopefully will prove up to the task and be as widely popular and effective as he's been governing the city of Denver.

As the festival gets set to kick into high gear, we have a few more films to recommend, comment on, and encourage everyone to see and formulate their own opinion about. 

Mandatory viewing for anyone in Denver's cultural scene

Echotone is an excellent documentary on the Austin music scene, with profiles on several quality bands who call Austin home yet can't seem to crack out of the local scene.  This thoughtfully composed documentary has a lot of strong content relating to the absurd level of competition in the music business (which relates equally well to any other creative field, ie...film, visual arts, etc...) and is definitely important viewing for anyone with an interest in the complexities of secondary markets in the US that are achieving stature within the global discourse of creative arts.  The film is pretty loose and doesn't force anything down your throat the way some docs try to, and at times it feels a bit experimental in its own right, which is pretty perfect given the subject.  It's a great entry point into some of the bands profiled (including "Ume" who once performed an amazing set at Plus Gallery many years back) and hopefully might have the effect of breaking them out into a wider audience, as it's quite obvious that just being talented in the "Music capital" of the world isn't nearly enough, a lesson that a lot of us learn the hard way in the arts.

 Ume

And you thought your family was screwed up!

A number of dramatic features I previewed are based on the age-old issue of family relationships and how they tend to destroy the soul of the individual.  None could be more dramatically over the top then the US indie Fanny, Annie & Danny, a feature that feels like a Sundance hit but probably missed that mark just barely based on the fact that none of the actors are established or in-vogue.  But that's too bad, as the acting in this ensemble piece is very strong, and the directing for the most part solid for what is undoubtedly a very low-budget piece.  This story of three siblings, all with a major mommy-issue (namely that the mother is an extreme, cantankerous bitch) reaches deeply into complex relationships with far-reaching effects.  The clever title is just a start to what is a solid story structure that gradually peels back the layers towards its final climax.  It's not as tight as it could be, but it's definitely a promising debut and likely to be enjoyed by anyone who ventures to see it during the fest.

Much better, and possibly a fit for the greater market outside of the festival, is the Polish effort Erratum which  also deals with family issues though in a much more thoughtfully structured and somber context. This film is a beautifully composed character study with excellent depth into the human condition,  with cinematography that is rarely seen in our digital age anymore and perfectly captures the subtleties of the story.  A man's brief journey home becomes an extended affair as he accidentally kills a homeless man who cuts into his path while driving at night.  His search for the man's family leads him to reflect on his own existence and how he came to be in the situation in the first place.   The climax in this case is thankfully the exact opposite of "Fanny, Annie, etc.." and likely to bring genuine tears to it's audience.

And now for something completely Iranian

This year's festival has a nice and timely spotlight on films from Iran, offering a diverse selection of features that should shed much-needed light on this society that the US government is continually at odds with. Anyone with a deeper knowledge of film has already been exposed to the more celebrated directors from the region, but the selection here seems to delve much deeper into what society is like for individuals that we can relate to in a more normalized context, at least this is the case in the two that I previewed.  The festival descriptions for both My Tehran for Sale and Dog Sweat are very similar, and I was thrown a bit by them, not exactly expecting dramatic narratives.  Both have a shoot-from-the-hip feel to them, something which should be expected as I'm assuming it's not easy to make a narrative film in Tehran, but each has it's finer points in regards to story and cinematic quality.  "My Tehran for Sale" definitely seems to be coming from a more refined visual sensibility, it's very assured for a debut feature with a slow and solemn tone that focuses on a woman's plight through the pseudo-bohemian sector of Iranian society.  I felt there was a bit of confusion in the structure of the narrative, but it nevertheless carried a depth and impact that resonates strongly with the narrative. "Dog Sweat" is operating in a parallel universe for sure, though it should be the more popular of the two as it offers a greater swath of characters to follow and substance to chew on, with multiple love triangles that are almost the realm of soap-opera but carry a much greater impact with how the material is presented (undoubtedly from a director who has maybe studied his craft outside the country).  In both cases it's fascinating to see Tehran from the street as well as inside of people's homes and lives.  It's also easy to see that our two society's are not so different, people are people with the same ugliness, motivations and attributes, the only difference being the freedom that we've acquired and almost take for granted in relationship to other parts of the world.

Is there really a Cinema superstar from Thailand?

Did you know that the most critically acclaimed film director in the entire world right now (and for the last decade perhaps) is Apichatpong Weerasethakul (or Joe, as he is most lovingly referred to)?  This is true and unusual information, best understood when viewed through the same lens as say the contemporary art world where the most obscure and hyper-disorienting artists are the most celebrated yet probably the least understood.  And you might not glean much on Joe's latest Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by reading the description in the festival guide, which claims the films scale as "modest" but it's heart "large and incandescent."  What I would say is that this is some of the most radical, experimental cinema being made right now, the fact that it is winning awards (such as the recent Cannes Palme d'Or) no mistake, though you are unlikely to get the same reaction from say the academy awards.  Weerasethakul's work is challenging to say the least, he has proven that through almost a half-dozen features to date, some of which are slightly easier than others to digest.  But Bonmee has already been hailed by some critics as one of the greatest films of all time as well as his most accessible, and I would suspect that 99.99999% of the world would disagree on principle alone.  From a purely artistic perspective, Bonmee has exquisite depth and is highly watchable. Weerasethakul is clearly aiming for something that I believe equates much more towards painting in his sense of pacing and composition. Ultimately the mystery of his narrative is a perfect reflection of that sensibility, there is no need to "get it".  Audiences will either relish this offering or turn their noses up the way they do at most contemporary art, failing to understand the artistic position that it comes from as well as the idea that cinema doesn't need to be compartmentalized in order to fully function.  Fortunately this is a great opportunity to test your understanding and dedication to the medium, courtesy of Starz.

If you want to learn more about Apichatpong, check out the excellent interview with him from this summer's issue of Cinemascope 

The mexican feature The Black Panther is probably the antithesis of "Bonmee" in that it's obviously trying to be something more important than the sum of his parts (and narrative flow) yet ultimately tries too hard in being mysterious.  It's a good looking film and likely to be more pleasing for general audiences, the quirky narrative showing it's most winning side as it unfolds early on with an everyman detective being asked by no less than three people to come up with an impossible task for loads of money.  The tables turn on him quickly, as he realizes that all three are really in control of his life (particularly the character who goes by "god"), kind of like a dog chasing its tail only to find that it's been cut off long ago.  It's the perfect film that seems to be going somewhere, throws in low-budget aliens (much like Bonmee!) as well as a Mexican Elvis,  and just somehow seems to be about great, possibly mundane mysteries of life, culminating in a tribute to Bergman!   Certainly better on the screen than on my crappy tv, and acknowledgment that the Mexican industry can have fun with film too.

There is a serious side to the festival too

Much of what makes this or any festival great, are the documentary contributions that would otherwise end up on a shelf collecting dust or perhaps airing on PBS late at night.  These are most suited to those with a keen interest in the subject, and two that I previewed should certainly be of interest to their respective audiences.

Forgotten Transports: Latvia - This documentary is one of a four part series that includes Belarus, Estonia and Poland, which I assume taken collectively has an even greater impact than individually.  But with the election climate of the last two weeks I was in no mood for more depression and chose to let the Latvian episode be my lesson in the unfortunate ways of humanity.  Not that these are fully demoralizing, certainly the context of how some jews managed to survive the holocaust has it's uplifting moments, and the exhausting amount of effort that the Polish filmmaker Lukas Pribyl put into composing this collection is to be celebrated, particularly as each location has it's finer points of how survival was managed by a few.  But it is tough stuff to watch, particularly as our society seems to have no bounds when it comes to one person or ideologies ability to repress another to the utmost extremes.  The power of the film comes from the small collection of interviews that intermingle and detail the finer points of the tragedy, with the most shocking statistic at the end (at least of the Latvian segment) when it's revealed how few of the jews survived in total from the transports, suggesting that the ones interviewed are the only left still alive.

Another feature that is both uplifting yet a slap in the face of reality, is the documentary Trust a great calling card for programs such as Denver's PlatteForum (which is an official sponsor), that tells the human side of teen troubles and how the arts can lead to a path of healing and a better life.  The very idea of trust is a hard one for troubled teens to grasp, but through programs such as Chicago's "Albany Park Theatre Project" one can watch how it unfolds and get a better look at why teachers dedicate themselves to the subject and learn more about the lives of those effected.  The Starz Denver Film Festival should be applauded for giving programs like this access and air-time for the greater good.

STARZ DENVER FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW FOR THE ARTISTICALLY INCLINED FILM LOVER

This year's Starz Denver Film Festival is right around the corner, commencing November 3rd,and is standing strong after 30 years as one of Denver's cultural touchstones that speaks to an enthusiastic and diverse audience.  While the festival has numerous opportunities for more profitable and high-profile mainstream films (and an exceptional recent history of academy award nominees and favorites filling the bigger slots), it is the specialty subjects and more remote features that really make it resonate.  So while the queueing may still be heaviest for Governor, I mean Mayor John Hickenlooper's brother's film "Casino Jack" or Danny Boyle's latest "127 hours," there are plenty of opportunities to find a seat for some of the more obscure pleasures such as this years focus on Iranian cinema, the Martin Scorsese profile of director Elia Kazan, or even "Pelada," the expose on soccer's universal stature in the sporting world.

I always start each festival by looking into films that might have a direct connection to contemporary visual art, the lineup generally offering a handful of features with enough zest to satisfy.  While this year's slate is limited in that category, the three I previewed are all solid and in the case of the documentary Marwencol, most likely one of the most unusual and engaging of the entire program.  Jeff Malmberg's depiction of artist Mark Hogencamp's unforeseen artistic journey is so astounding that it almost seems preposterous. Hogencamp and his art isn't exactly endearing on the immediate surface, the man was an alcoholic (and likely difficult human being) prior to being beaten within inches of his life, and made his artistic mark on the world with doll-based photography.  But every single aspect surrounding those two key elements is simply fascinating, the project itself any documentarians dream to reveal.  The title is derived from the universe Hogencamp created entirely from a collection of vintage dolls and whatever other materials he could put together for a very unusual therapy, and is an amalgamation of three real-life figures of great importance to the man.  Of course Mark never had any desire or ambition to share this universe with others outside of his immediate environment, like most artists would, and so the authenticity of the work as well as how he came to find his creations displayed in a prominent NYC gallery is riveting from start to finish.   The subject is treated with the utmost respect, Hogencamp himself offering much in the way of personal depth and sensational honesty that would be highly unlikely without the supreme trauma that created his situation.  And from my own experience in the art business, his work easily reaches way past the best of the genre.  Those who are well versed in the field might recall the 2005 issue of the excellent contemporary art journal Esopus which first featured Mark's story with a limited visual essay and interview.  The film takes the seed from that feature and develops it to thoroughly robust proportions, in essence delivering a gift to everyone who understands that depth of the human experience is of major importance in understanding any single work of art.

I can't recall the Starz Denver Film Festival featuring a screening that is actually a pure work of visual art, at least in a feature-length format, but Phil Solomon's American Falls is just that.  Colorado's reputation as a place for experimental cinema to be made and appreciated can be attributed primarily to the late, great Stan Brakhage, with the festival offering a yearly tribute in Stan's honor to filmmakers exploring the experimental and avante garde.  Perhaps the respect in a sleepy western state such as Colorado wouldn't be the same without Brakhage, but his legacy does seem to have inspired a pure following of both filmmakers and enthusiasts of the genre, including CU Boulder professor Phil Solomon, who was commissioned to create American Falls by Washington D.C.'s Corcoran Gallery of Art for their grand rotunda, in honor of their most celebrated painting "Niagra" by Frederick Owen Church (1857).  The result is a three-screen abstraction that includes a ton of sumptuous emulsion manipulation, historic sepia-toned imagery and a bevy of techniques culled directly from the experimental filmmakers handbook.  It is a striking piece of work that undoubtedly only resonates on a large screen or exhibition space such as a museum, and another gift to the film community here in Denver compliments of Starz.  As a feature, it's relatively brief at 55 minutes but also preceeded by another Solomon short based entirely on imagery from the video-game Grand Theft Auto.  But I must warn, those who don't have a taste for motion-based art may want to stick to the Hickenlooper film.....

Another intriguing work proposing the impact of visual art on society and culture is the US/Russia collaboration The Desert of Forbidden Art, a grand and highly implausible story of a very singular art museum in the remotest of regions, the desert of Uzbekistan.  As with most propositions, the Nikus Museum is the legacy of a visionary and obsessive individual, Igor Savitsky, who fancied himself an artist at a young age but went on to become a most inspiring and important collector of "lost" art.  Through many savvy techniques that involve wooing artists as well as soviet agents to support his endeavor, Savitsky managed to create a singular collection that would obviously never have materialized in any other way. The film imparts many important concepts towards this endeavor, mainly that Savitsky didn't care so much about his own health and well being, as well as that once established it would be up to others to somehow hold it together.  Though that striking ring of familiarity to it, particularly in these parts, the era and location make it a profoundly rich and moving story, one that most anyone with a soul for art should easily enjoy and relate to.  The fact that artists would often give their work up to this madman/visionary is also keen to note, and makes me think a lot about art scenes like Denver's where there is little genuine appreciation for what is being created here, at least in the contemporary vein.  Oddly enough the film includes voice talent by Ben Kingsley, Sally Field and Ed Asner to fill out the historic narrative, proving that at least three individuals based in the mainstream actually do have that soul.

AUTHOR, AUTHOR!

While films relating purely to contemporary visual arts are fewer this year than in previous festivals, there is a nice range of exposes on major literary figures and other topics relating to a historic dialogue on the arts.  The trio of  docs on writers is specifically welcome, each offering a meaty perspective for their respective audiences and collectively delving deeply into the nature of how to approach such topics when the very nature of the subjects isn't exactly visual.  In the case of William Burroughs: A Man Within you are dealing with a figure whose very presence and persona is almost cinematic enough.  At first I questioned the necessity for this treatise on Burroughs, but the effort quickly proved of value in both its perspective of this figure's deeper influence on our culture as well as his emotional gravity as a unique and complex individual.  The access that the young director is given for the project is remarkable enough, particularly as his bio notes his status of film-school dropout. It's hard to imagine Burrough's spending his final years in Kansas, but his relationships within that state are ultimately what led to this doc and it's as fine an effort as one can ask for.  The historic footage is a real treat and a number of the subject's interviewed to flesh things out will also be of interest to most audiences primed for the subject (particularly Gennesis P. Orridge). The director employs some simple animations to turn each chapter, they come across as somewhat mildly fancy displays of creativity but definitely don't take away from the bounty of insite revealed throughout.  Unless someone unveils some footage of Burroughs at a much younger age, this will likely stand as the final take on this fascinating man and his life.

That might not be the case with the biography Norman Mailer: The American, which is I believe is the first on this distinguished author.  It is also quite a fascinating journey, I can't claim to have much personal depth with Mailer but it's clear that he's as historic a figure of 20th century literature as Burroughs and a thoroughly different beast to relate to.  The story is told through a progression of his many published novels, as well as a lengthy series of wives through his numerous failed marriages. One gets the sense that were Mailer alive he might not completely approve of the treatment at hand (he dabbled rather unsuccessfully as a filmmaker himself), and at times the documentary relies on symbolic footage to carry the visual message,  but the story of this writers life and impact is strong enough for that to be forgiven and it should prove effective in possibly cultivating a new generation of readers.

Rounding out the focus on authors, and definitely the most remote of the lot, is the essay on writer and activist Grace Paley in the film Collected Shorts.  I will admit to not having any direct prior knowledge of Paley, she's definitely a figure embedded in a specific time and genre.  I can also admit that I was a teetering a bit on watching the piece, it's the most straightforward doc of the lot.  But it is also strong in its own way, at least for those who consider the historic value of the documentary medium.  Paley was obviously an important and daring woman, one who quietly followed a consistent path that resulted in greater standing for women in both literature as well as society at large.  There's even a great sequence that juxtaposes well with the Mailer doc, not to mention terrific footage of the author throughout her years.  Now if only the filmmakers had asked Sonic Youth to score the soundtrack like in the Burroughs doc, it might have a better shot at a larger audience.

WASN'T PUNK JUST SO COOL?

Indeed it was, and at least two documentaries are around to prove that, or at least suggest that the term punk will never die.  The most obvious of the lot is the documentary Blank City, which portrays NYC's hip transgressive culture scene from the 70's, providing a deep and lengthy analysis of how music, art and a certain low-brow spirit led to a number of important movements in film.  While it's certainly a relevant prospect to show how the ascendancy of No Wave and the Cinema of Transgression led to the formal basis of indie film, it all seems just a bit taxing on the viewer, even at only the hour and a half mark.  But there is good solid historic analysis going on here, and ultimately one gets a sense that one thing led to another in a city that rightly cultivated movements and talent across every cultural sphere of importance at a time when lower Manhattan looked like a war bunker.  It's not too much fun to watch snippets by some of the DIY pioneers, their aesthetic barely above the level of most of today's you-tube culture, but there is a ton of relevance when you see the material transform at the hands of an auteur like Jim Jarmusch, who actually had both skill and a hip persona to become a truly relevant and distinguished career director.   But there are some good stories along the way, and it is nice to note that some of these individuals really were not cut out for mainstream success in any way but were also, well, kind of just normal people?

Barbershop Punk takes the term in a different direction, one that in my opinion is a bit of a mistake for the filmmakers.  There is very little that is punk about barbershop, and maybe even less-so surrounding issues of net neutrality.  But somehow the two terms come together to paint a picture of a modern-day hero who found himself one minute on his death-bed, the next as the individual who forced the FCC, Comcast and the federal government to take a closer look at perilous issues of freedom and net neutrality.  It's actually a  bit confusing to relate in a paragraph, let alone a full-length documentary, and unfortunately the first half hour of this piece made me question bothering at all.  But the further Barbershop Punk rolls along, the better it gets and the more it makes us gasp at the complexities and uncertainties facing our current internet-based universe.   It's a human interest story for sure, with the hero being a normal, good natured citizen with nothing really to gain and a lot to lose by going out on a limb, bolstered by a number of interviews from old punks who take this shit very seriously and thus provide something more glamorous for the audience to relate to through the proceedings.  Perhaps someone will decide to give this the Hollywood treatment and jazz it up just a bit, a little fictional context certainly wouldn't hurt!

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Or maybe not, Europeans have been tossing out ludicrous narrative features by the bucketful for ages, and thus the term "Art House" somehow seems to derive from their better attempts.  But every year the festival is full of efforts that miss the more popular art-house screens here in America and undoubtedly don't make much of an impact in their own stations.  But at least they try, and the Hungarian feature Bibliotheque Pascal seems to at least be some kind of contender.  While well filmed and acted (for the most part) and claiming the mantle of Hungary's nominee for Best Foreign Language Film for the upcoming  2011 Academy Awards, it's doubtful to give the Romanians much of a run for their money as the "it" thing in current world cinema.  But this hallucinatory tale of dreams and debasement does have its higher merits, and when considered, say, in relationship to this year's unlikely blockbuster "Inception" I'd have to say I spent a lot more time trying to make sense of it all after the fact.  It's pretty good, slightly demented fun that feels a perfect fit for the international narrative portion of the festival.

We'll have more reviews and notes on additional films from Starz next week, we recommend getting tickets now for any features you might want to see.