It has been an absolute whirlwind two days ever since I landed 48 hours ago. My head is spinning from all the movies, parties, and blue magic of the Mediterranean! Below are some fun snapshots from the Opening Night Party for the March du Film, held at the Majestic Beach. More entries to follow as soon as I get a bit more time!
xoxo, Riviera Gossip Girl
Last Tuesday night, there’s a reason the show sold-out a week in advance and a wait-list line began congregating an hour prior to showtime. STF was screening Jonathan Demme’s rarely seen print SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA (1987) and everyone delighted in an opportunity to remember Spalding Gray. The evening was co-presented by the Woodstock Film Festival. Co-founder and executive director Meira Blaustein conducted the post-film Q&A with Demme, editor Carol Littleton (whose editing credits include E.T., THE BIG CHILL and many others) and impromptu guest Judy Arthur (member of the KILLING FIELDS crew and features in Spalding’s monologue). To read more about the evening, visit Karina Longworth’s blog here.
L to R: Judy Arthur, Jonathan Demme, Carol Littleton, Meira Blaustein, Raphaela Neihausen. Photo courtesy of Steven Krasnopolsky (Vernissage Studio 21).
Two sold out theaters welcomed Doug Pray’s latest film ART & COPY. These special screenings happened to fall during the One Show Festival that attracts thousands of ad professionals to New York. The packed house included advertising legends George Lois, Mary Wells and Jim Durfee – who all shared the stage for the Q&A. (Photo of Doug Pray and George Lois, best known for his Esquire covers)
The top documentary awards at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival went to… (drum roll please…):
Best Documentary Feature: Racing Dreams
Marshall Curry’s documentary is a gripping tale about young go-karters who one day dream of driving in the big leagues of NASCAR. “We reacted with unanimous, unquestioned affection for Racing Dreams,” the jurors state, “and found it a completely compelling, entertaining film of incredible quality.” Read my previous blog on this film here.
Winner of the audience award at Full Frame and a special jury prize at SXSW, THE WAY WE GET BY had its first New York sneak preview at Stranger Than Fiction last night and won over yet another sold out crowd. This moving film tells the story of an airport in Bangor, Maine where senior citizens volunteer and greet soldiers that are flying to or returning from war. A strength of the documentary is that it steers clear of political trappings and instead focuses on the importance of supporting soldiers as fellow Americans who are serving their country. The film also succeeds in shedding light on the many obstacles facing the elderly, demonstrating how volunteering at an airport provides them with a vital sense of purpose and community. Director Aron Gaudet and producer Gita Pullapilly (photo) joined us for a Q&A in which they shared many entertaining anecdotes about the film’s protagonists. My favorite is that at the Cleveland Film Festival, audiences were so moved by the film that they showed up at the airport to send off film subject Jerry. Now that’s the power of a documentary!
The evening was copresented by the Camden International Film Festival (a wonderful Maine event now in its fifth year) and the highly esteemed PBS strand POV (that will broadcast THE WAY WE GET BY this coming fall).
