Email this article
Keeping it Reel!
Inside/Outside Southwest rolls out the carpet on 12 2007 Four Corners independent film festivals
Addicted to YouTube? The astoundingly popular Internet site has its place in society. Besides compelling thousands of people worldwide to waste hours of time watching bone-headed movies and candid, embarrassing faux pas by celebrities alike, it has opened up a new venue for budding filmmakers. How many of them will go on to make careers out of it remains unseen (let's hope very few).
For your own sanity and education, back away from the computer screen and turn your eyes toward bigger screens in theaters across the Four Corners. Here, Inside/Outside Southwest has given you 12 (disclaimer: this list may be incomplete) rundowns on festivals in the region that show some of the most inspiring, beautiful, breath-taking, important independently made films of recent years. These aren't the Sundances or Cannes of the film world. Instead, they are small festivals that are for the masses, rich and poor. You don't need to wear Prada to get a seat. Nor do your people have to call their people to make sure the red carpet doesn't have a wrinkle in it.
Instead, these independent festivals bring you the types of films that are becoming more mainstream than Hollywood's offerings. There are no blow-'em-up films with Gov. Ah-nuld, because at these festivals, it isn't about box-office revenues. It's about showcasing immense artistic talent from a variety of genres and skilled filmmakers - touching on subjects that have meaning in our lives and communities. You'll see the real stuff, not the bowdlerized versions of big-budget movies.
Prepare to sit your butt down in 2007 at any one of these - or all - festivals that are at most a five-hour drive away. Four Corners residents love independent films and this year you won't be disappointed.
Caveat lector (that's Latin for "readers beware"): Festivals listed here are in the processes of working on their 2007 film schedules. For that reason, we urge you to check festival Web sites early and often to see what's in store this year.
Durango Independent Film Festival
Durango, Colo.
Feb. 28-March 4, 2007
Durango's festival made a comeback last year - an impressive one. In reality, the town's indie festival never did go away. Instead, when the original died under financial duress the current one stepped in to keep the reels rolling. Under new direction and with a more concrete vision and transparency, organizers of DIFF scurried last year to make the festival successful - and enough to bring it back this year.
The festival's resiliency in the face of crisis is a testament to its screenings and other event offerings. DIFF's board and volunteers love, love, love indie films. They are educated in all aspects of putting on a festival, not the least of which in knowing which films to pick for discerning audiences. For locals, the festival is a welcome shot-in-the-arm during the shoulder season from winter to spring. For tourists, it provides an outlet for seeing awesome films in an awesome mountain town.
DIFF also is very affordable. The people who bring you the festival are committed to keeping it real, so to speak. They aren't interested in the marketplace or the hype that takes over festivals and transforms them into expensive, hard-to-attend, shi-shi parties for the celebrities and the beautiful people. In fact, last year more than half of the 70 films screened at the festival were represented by the filmmakers themselves, who actually attended DIFF. Since Durango started holding an indie festival, it has been known in film circles as being the "filmmakers" festival.
Tix: An All Festival pass, if purchased by Dec. 31, is only $149 ($199 thereafter) and provides movie-goers the chance to be seated first 25 minutes before the movie begins and gives access to all festival parties and panels. Otherwise, you can buy a 10-punch pass ($75 by Dec. 31; $60 thereafter) or buy individual tickets for each film you want to see. Seating is first come, first seated.
Prescott CreeksFest
Prescott, Ariz.
September 2007
This one-day festival isn't of the typical indie variety. But it is a festival with a purpose. At least five films are shown - all educational and inspirational - in support of Prescott's environment and natural beauty. Films are about rivers and flowing waters.
For example, last year's festival showed a film about the Verde River, a cherished body of water in the Prescott area that is constantly threatened by a plethora of factors - from nearby development, population growth and lack of environmental protection. The Verde, in fact, has been identified by the American Rivers organization as one of the Top 10 endangered rivers in the United States.
The festival is a benefit for the Prescott Creeks nonprofit organization, which works to teach people about the Granite Creek Watershed riparian systems and associated wetlands.
Tix: Typically $10 for adults, $3 for students - for the set of all films.
Taos Mountain Film Festival
Taos, N.M.
October 2007
When you see some films at the Taos festival, they hit you in the chest. Really. There's nothing like the rush of seeing a powerful, frightening, glorious, potent avalanche on a big screen roaring toward your seat. It takes your breath away. So does watching villagers of a remote town in southern Peru display their intense and humbling spiritual connection to a mountain. Or shifting nervously in your seat while watching people push the boundaries of skiing, cycling, paddling ... and on and on.
To see how people live on the edge or learn the fascinating culture of people in faraway lands, watch the inimitable films at the Taos festival. It's billed as the festival for "mountaineers, mountain lovers and mountain characters." As a member of the International Alliance for Mountain Film, this festival seeks to - and succeeds in - emphasizing mountain issues that allow all of us to celebrate the earth and the diversity of people who make it inspiring.
This festival also is exploring new ways to see film. At this year's shindig, the organizers showcased peoples' short films that were shot using cell phones (known in the film industry as cell phone video art).
Tix: The Kyber Pass allows all access to screenings and programs (if you arrive 10 minutes before they start), as well as to parties and special events. You can buy a punch card that lets you bring a family and friend and use a punch for them also. Or you can buy individual tickets at the door, as available.
Duke City Shootout
Albuquerque, N.M.
July 20-28, 2007
The Duke City Shootout is a different kind of festival. And it's different in a good way. It's a festival as much for budding, competing filmmakers as it is for filmgoers. Instead of calling for already-made films to be screened for showing, the Shootout is a weeklong international script-to-screen competition. Leading up to the festival, organizers do a worldwide search for short-film scripts and select seven winners. Those lucky seven then spend a week in the Duke City to learn how to shoot, edit and show their movies. It's a whirlwind way to make a film, but it's wildly popular. With complete films, they then show their works to film-hungry audiences.
One of the key things to remember about this festival is: seven. Seven days, to be exact. Filmmakers have merely one week to bring their scripts to fruition, all the while getting feedback and instruction from professionals - and the ultimate scrutiny of viewers.
Often, people who made and showed their films at the Shootout go on to have their films shown at other well-known national and international indie festivals. For 2007, the organizers have already selected one of the seven participants, Ralph Bakshi, a writer and director from Canada. If you don't get a chance to go to the festival, don't fret. The films from the previous year can be downloaded from the Internet.
Tix: Check the Duke City Shootout Web site for upcoming information.
Zaki Gordon Institute Shorts Film Festival
Sedona, Ariz.
May 25-27, 2007
The ZGI festival is one place where you will see the results of up-and-coming film students studying at the institute. The students study such film disciplines as documentary and narrative. But they aren't limited to those. Graduated students often go on to reach high-acclaim as new filmmakers in the industry, with their works getting exposure as far away and in as prestigious places as the Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival, the American Indian Film Festival (held in San Francisco each November) and the Slamdance Film Festival (a rebellious and, surprisingly successful, alternative to the famous Sundance Film Festival held each January in Park City, Utah).
Students' films also make the regional circuit and show in northern Arizona towns. Actually - that crack about YouTube in the introduction to this article? Well, it really can be a positive outlet for serious film students. ZGI alumni Tara Golden is using the popular Web site to market her film "Peace Walker: A Search for a New Kind of Hero," in which she filmed someone walking 1,000 miles for peace. Ray, the peace walker, is an American whose brother was killed in the Iraq war. The film shows Ray's quest for peace, even if for himself, because he's "despondent about the violence in the world and the deteriorating relationship between the United States and other countries."
Tix: Call the Zaki Gordon Institute at (928) 649-4279.
Sedona International Film Festival
Sedona, Ariz.
Feb. 28-March 4, 2007
Sedona's film festival is in its 13th year - evidence that its offerings in this dramatically backdropped festival is as popular for its films as it is its location. This year, festival organizers have added an extra day to the festival, giving film-goers five full days to screen a variety of films in the categories of documentary, feature, shorts, animation, foreign and student films. Each year the festival offers more than 150 films for viewing. Also this year will be two preview nights, where film-goers can see premieres of new studio films of major independent films that will be shown during the regular festival dates.
The previews, says festival director Patrick Schweiss, "are sure to get film enthusiasts in the mood" for the remaining five days. Returning also will be the popular Frank Warner workshop, which brings Academy Award-winning professionals to Sedona to teach aspiring filmmakers about different avenues of making and marketing films.
Also for 2007, the festival will be awarding $51,000 in cash prizes for filmmaking excellence in all categories except student films.
Tix: Check the festival Web site for tickets and early-bird specials.
Santa Fe Film Festival
Santa Fe, N.M.
Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 2007
In Santa Fe, art and culture is in such abundance that the city's film festival is icing on the cake. Hundreds of films are shown at this festival, which will celebrate its 8th annual in 2007. Each year, the festival grows in all ways - attendance, film screenings and film submissions. In fact, the festival, relatively young as it is, is quickly gaining national fame and becoming another place where big film studios look to debut their films.
The 2006 festival saw the debut of "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" starring Hollywood bombshell actress Renée Zellwegger. Festival directors are now acknowledging how much Hollywood is regarding Santa Fe as part of the larger indie festival circuit. Evidence is in the facts that the festival now has major corporate sponsors; it screens films from festivals such as Cannes, shows films that are contending for Oscars; and has recently forged a partnership with the National Geographic All Roads Film Project.
The project is a traveling film festival that shows in major cities around the world, screening 30 films that are exclusively about indigenous cultures. The partnership helps give the Santa Fe Festival exposure in the growing indie-film industry and, as the festival directors say, "adds a sense of purpose" to the event.
Tix: Festival-goers can chose between the Festival Pass ($300), which includes access to all films and panels; Festival Plus Pass ($400), which includes access to all films, panels, performances and parties; or the VIP Pass ($450), which includes all the aforementioned, plus the Milagro Awards banquet and, well, "absolutely everything."
Mountainfilm Festival Telluride
Telluride, Colo.
May 25-28, 2007
You get two kinds of highs from this festival in the swanky and too-gorgeous-for-words town: one from the altitude and one from the excitement of seeing everything at the festival. Indeed, Mountainfilm is more than films about mountains.
To start, the films are inspirational, provocative and unique. Just step outside after a film and look at the very mountains that surround the small Colorado town and realize that they are for much more than skiing, hiking, camping, hunting, etc., etc., etc. They are teachers, preachers, comforters, guards and life-savers. The festival literature says it best (and accurately) when explaining that the festival films go beyond the scope of mountain sports: "Mountains have, after all, become the expanded metaphor for both the nature and the process of spirit and survival, one that no living being can escape."
Besides the films, the festival also holds a symposium, during which topical discussions are carried out by experts and invited guests. The 2007 symposium will include conservation and environmental issues, with an eye toward energy sources and sustainable solutions. The invited guests - some of whom participate - include dozens of luminaries that know a thing or two about the subjects. To wit: former President Jimmy Carter, uber-star Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore, Bill Moyers - and many more. So far, the festival has confirmed a dozen high-profile and influential guests that bring diverse ideas. Among them is Robert Baer, a former top field officer for the CIA, who has important perspectives about global business, the war on terror and U.S. politics in the Middle East. He also is the author of See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism, which inspired George Clooney's Oscar-winning movie "Syriana."
Tix: There are several levels for passes, ranging from $5000+ to the Dirtbag 6-Pack for $110 or individual tickets for $20 (after pass holders have been seated). Seats are first come, first seated. All pass holders have to stand in line for admission.
Telluride Film Festival
Telluride, Colo.
Aug. 31-Sept. 3, 2007
The Telluride Film Festival is perhaps one of the only (I could be wrong...) indie-film festivals in the country of its size and caliber that has remained true to its roots. It's been going on for nearly 34 years and it still manages to successfully escape the major press hounds, paparazzi and slick Hollywood film dealers.
It's unique for more than that. The festival does not release its film schedule ahead of time, nor does it let the public know who will attend the festival. Even the press is left out in the Colorado cold. And for good reason (safe to say it's not to pick on the press). The festival does this in order to "keep things surprising for everybody." By turning attention to its image and films from years prior, festival organizers bank their successes on consistent quality films, intelligent discussions with filmmakers and authentic interactions with major actors.
The festival is a place where films that went on to be box-office hits were first viewed by mass audiences. That includes "The Crying Game", "Bowling for Columbine", "Sling Blade", "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and more.
In Telluride, it really is about art.
Tix: The three passes available are the Acme, Festival or Patron. Each has varying prices and varying levels of admissions to events. There are individual tickets available ($20 each), but are sold only after pass holders have been seated. One bit of advice: Buy your passes early. This festival sells out quickly.
Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Albuquerque & Santa Fe, N.M.
September 2007
This tiny but growing festival hits a genre of films that is gaining recognition in the mainstream film industry, press and art fields. With its first festival in 2003 and one every year since, festival organizers attribute its success to the diverse and strong gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community in New Mexico. The festival shows more than 70 films to more than 4,000 people each year.
In some years, the festival chooses a unifying theme for films. The 2006 line-up had several films that leaned toward Spanish-speaking nations and Hispanic culture. Even movies outside of chosen themes deliver diverse entertainment and lessons from and for the GLBT community of New Mexico. At the 2006 festival, viewers screened "Almost Myself," which tracks 10 transsexual women on a journey of self-discovery, and "Camp Out," a look at gay and lesbian Christian teens. "Zero Degrees of Separation" addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "El Calentito," a film about a female rock singer set during the collapse of Franco's government in Spain, also showed.
The festival has been growing so rapidly and received so much support, that two years ago festival organizers split the screenings between the two cities. Attendance increased by a whopping 90 percent when that happened.
In between excellent films, the festival puts on several discussion panels, filmmakers showcases and a good dose of social events.
Tix: Tickets for individual films usually cost $9, with discount packages available. Ticket availability depends on the venue and its location.
Taos Wild Film Festival
Taos, N.M.
September 2007
This is one festival where there is a bunch of animals. A loud cacophony from animals. Animal behavior that will mystify you, pique your interest and turn you into an arm-chair voyeur. But I'm not talking about the audience. I'm talking about the slate of films that this two-day festival brings each year.
Since the festival is a fundraiser for Rivers & Birds, a nonprofit group that provides experiential conservation education for rural public school children in New Mexico, the films are centered on all things wild. Many of the films are award winners and have previously been shown at huge festivals in Montreal, Telluride, Ottawa and others.
This festival is unique because it is the only international wild film festival in a five-state region (the Four Corners states, in addition to Texas and Oklahoma). It also is the only local film festival that raises money to benefit public school students. Naturally (no pun intended), films are suitable for all ages. The topics are varied: swimming with whales, harvesting bamboo in China, getting personal with elephants and cheetahs, learning stories from an African mystic. With such a list, it seems like there should be an "oh my" in there someplace.
Tix: Full festival passes are $40, which allows admission to all films. Individual tickets are $5 for youth and $15 for adults; tickets for shorts programs are $5 for everyone.
Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival
Flagstaff, Ariz.
March 8-11, 2007
www.flagstaffmountainfilms.com
Similar to Telluride's mountain-film festival, Flagstaff brings audiences a plethora of films that are about outdoor adventures and social and environmental issues. From more than 100 film submissions, festival organizers select and show about half that many (44 in 2006).
A sampling of years past: In 2005, audiences watched a pre-film slide presentation from Flagstaff resident Melesa Hamer, who, with a friend, completed a 3,300-mile human-powered paddling trip from Anacortes, Wash., to Unalakleet, Alaska. The pair navigated more obstacles than water. At one point, they made a 35-mile portage over Chilkoot Pass, where they carried more than 300 pounds of gear over the mountains during a two-week period. Along the way they encountered moose, grizzlies, and whales. In 2006, audiences watched an award-winning film from Austria, "Highliner," a white-knuckle short about slackroping (walking a tight rope between two rocks with a few hundred yards of nothing but fresh air below your feet).
Each year the festival, itself a nonprofit, donates proceeds from the event to a Flagstaff nonprofit advocacy group that has a related mission to the festival's.
Tix: Ticket pricing for the 2007 festival will be announced soon. Check the festival Web site often for updates.
Indie-film lover Amy Maestas used to attend the famous Sundance Film Festival. But not because she's one of the beautiful people. Rather, it was her media credentials and family relations. Her claim to fame is watching a film next to and sharing popcorn with film star Laura Dern.
Post a comment
www.insideoutsidemag.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Read our full policy.