Finished with my jury responsibilities, I managed to check out some features. A favorite of mine was Chelsea on the Rocks, by Abel Ferrara (director of Bad Lieutenant and a terrific little mob flick called The Funeral). It's a documentary about the infamous Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, but it's far from traditional. There are lots of odd transitions and edits, the interviews are beyond casual (Ferrara says something along the lines of "No shit!" every ten seconds while listening to the stories of those living in the building), and there are some utterly ridiculous and unnecessary re-enactments of notorious events in the hotel's past (actors play Sid and Nancy, Janis Joplin, and assorted hangers-on). Truth be told, the whole thing was kind of a mess. But watching it felt a lot like spending a night in the hotel, and it's a ride I'm glad I took. I didn't learn a thing, but it brought me inside a place full of fascinating characters, a place I walked past countless times in Manhattan without a second thought.

As much as I might not be a huge fan of the multitude of film festivals and awards shows where awards are seemingly given away for almost anything these days, some festivals do provide a valuable service to the filmmaking community. I'm specifically referring more to the ones that showcase independent and lower budget films or genres that traditionally don't fit easily into the mandate of the major awards shows or festivals. One of these gatherings is the Toronto After Dark Film Festival -- which is now gearing up for its 2nd go-around.

At this particular event, which bills itself as "Canada's premier showcase of thrilling international cinema," you'll be exposed to and have the chance to experience a diverse slate of horror, sci-fi, fantasy and thrilling films not just from Canada, but from around the world. Part of the mandate of the fest is to expose people to innovative and independent cinema they might not otherwise get to experience in a theater setting. The fest also helps to foster homegrown talent by offering a program featuring Canadian filmmakers who might not otherwise have their films exposed to a large audience (or, in some cases, any audience at all).

Of course, according to the fest's official site, even though they have a large selection of features, shorts and other film-related programming, its not all about the movies. During the event there will also be several parties hosted by the fest as well as, according to the site, a "hugely popular zombie walk" in downtown Toronto. Screenings of great films from undiscovered talent that helps promote independent filmmaking and zombies? What could be better than that? The fest runs from October 19-25.

Screen legend Lauren Bacall has never been one to keep her opinions to herself. At a press conference in Berlin for her new film, The Walker with Woody Harrelson, about a high-class male escort, Bacall spoke about the negative impact that television has had on the movie business. Bacall was quoted as saying, "I think there are still people who really want to do good work. Unfortunately, in television, sometimes they want to do good work but a lot of the time they're doing terrible work - and I think that has affected moviemaking badly." Bacall never quite explained what that effect was, and as much as I hate to argue with a screen icon, personally I would disagree.

TV shows like 24, LOST, and The Sopranos have definitely raised the bar on what to expect from a television show. In some cases, critics think that TV might even surpass Hollywood fare. Whether Bacall is debating what makes a legend or standing up to the House of Un-American Activities, she isn't afraid to speak her mind. When you've managed to survive for over sixty years in the movie business, you have probably earned the right to. What do you think -- is the proliferation of bad television hurting the movies?

You're a budding short film maker, that is to say a maker of film shorts, and not a height-challenged director, but you have a problem ... where do you submit your films for consideration? Besides the Sundance Film Festival and a slew of other places to put your films (YouTube, iFilm, your own blog, etc), none of them really takes much advantage of the short film format and puts it somewhere that allows you take the film with you.

Enter The Flux and their 2007 iPod Film Festival. They're looking for a few good films under ten minutes in length, and you can win prizes that include iPods (of course) and a Mac Mini. Plus, there will be the glitz and glamor that comes along with your newfound celebrity status to deal with. It's free to enter, they have several different categories and they want you.

With so many cameras available on the cheap, (your cell phone might even have a built in video feature, check it out Spielberg) it's high time you unleashed your creativity and made 2007 the year that you finally start making your own movies. After all, Time Magazine named You the person of the year, so you have a lot to live up to. Get rolling and make some magic.

The tragedy of Jonestown was the ultimate failure of the 'free love' commune lifestyle. In 1978, 913 followers of The Peoples Temple committed mass suicide. 18 years later that event is still in the popular conscience -- we've all heard the phrase "drink the kool-aid"; tasteless maybe, but the morbid never fails to fascinate. So on that note, the trailer for the documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of The Peoples Temple is now online at Apple. The film was directed by Stanley Nelson, and attempts to explain how a group of people with only the best intentions for living in peace, harmony and all that good stuff could culminate in a shoot-out with government agents and mass murder. Thankfully, the film seems to steer clear of any wacky conspiracy theories about the tragedy and there are some winners, believe me. The film got favorable reviews on the festival circuit and while there was concern that the film would not get a theatrical release, a limited release began on October 20th. The director has also promised that the film will air on PBS in the future.

[via Apple-Trailers]

While working the Rome Film Festival for his film The Departed, Martin Scorsese has announced a project with festival organizers to re-store and preserve 100 Italian cinema classics. First on the block is Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West starring Henry Fonda and Jason Robards. Leone's classic western has been hanging by a thread for a while now; few prints exist and those that do are in terrible condition.

Scorsese has always been one of the loudest supporters of maintaining and preserving classic films. At a festival event, Scorsese spoke to journalists about the project: "You can find that color (deterioration) can happen as quickly as within six years ... Millions of dollars goes into this industry and nobody thought about preserving the film. It's incredible."

So far, Scorsese and the National Film Preservation Foundation have convinced Sony, Warner Bros., and other major studios to start preserving their collections. The Rome Film Festival is promising to help finance the project and do a few films per year (with no word yet on how much this might actually cost). Film restoration is an incredibly expensive and time consuming endeavor but it's worth it when you think of all the amazing films that could have been lost. Being the classic movie junkie that I am, I'm thrilled that someone is leading the charge, and what better person than Martin Scorsese -- a God to film nerds everywhere.

Which movies would you like to see saved for posterity?

Related Scorsese:

Scorsese is Ready for a Break

Getting Up Close and Personal With Scorsese

I can barely keep up with indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg's projects. He's had films screen at SXSW two years in a row: Kissing on the Mouth in 2005 and LOL in 2006 ... and I'm wondering if we'll see Hannah Takes the Stairs in Austin in 2007. The Chicago-based filmmaker co-produced a multi-episode webcast for Nerve called Young American Bodies, and that's received a lot of praise. On top of that he's made a number of short films that he distributes through his website. And in his spare time, for fun, he's starring in Austin filmmaker Bryan Poyser's upcoming short film, Best Birthday Ever. I've met Swanberg and he always seems to be bursting with energy.

Swanberg's latest project is one that could totally make or break him: the in-house trailers for SXSW 2007. If you've ever attended a film festival, you know about these trailers. You end up seeing them multiple times -- if you attend enough films, you're sick of even the best trailers by the end of the festival. They're also the only films that will be watched by every single film festival attendee, so it's great exposure for filmmakers.

SXSW has a long tradition of good in-house trailers: the Burger Hut shorts, considered some of the best, are available to view on YouTube. I can still practically recite from memory the 2005 trailers, directed by Bob Odenkirk (Melvin Goes to Dinner), which featured Jeff Goldblum and Ron Livingston. The trailers were a little repetitive, but they were better than in 2006, when SXSW relied solely on a single IFC-branded in-house trailer that was annoying even the first time. Matt Dentler, producer of SXSW's film festival, says that the festival may include another IFC trailer next year as a "policy trailer" (telling you not to smoke or use your cell phone), but also will use the Swanberg trailers.

So we're all relying on you, Mr. Swanberg, to entertain us in those brief moments between the house lights dimming and the films beginning next March. If we can make it through four days without groaning and wanting to throw things, you'll be a success. If we can make it through the entire film festival without hating the trailers and cursing your name, you'll be a genius.

Contrary to what you may be thinking after reading the title of this post, I am not talking about a film festival here. No sir, this is a straight-up, fun-loving, knee-slapping, Idaho-style festival, complete with all kinds of Napoleon Dynamite-related activities. From July 4 through July 8, folks visiting Preston, Idaho (where Napoleon Dynamite was filmed) have the chance to participate in a number of events.

Some of the activities featured are:

• A Napoleon Dynamite parade through the town of Preston.
• A Napoleon Dynamite tour with a map locating several places in which filming took place.
• Oohh, how about a special performance from The Happy Hands Club in the Preston high school auditorium?
• Think you have mad Tetherball skills? How about signing up for the Tetherball tournament?
• Folks can also check out a tater tot eating contest and a football throwing contest too.
• Finally, the festival wraps up with a Napoleon Dynamite look-a-like/moonboot dance contest.

Probably the funniest part about this festival is that, as far as I can tell, at no point do they screen the actual film they're celebrating. You'd think that would be a pre-requisite to the whole thing, right? If any of our loyal Cinematical readers was able to check out the Napoleon Dynamite festival in Preston, Idaho, do drop us a comment and let us know how it was. Personally, it looks pretty damn sweeet!

 [via The Movie Blog]

Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai has a clear affection for the Cannes Film Festival, and Cannes has long returned his love. Starting in 1997 when Happy Together won Wong best director honors at the Festival, whenever his work appears there it is received with gushing praise. in 2000, In the Mood for Love was a Palme d'Or nominee, and his follow-up to that film, 2046, was recognized in the same way.

Now, though, Cannes has honored the director in an entirely different way: he's been selected to head the jury of this year's Festival. Though I've never full understood exactly how much power a festival's jury chair holds, the appointment is nevertheless both a recognition of Wong and of the rising status of Asian cinema on the world stage. It'll be interesting to see if any of Wong's fingerprints will be discernible when the jury hands out its awards this spring, or if the logic behind them will be just as murky as it usually is.