2008 Woodie Awards
A festival's growth
AFI becomes more prominent
Corrine Asbell
Issue date: 4/17/08 Section: On the Scene
Critics might disagree on the movies shown at the American Film Institute's Dallas International Film Festival, but most seem to agree on one thing: AFI Dallas felt like a much more prominent festival.
This is due in part to the combination of an extensive advertising campaign and the use of Lexus cars instead of shuttle buses to ferry patrons to screenings, but also to the movie choices available for screening.
AFI Dallas 2008 consisted of over 250 movies from 34 countries and ran from March 27 through April 6. The movies, a mix of documentaries and narrative stories, played at theaters across Dallas.
And despite big names like Helen Hunt, Robert DeNiro and Mickey Rooney, AFI Dallas managed to retain an independent slant with the movies. AFI Dallas senior programmer James Faust said the movies aren't chosen based on who stars in them.
"We just want to make sure that every film is good and that we're behind it, and we are," Faust said.
Festival director Michael Cain said he always wanted to woo filmmakers in ways he couldn't for his former employer, the Deep Ellum Film Festival.
One of Cain's goals was to attract more foreign language films. In its first year, only 22 countries were represented in the festival.
Because AFI Dallas isn't the only film festival in Texas, it ruffled the feathers of other local film fests, like South by Southwest Film Festival and the USA Film Festival. Because of Los Angeles' AFI Fest in October, and the American Film Institute's Silverdocs event in June, Cain said they didn't have much choice of when to hold the festival, especially when factoring in other festivals like Cannes, Sundance, Berlin and Toronto.
But Cain doesn't consider AFI Dallas as competition to those and said there are certainly enough movies to go around.
Marissa Allen, a Dallas resident and Premiere Pass holder, said she thought AFI Dallas had more than enough movies and was happy with them.
"Of course, after spending so much money for the pass, I should be," she said.
Allen's Premiere Pass cost her $500 and enabled her to get into all the screenings and the Target Festival Lounge. She said having access to everything was one thing that helped her enjoy the experience - not just the movies.
"The film festival isn't just about seeing movies of all types and from all countries," she said. "It's also an experience you can't miss out on, seeing the stars on the red carpet, and then being able to go to the special events. I don't think I would have enjoyed myself as much if I had just seen the movies."
Allen said the foreign films were her particular favorites.
"I think I really enjoyed those because they gave me an insight into other cultures," she said. "It was a good reminder for everyone that problems exist outside of America. It's not all about us."
In addition to the foreign language films, AFI had movies that were already favorites, having premiered at other international festivals.
One of these was Battle in Seattle, starring Charlize Theron. Cain said when he saw it at the Toronto Film Festival he felt he needed to show it at AFI Dallas because of the story.
The film is a look at the protests in 1999 against the World Trade Organization, which started out peacefully, but quickly went downhill when the National Guard and local law enforcement were called in, turning the protest into a full-scale riot.
Director Stuart Townsend said he loves to see the differing reactions the Battle in Seattle movie gets from different parts of the world.
"The biggest thrill I get is that it doesn't seem to matter what political bend people are," he said. "That they still somehow connect to the story and the characters."
He said he's gotten many different reactions, from claps and cheers to people crying.
"It's really cool because you spend so many years working on it and you never know if people are even going to understand, and then suddenly it seems like people connect," Townsend said.
Ana Jimenez, who attended the black-tie premiere of Helen Hunt's movie, Then She Found Me, said she was planning on seeing Battle in Seattle because of the reviews the movie has garnered so far.
Jimenez bought her tickets one at a time for the movies so she could fit them in around her work schedule. She said that she plans to buy a Festival Pass for next year's event because she was really impressed with it.
"I think it's great, because it brings a little bit of the arts to Dallas," she said. "And sometimes we get to see movies before everyone else does."
Jimenez said, in particular, she was planning on seeing the April 6 screening of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which would premiere for the AFI crowd 12 days before opening to the public.
"It's a chance for some people to see great films and other people to feel cool," Faust said.
Contact Corrine at etc4640@dcccd.edu
This is due in part to the combination of an extensive advertising campaign and the use of Lexus cars instead of shuttle buses to ferry patrons to screenings, but also to the movie choices available for screening.
AFI Dallas 2008 consisted of over 250 movies from 34 countries and ran from March 27 through April 6. The movies, a mix of documentaries and narrative stories, played at theaters across Dallas.
And despite big names like Helen Hunt, Robert DeNiro and Mickey Rooney, AFI Dallas managed to retain an independent slant with the movies. AFI Dallas senior programmer James Faust said the movies aren't chosen based on who stars in them.
"We just want to make sure that every film is good and that we're behind it, and we are," Faust said.
Festival director Michael Cain said he always wanted to woo filmmakers in ways he couldn't for his former employer, the Deep Ellum Film Festival.
One of Cain's goals was to attract more foreign language films. In its first year, only 22 countries were represented in the festival.
Because AFI Dallas isn't the only film festival in Texas, it ruffled the feathers of other local film fests, like South by Southwest Film Festival and the USA Film Festival. Because of Los Angeles' AFI Fest in October, and the American Film Institute's Silverdocs event in June, Cain said they didn't have much choice of when to hold the festival, especially when factoring in other festivals like Cannes, Sundance, Berlin and Toronto.
But Cain doesn't consider AFI Dallas as competition to those and said there are certainly enough movies to go around.
Marissa Allen, a Dallas resident and Premiere Pass holder, said she thought AFI Dallas had more than enough movies and was happy with them.
"Of course, after spending so much money for the pass, I should be," she said.
Allen's Premiere Pass cost her $500 and enabled her to get into all the screenings and the Target Festival Lounge. She said having access to everything was one thing that helped her enjoy the experience - not just the movies.
"The film festival isn't just about seeing movies of all types and from all countries," she said. "It's also an experience you can't miss out on, seeing the stars on the red carpet, and then being able to go to the special events. I don't think I would have enjoyed myself as much if I had just seen the movies."
Allen said the foreign films were her particular favorites.
"I think I really enjoyed those because they gave me an insight into other cultures," she said. "It was a good reminder for everyone that problems exist outside of America. It's not all about us."
In addition to the foreign language films, AFI had movies that were already favorites, having premiered at other international festivals.
One of these was Battle in Seattle, starring Charlize Theron. Cain said when he saw it at the Toronto Film Festival he felt he needed to show it at AFI Dallas because of the story.
The film is a look at the protests in 1999 against the World Trade Organization, which started out peacefully, but quickly went downhill when the National Guard and local law enforcement were called in, turning the protest into a full-scale riot.
Director Stuart Townsend said he loves to see the differing reactions the Battle in Seattle movie gets from different parts of the world.
"The biggest thrill I get is that it doesn't seem to matter what political bend people are," he said. "That they still somehow connect to the story and the characters."
He said he's gotten many different reactions, from claps and cheers to people crying.
"It's really cool because you spend so many years working on it and you never know if people are even going to understand, and then suddenly it seems like people connect," Townsend said.
Ana Jimenez, who attended the black-tie premiere of Helen Hunt's movie, Then She Found Me, said she was planning on seeing Battle in Seattle because of the reviews the movie has garnered so far.
Jimenez bought her tickets one at a time for the movies so she could fit them in around her work schedule. She said that she plans to buy a Festival Pass for next year's event because she was really impressed with it.
"I think it's great, because it brings a little bit of the arts to Dallas," she said. "And sometimes we get to see movies before everyone else does."
Jimenez said, in particular, she was planning on seeing the April 6 screening of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which would premiere for the AFI crowd 12 days before opening to the public.
"It's a chance for some people to see great films and other people to feel cool," Faust said.
Contact Corrine at etc4640@dcccd.edu
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