(The Egyptian Theatre)Until 1992 the only film festival I had ever heard of was Canes. Now almost every major city has a film festival.
(Pass holders wait to be let into the theatre)Like many of you I had never heard of the Seattle International Film Festival, that is until I got a call from my best friend at the time who had moved to Seattle. After he graduated from High School we lost touch. One day out of the blue I got a phone call and we caught up.
(Actor Rory Cochran from the film Dazed and Confused. You may also recognize him from CSI: Miami)It had always been a dream of mine to make a film. It started out with an 8mm camera I got when I was in elementary school and then I got a VHS video camera. I read books and taught myself how to edit. I took classes and joined groups. I even worked on a few projects, but funding was lost and they never saw the light of day. In 2004 I began shooting digital video.
(See How People Act -This is the program from 1992. I love this cover and was able to get the poster for that one as well.)When my friend told me about the festival and all of the people he was meeting, I began to think about that dream. We had talked about making a film together. I would write and direct and my friend would be the cinematographer. When he told me about all of the people he was meeting I asked if he had been making contacts, getting numbers, opening doors, but that wasn't his forte. I was always the business person. Raising funds or getting whatever was needed for a project. I knew then that I had to go to Seattle.
I waited for an invite, but I made up my mind whether I got an invite or not I was going to Seattle to attend SIFF. Like most things in my life it all fell into place and my friend invited me to visit. I got a hotel room in Pioneer Square which put me in the heart of everything. We stayed downtown when there were films we wanted to see and when we had a break we stayed in Tacoma.
(Isn't this a great work of art? the 19th year of SIFF)I've seen hundreds of movies at SIFF. Some really good, some unusual, but all very interesting. I applaud anyone that gets a film made because its not an easy thing to do. Even getting it into a festival isn't that easy.
(I used to be on the screening committee for the New Orleans Film Festival, Cinema 16.)
In 1993 when I first attended SIFF, Daryl MacDonald was the festival director. Everyone made me feel so welcomed. I did have to get used to the weather. It rained, but not what I was used to. It rained constantly like a mist. I was on vacation and I was not going to let this ruin my trip. I bought a nice backpack and a small umbrella and made the best of it. I saw as many movies as I could, but I had to take time out to eat. I could not live off of Starbucks alone like most of the film goers. I was not familiar with Starbucks and I wasn't a coffee drinker. There was a store on almost every corner and a kiosk in front. The program cover was awesome so I picked up a few copies as a keep sake. Mike Lowry was Governor and Norman B. Rice was Mayor. I used one to make notes and another to get autographs. I wasn't sure if I'd meet anyone, but I wanted to be prepared if I did. I also bought the poster which I framed and have hanging on my wall.
(Seattle brought out my creative side)I will list the films that I saw for each year and whether or not I met someone from the film. I will list its country and a rating if the film is part of my collection, but some films I don't remember them entirely.
You can check out the titles to see if the films are available. There are a few foreign films. There are many films that I am only discovering have made it to DVD, but at the time most of them didn't have any distribution.
As a part of SIFF I got to see films that most people would never see. I got to see how movie deals are made. I got the opportunity to photograph and interview people in the industry and make a few contacts.
In 1993 the festival ran from May 14 - June 6.
There was an Australian actor that appeared in two films, Hammers on the Anvil and Romper Stomper. Hammers on the Anvil was a love story that starred Charlotte Rampling. Romper Stomper was a disturbing film for me as it dealt with racism. The skin heads against the chinese. At that time the unknown Russell Crowe starred and one best actor for both films at the Golden Space Needle Awards. Virtuosity hadn't been released in the U.S. at that point. Since I didn't know who he was I didn't photograph him.
There was a tribute to John Schlesinger and I learned about the secret festival. One is sworn to secrecy about the films that they see at the secret fest.
Sometimes the audiences change the way a film is marketed. Even the titles get changed when a film is released. Sometimes you get to see a film before it is completed, a work in progress. A short film that becomes a feature.
Movies - Much Ado About Nothing (DDD), King of the Hill (D), Midnight Cowboy (DDDD), Sunday Bloody Sunday(DDD), Menace II Society (DDDDD), Romper Stomper- Australia (DDDD), Hammers on the Anvil- Australia (DDDDD), Man Bites Dog -Belgium (DDDD), Heart Strings - China (DD), Un Coeur En Hiver - France, Kitchen and Other Rooms - France (DDD), Les Visiteurs- France (DDDD), Orlando GB, Netherlands, Italy, France (DDDDD), Al Lupo Al Lupo- Italy, For A Lost Soldier(This film was disturbing for me at first, but I really liked it) Netherlands (DDDDD), Crush- New Zealand, Jamon Jamon Spain (DDDD), House of Angels -Sweden (DDDD), The Wedding Banquet- Taiwan (DDDD), The Abyss Special Edition (I had never seen this film before and to see it on the big screen with footage never seen before was quite the treat) (DDDD), Acting on Impulse (DDDD), An Ambush of Ghosts, Bound by Honor which became Blood In Blood Out (DDDDD), Chain of Desire I met the director and we got to talk Temistocales Lopez (DDDD), Dazed and Confused (DDD) I met and photographed Rory Cochran, Fortress (DD), The Harvest, The Music of Chance (DDD), Quick, Sex Is... I met and photographed director/producer Mark Huestis, Twenty Bucks I met director Keva Rosenfeld (DDD), Vermont is for Lovers, and Don't Call Me Frankie.
After I returned to New Orleans, I decided to become a Goodwill member of SIFF.
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