Dances with Films 2006
Must See Films
 

by

debbie lynn elias

I know. I know. It seems like just last month when you heard me exalting independent films and the Los Angeles Film Festival. (Wait a minute! It was just last month!) Well, get ready for some more because another LA festival gem is running from July 21 through 27, 2006 - Dances With Films.

Now in its ninth year, DWF also showcases and caters to the independent filmmakers in the basest sense - - the novice, the first-timer, the producer with no money, the director with no prior credits, the wannabe actors and filmmakers with heart but unfortunately, at times, minimal talent or even more unfortunately, a valiant effort that will go no further. Based at the Laemmle’s Fairfax, 7907 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles (and fortunately for all those celebratory film after parties, right around the corner from The Farmer’s Market and The Grove), this is another celebration of film that is not to be missed - especially during these dog days of summer where a community convergence in theater air conditioning not only helps the environment, but lifts the spirit and the conscience with some fine films. So, let’s take a look at what has become a tradition, Movie Shark Deblore’s Must See Festival Films!

At the top of my list is FALLING. Making its US debut on Tuesday, July 25 at 5:00 p.m. as a contender in the Fusion Shorts Category, FALLING is written by DWF alum Kellie Madison and directed by Carl Paoli. One of the most eloquent and elegant of the filmmakers I have met thus far, Kellie’s own magical essence is the very heart of this film. A rarity to film festivals, it’s wonderful to see someone picking up Baz Luhrmann’s torch. For those of you that may have forgotten (although how could you!), Baz is the man behind my all time favorite movie, “Moulin Rouge.” And I am thrilled to say that in speaking with the filmmakers that is the very inspiration here.

Set against a backdrop musical number, FALLING is a fantastical blend of a Moulin Rouge type magic with the erotic mystery of David Lynch. Shot in high definition digital by veteran director/editor Carl Paoli, the visuals are stunningly captivating. Just a snippet of what I hope will be a full length feature in the near future, FALLING is a film you will fall for over and over again.

Another Fusion Shorts entry is CRIES FROM RAMAH. Already a Best Short Film Winner at the Sedona International Film Festival, this is perhaps one of the most politically and socially relevant and timely films presenting at DWF. As if lifted from the front page newspaper in Anytown, The World, this is the story of Rachel and Saher.

Meeting at a local Tel Aviv police station following a bombing in the area, Rachel has just learned that her only son Jacob, a soldier in the military, has just been killed. Saher, a Palestinian and witness to the bombing, is at the police station for questioning. Unbeknownst to Saher, her son Hani has also been killed - and he is suspected of the Tel Aviv bombing. Told through the eyes of an Israeli police officer named Joseph who is investigating the bombing, we watch the true nature of the events unfold before us and the impact on each of these woman as a mother.

I had a chance to speak with director Loren Chadima about this powerful film, and was moved by her personal commitment to putting faces to the statistics and her compassion to those less fortunate than ourselves. After meeting with Myer Sankary and Deanna Armbruster, who head up the Middle East Peace Network, Loren knew that the real life tragedies that we hear about every day had stories behind them that needed to be told - a mother’s story. “I wanted to make a film that could help other Americans, like me, connect to the people and their struggle of Israel.” Teaming up with scribe Nathan Scoggins the result is a moving story that reaches out to people of all faith, creeds and colors. The icing on the cake is the crisp 35mm lensing of award winning cinematographer Jim Orr.

Although only 15 minutes in length, the cries from this film will be heard long after the curtain falls. CRIES FROM RAMAH screens Monday, July 24 at 5:00 p.m.

Adding even more variety to the Fusion Shorts is IN MEMORY OF ME. Written and directed by Samantha Lavin and starring Maryfrances Carreccia, Tasha Ames and Marina Benedict, this is the story of friendship and the tolls exacted by time, circumstance and hidden secrets. After eight years, a young lawyer returns home to her best friend’s wedding. While at home, she recalls a brief affair she had with another woman while in high school. Adding a little fuel to the fire is the fact that the woman still lives there. With the past and present colliding, IN MEMORY OF ME is a poignant look into the mirror of life.

Filmed on location in Idyllwild, California, IN MEMORY OF ME is already a winner of the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant thanks to early reels of work from Lavin and Director of Photography Elliott Schackne. Shot in Super 16mm, this is one of the longer short entries, with a 23 minute run time.

But a film festival is not just about short films, it’s also about full length features and DWF has a full compliment of those, not the least of which is THAT FALL, which makes its World Premier on Tuesday, July 25 at 5:15 p.m. Already coined by me as a “Thrillomedy”, THAT FALL, has some characterizations and plot lines worthy of a novel by my favorite legal eagle and good pal, best selling author Lisa Scottoline.

Written by Joe McClean, the secret to this film is not just in the characters but in his stylized execution of plot twists and turns and the merging of two distinct genres, the crime thriller and romantic comedy. I know it may sound strange, but it works and the end result is a stylized intriguing story.

In a nutshell, LAPD Officer Adam Wilson returns home to find a stranger leaning over the blood drenched body of his young daughter Emily. Enraged, Wilson arrests the man on the spot. Unfortunately, circumstantial evidence alone isn’t enough for a conviction and ultimately, the suspect goes free. Lost, confused, angry and riddled with blame from every direction (including himself), Wilson turns to the bottle for his salvation. The only salvation he finds, however, comes in the form of a divorce.

But Wilson isn’t the only one suffering a loss. So is his ex-wife Janet. Determined to put the sorrow of the past behind her, she seeks solace and a new life with her brother and his wife Andrea. Not one content to let sleeping dogs lie, Andrea takes the bull by the horns and sets Janet up on a blind date. After all, in her mind, Janet wanted a new life, but that new life will never take hold if she stays holed up in their house and hanging onto the two of them as her only real friend and contacts. (I highly suspect, however, the real reason Andrea got Janet a date was just to get rid of her as a houseguest. After all, there is such a thing as overstaying your welcome!)

Enter Luke. Sexy, cute and quiet, he and Janet immediately hit it off and it’s not long before seem a natural couple and it’s not long before Janet finds herself falling in love with Luke. But wait just a minute! Luke looks a bit familiar - at least to all of us. Doesn’t he bear a striking resemblance to the man suspected of killing Emily?

Directed and edited by newcomer Sarju Patel, THAT FALL is an ideal example of sticktuitiveness and ingenuity. Initially conceiving the concept back in 2005, first time filmmakers Patel and McClean shot this film with a borrowed camera and boom microphone. Using their friends as cast and crew, they shot for five months only to discover when the film was in editing that four of the actors were in SAG. Unfortunately, because of contract issues, the entire film had to be re-shot.

With a minimal crew (maybe 1 to 4 ) and after scrounging together another $3,500.00, the film was ultimately shot on digital video using natural low lighting and a $30 dollar garage type lamp. With some spare change from the sofa cushions, a few more dollars helped pay for Patel’s post-production editing. Although there are a few sound problems and a few scenes that appear inadvertently “smudged” That Fall is a film NOT TO BE MISSED. It exemplifies the true spirit of independent filmmaking and produces an end result that will have you talking long after the film’s end. Look for my complete review (and filmmaker tidbits) of That Fall in future editions of the Observer and on my website www.moviesharkdeblore.com.

Another MUST SEE entry as a Competition Feature is SIXES AND THE ONE EYED KING. Making its World Premier debut at the Dances With Films Festival at the Fairfax Laemmle on Tuesday, July 25, 2006 at 9:30 p.m., this is one of the most original motion picture concepts to come along in a while.

Written by Ray Robison and Patricia Snyder and directed by Robison, this is the story of six suicidal gamblers who sign up to play Russian Roulette. Why suicidal you ask? Well, in case you don’t know, in this version of Russian Roulette, you win by eliminating the competition - literally. In the truest sense of the phrase, winning this game is the difference between life and death.

But as if suicidal contestants isn’t enough of a thrill, let’s toss in some high rollers who are watching the game via the Internet and making their own wagers. And then let’s have one of these high rollers spy a missing relative as one of the gaming contestants. Oh yeah! This is a goodie.

Shot in digital black and white in English and Spanish with sub-titles, SIXES AND THE ONE EYED KING gives new meaning to taking a gamble.

Now don’t think for one minute the only festival have adult themes with mayhem and madness. MY BAD DAD fills the void for family entertainment and provides its own brand of kid-friendly madness and mayhem.

This is the story of Joe Barring. Ex-con fighter, drinker, womanizer - he’s one bad ***. Unfortunately, his girlfriend, who has 3 adorable children ranging in age from 5 years to 1, dies. On her death, Joe is charged with caring for the kids. But Joe doesn’t know how to care for himself let alone three kids and as comes as no surprise, he loses the kids to the government child welfare system. Determined to get the kids back, he falls under the watchful eye of a concerned social worker who, naturally, always manages to appear at the wrong time.

Produced and directed by and starring Santa Monica’s own Polhemus family, this is a real family effort. And when I say the family, I mean the whole family. Written and directed by Mack Polhemus, everyone from kids to parents to aunts, uncles, brothers, sister and even godparents is put to work in this production. (And I have to say, 5 year old Emma Polhemus is just a gem and was a little charmer when I met her!)

A long known fact, working with children is always a challenge. And despite a written script and ever present family, MY BAD DAD proved no exception to the rule. Frustration and unpredictability of the kids gave way to improvision, much of which worked and much of which didn’t. Although cute to the core, even the kids can’t overcome some of the deficiencies of this film, all of which stem from the improv. But despite the disappointments, this is a fun-filled film that the whole family can watch together - the only one in the Festival, I might add. The antic vignettes are priceless and something to which every parent - and kid - can relate, and many of which would actually be hysterical as stand alone shorts.

MY BAD DAD makes its world premier at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 27. So come on. Bring the kids. It’s summer. School’s out. This is one dad who’s so bad, he’s good.

Although I have yet to screen it, LUCKY GIRL, has an intriguing look to it. First time writer/director/producer Chris Thorndyke makes his debut with the story of Lucky, a young five year old girl suffering in a self-imposed world of silence. Determining the only way to release Lucky from her prison is to tell her the story of her life - a story that is filled with “depravity and debauchery”. Regaling the histories of dug-addict Jane, her boyfriend Raif, her ex-boyfriend Phil and their drug dealer Johnny, both the audience and Lucky are soon faced with sadness, sympathy and shock as Lucky’s role in this tangled web of decadence is unraveled. LUCKY GIRL makes its world premier at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2006.

And of course, last but not least, what would a film festival be without a closing night blockbuster. Dances With Films ends this year’s run on Thursday, July 27 at 9:00 p.m. with the World Premiere of WANNABE.

My pick as THE MUST SEE FILM OF THE FESTIVAL, WANNABE tells the tale of Steve Williams, former busboy and formerly of the UK recording boy band sensation Busboyz. After a tragic bus accident that left his band mates dead and himself “disablingly” deaf in one ear, Steve decides to change careers and become a serious Hollywood actor. Welcoming former boy brand (and dancing) rival Paul Stannard into his LA home, we are privy to the scratching, clawing, whining, biting, bitching, hair pulling, lying, cheating, conning, back stabbing life of not just one, but two, wannabees.

Real life former boy band member Craig Robert Young stars as cute, sexy Steve “Steve-O” Williams and Adam Huss steps in as the oil slick of a friend, Paul Stannard. These two are absolutely phenomenal and their tit-for-tat-male-egomaniacal-chemistry is undeniable. (Could be why they are now best friend and roommates!) I recently had the pleasure of meeting Adam Huss and let me tell you, this. He is about as far from his character as one can get. He is a genuine delight. And as if this delicious eye candy isn’t enough to wet the palettes of all you gals out there, the overall story and dialogue is simply delicious.

Written and shot in mockumentary style, first time director Richard Keith brings a realism to the production that initially had me believing this was a true investigative or “where are they now” report. Drawing on Young’s real life experience as a former boy band member wannabe actor, a well crafted storyline takes center stage, staying true to the nature of each character-type, all bear a truthful essence with comic undertones.

For my complete review on this wonderfully wild film, check out the Observer and my website at www.moviesharkderblore.com Smart, sassy and sarcastic. WANNABE is quite simply a gotta-see.

So there you have it. Some of my picks for Dances With Films. Come on! Click up your heels and dance on over to the Laemmle Fairfax at 7907 Beverly Boulevard for some great moviemaking. Tickets for available at the door and at www.laemmle.com. For a complete listing of films and screening times, check out www.danceswithfilms.com. And I’ll see you at the movies!