Kudos to Sam Green’s “Lot 63, Grave C,” which won the Sterling Award for best short. And big-time props to Yoni Brook’s “A Son’s Sacrifice,” voted by audiences as the best short in town. Both flicks were freakin’ awesome! Hit the AFI SilverDocs website for a full list of winners in all categories.
Short-attention-span theater, day 3
Sunday morning’s shorts were clumped as stories about faith, but not all of them addressed religion directly. A Son’s Sacrifice Don’t let this flick’s austere title scare you. It’s got all the right elements — humor, love, blood — and documents the rift between first-generation immigrant Americans and their US-born kids.
The Penguin scores another freebie!
I had all intentions of paying $10 in loose change for Sunday morning’s short program. But by the time I’d reached the theater, the show was already sold out. So I went for the standby option. While waiting outside on the standby line, another moviegoer and I began to chat about the flicks we’d seen. [...]
Spending some “me” time
My coverage of Friday’s outdoor screening was canceled due to a skull-shattering headache. (You didn’t think I could stare at a computer screen for 16 hours straight and not pay a price, did you?) So I’m guessing this is how “Neil Young: Heart of Gold” went down: Young sang “Old Man” and possibly “Long May [...]
Big brother, watching
After Friday’s screening of “Freeheld”, I spoke with Charles Hester, whose sister Laurel was the subject of the short movie. It was the first time he’d seen the flick, filmed during Laurel’s last weeks of life before succumbing to lung cancer a year ago.
Short-attention-span theater, day 2
Friday’s free nooner at AFI showed two shades of gay/lesbian life: one in the closet, the other in the spotlight. Monsieur Borges and I Here’s the straight dope: I missed the first 10 minutes of this 23-minute film. My loss, because the remainder was strangely hypnotic. An older French man (I’ll call him Buddy) talks [...]
The next Mary Hart?
On Wednesday, I emailed local big wigs for their impressions of Tuesday night’s opening gala, held at Discovery Communications. Susan Hoffmann, special-events manager with the Silver Spring Regional Center, today emailed this reply:
They’re here. They’re queer. Pass the popcorn.
This afternoon’s agenda includes another free (yippee!) lunchtime screening of shorts. Today’s theme: Gay rights. And tonight, another free outdoor screening drops on Ellsworth Drive: Jonathan Demme’s “Neil Young: Heart of Gold.” Bring your own plaid workshirts.
Sick! Sick! Sick!
Damn, I’d almost forgotten how freakin’ cool the Talking Heads were. The oversized gray suits. The bad-ass rhythm section. These mofos combined punk attitude, phat beats, and Warhol weirdness to become one of the few truly original things to come out of the 1980s. (Not to take anything away from A-Ha.) So of course I [...]
Short-attention-span theater
This afternoon’s AFI freebie was all about ass kicking: who’s doling it out, who’s been on the receiving end, and the collateral damage that comes with it. War Torn: Stories of Separation An interesting yet predictable flick, this 20-minute British joint is a slide show (literally) of families whose sons or husbands have fought in [...]
Enter the Penguin
Alas, the press-pass bitching ends! I finally made it into the AFI Silver Theatre for a free nooner. This was my first forray into the place, and I was stunned by the auditorium’s gaping size. The room seemed to swallow the audience, and rows of seats stretched endlessly. It was like watching a movie inside [...]
Revenge is a dish best served with raw onions
At last, I get to report something from inside the AFI! At noon, I hit the lunchtime freebie, a collection of short pieces with a shared theme. Today’s deal: the Iraq War. Of course, infiltration of the theater also gives me the opportunity to deliver a dose of revenge. Here’s the game plan: I’m packing [...]
Plotting my revenge
If I had a ton of money (which I don’t), I would run a film festival to compete directly with SilverDocs. I would call it: SilverMocs Miscellaneous mockumentaries from downtown Silver Spring I’m thinking three days of flicks so real, you won’t believe they’re fake. So far, the imaginary lineup includes:
It’s hard out here for a pimp
So I’m having lunch at the local Burmese restaurant with Valerie Ervin and Ben Stutz, the councilmember’s right-hand man, when he says: “I can’t believe AFI didn’t give you a press pass! I mean, SilverDocs is a festival for small, independent films. Yet they won’t recognize the small, independent press.”
Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head
This afternoon’s curbside coverage of SilverDocs has been postponed due to inclement weather. Also, I will attempt to title all SilverBlog posts with the names of Academy Award-winning songs. Give yourself two points if you know which movie used “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” as its title song. Score a five-point bonus if you [...]
The show must go on
Alas, AFI has put the kibosh on any dream of unfettered SilverDocs access. Their last (and probably final) email read: We are still unable to accredit you for this year’s festival. We recognize the importance of local coverage — your web site looks great — and we hope you will of course attend and write [...]
The documentary-film gods mock me
Screw tonight’s curbside coverage. It’s raining, I’m hungry and I still don’t have a press pass. For now, let’s just assume that The AFI crowd is beautiful and damp The movie is a cinematic tour de force (whatever that means) The food at Discovery’s after-party sucks (or doesn’t suck) The drinks are watered down I [...]
Reporting from outside the AFI Theatre
I got the email from AFI last night: Thanks so much for your interest in SilverDocs. Unfortunately, the press office only accredits press from a recognized outlet. Nonetheless, I would encourage you to attend. Perhaps you can even wrangle some filmmakers for an interview. So The Penguin isn’t the New York Times or the Washington [...]
