Inweekly March 2005: Remembering when Pensacola had a huge film festival

Over the years, Pensacola has attempted several festivals–Springfest, First Night, Beulah Fest, Grace Fest, Hawkshaw, Deluna Fest, just to name a few. One of my favorites was Pensacola Bay International Film Festival. We got to meet Oscar winners, directors, producers and actors. In March 2005, it was where we first learned about Kevin Wheatley’s The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell and partied with his crew.

For an area recovering from Hurricane Ivan, PBIFF was a nice escape.

FEST TOO HOT TO HANDLE?

By Sam Baltruis, published March 10, 2005

Admit it. You love it when former “Party of Five” teen queen turned “Wild Things” vixen, Neve Campbell, gets a little dirty on screen.

Girl-next-door-type gone bad? It’s OK to drool. She’s acting.

Topping our Pensacola Bay International Film Festival “Most Wanted” list, Campbell’s character Vera in “When Will I Be Loved.” She videotapes some naughty girl-on-girl action with a female lover, preys on unsuspecting men she picks up on the street, and ultimately pimps herself out in an “Indecent Proposal” twist.

A typical misogynistic male fantasy gone awry? Maybe.

Campbell, like the 12 PBIFF actors who made our “Most Wanted” list, pushes her personal comfort zone to portray Vera in “When Will I Be Loved” –and ultimately challenges the sexual mores of our traditionally conservative community.

Christian Bale, who lost 60 pounds to capture the frenetic nuances of his insomniac Trevor Reznik character in “The Machinist,” made the cut. So did “The Fast and the Furious” hottie, Jordana Brewster, playing the lesbian super villain Lucy Diamond in the spy-spoof-meets-teen-flick “D.E.B.S.”

Why? Because they all take a chance and challenge what has become accepted as the norm. With most of these “Most Wanted” actors, our buttons have been pushed.

“Jordana gave probably the most surprising performance,” explains “D.E.B.S.” writer/director Angela Robinson. “Before shooting, she believed that she couldn’t play the part of Lucy. Out of all the girls, she’s the most unlike her character. She just graduated from Yale and is this kind of uptight, organized, straight-A-type. In the movie, she has to be a rock star.”

In our “Usual Suspects” and “Ones to Watch” lists, the IN shines a spotlight on the performances you need to check out at the upcoming Pensacola Bay International Film Festival. Period.

However, be careful not to take us too literal. We do have a little fun with the picks.

Not all of our “Most Wanted” actors deserve an Academy Award for their PBIFF roles. Someone like “Usual Suspect,” Sandra Bullock, may not snag an Oscar for her acting ability in “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous.”

But she sure looks good holding a gun.

Usual Suspects

 

Ones to Watch

 

mini reviews

9 AT 11 (USC) Directed by Michael Swartz, Greg is a young TV reporter who gets his first shot at prime time when the co-anchor calls in sick. Roger, the senior anchor with a mean streak, wants to make Greg’s first break his last.As Roger’s pranks go from cute to cruel, Greg realizes that by 11:30 p.m. only one newsman will be left standing. Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
* 1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

THE ANIMATION CAFE These short animated films from the Ringling School of Art & Design include:”Ukulele” animated by Jon Schroth; “The Balloon” animated by Bum-Jin Lee; “Committed” animated by Alan Hawkins; “Fortune Teller” animated by Sung Taek Chung; and “The Pier” animated by Jason Bennett.
* 7 p.m. Sat. SS.

THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS Oscar Award for “Best Foreign Film” in 2004. Cannes Film Festival “Best Actress” (Marie-Josee Croze) and “Best Screenplay” in 2003. Having a difficult time accepting the reality of death and feeling regretful of his past, a man dying of cancer tries to find peace in his last moments. His estranged son, ex-wife, ex-lovers and old friends all come to him to share his last breath. Almost every character is well developed and most of what is said is amusing or thought provoking.
*  7 p.m. Sat. TB; 4 p.m. Sun. TB; 7 p.m. Sun. TB.

BLACK GULCH (USC) A short film written and directed by Michael Strobe about a simple job robbing a small bank to break in the new guy. Unfortunately for Everett and his team, the town of Black Gulch has some nasty surprises waiting for them. Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

BLACK HAWK DOWN This drama is based on the best-selling book detailing a near-disastrous mission in Somalia on Oct. 3, 1993 where nearly 100 U.S. Army Rangers were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. The mission quickly became a large and drawn-out firefight between the Rangers and hundreds of Somali gunmen. The film is a gripping true story about bravery, camaraderie and the complex reality of war.
*  8 p.m. Thurs. TB; 4 p.m. Sat. TB.

BLUE ANGELS: A YEAR IN THE LIFE A Discovery Channel documentary about Pensacola’s very own Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s acrobatic flight demonstration team.
*  7 p.m. Sat. SQ.

COOCHIE (FSU) “The world is changing,” Sky thought as she began to research the real men and women behind the gay-lesbian images shown on TV. “People are becoming more open and tolerant” she believed. But then she met Te. Now she has to make a choice: The girl who kissed her or the community that won’t accept her new life. Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

D.E.B.S. First time director Angela Robinson’s spy-spoof-meets-teenflick comedy is enormous fun and the coolest lesbian movie since “Bound.” Writer-director Robinson’s debut feature was a huge crowd pleaser at the Sundance Film Festival.This is a likeable, wellmade, frequently hilarious flick that has obvious cult potential.
*  7 p.m. Sat. RV.

THE EDUKATORS A group of would-be young radicals break into affluent homes, not to steal but to unnerve the rich occupants by rearranging furniture and leaving behind anti-materialist slogans. When interrupted on one break-in, they kidnap a wealthy businessman and hole up in the mountains, clearly at something of a loss to know what to do next. Their indecision is compounded by the revelation that their hostage is himself an old lefty who claims to sympathize with their ideals.
*  1 p.m. Sun. RV.

IMAGINARY WITNESS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST This documentary tells the fascinating story of the American film industry’s complex and contradictory responses to the horrors of Nazi Germany. Utilizing film excerpts and first hand accounts of directors, actors, writers and producers, the film covers all of Hollywood’s important films dealing with the horror. The documentary poses several difficult questions facing filmmakers about their responsibility and the power of cinema.
*  7 p.m. Fri. SS.

LAMIA (FSU) Damien is an artist strangely unsettled by his surroundings. In the short directed by Katerina Slantcheva, he paints Miriam, a beautiful model who mysteriously shows up at his studio, supernatural events lead him into the recesses of his hollowed memories, towards an event best left forgotten.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

LIQUID VINYL This is filmmaker Taylor Neary’s first documentary. Utilizing interviews with legendary DJ artists from the dance music world interspersed with highlights from the global club scene, Neary provides unique insight into a musical phenomenon that continues to shape cultures around the world. This film is a dance music lovers delight, with an array of interviews of music masters, such as Frankie Knuckles (aka The Godfather of House), David Morales (one of the few to play at Paradise Garage) and others.
*  3:30 p.m. Sun. SQ.

LONESOME MATADOR A short film by Oscar-winning Anthony LaMolinara and adapted from a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and playwright William Saroyan.A drifter comes to Matador,Texas. He seduces a local young woman, tells her how wonderful life is outside of town and takes her to Las Vegas. Everything turns into a big mess.
*  8 p.m. Thurs TB; 5 p.m. Sat. SQ.

THE MACHINIST This psychological thriller is the story of Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a latheoperator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances.Yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. This is no ordinary insomnia.
*  9 p.m. Fri RV; 1 p.m. Sat. RV; 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sun. RV.

MARIA FULL OF GRACE Oscar nominee for “Best Actress” in 2005. Maria Alvarez, a headstrong 17- year-old, lives with three generations of her family in a cramped house in rural Colombia and works stripping thorns from flowers in a rose plantation. The offer of a job involving travel to New York changes her life. Far from the uneventful trip she’s promised, Maria enters the risky and heartless world of drug trafficking.
*  5 p.m. Fri. RV; 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sat. RV; 5:30 p.m. Sun. RV

MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICAThis documentary forces audiences to rethink the genre. Join Michael Wilson as he travels from coast to coast in search of the American Dream and chases down “9/11” filmmaker Michael Moore to find out why he presents such a negative portrait of America.
* 7 p.m. Sat. SQ; 5 p.m. Sun. SQ.

MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS Sandra Bullock returns as FBI agent Gracie Hart.The film opens shortly after she successfully disarmed a threat against the Miss United States Pageant, while working undercover as a contestant. Gracie has reluctantly agreed to serve the Bureau on the talk show circuit as “the face of the FBI.” But when Gracie’s best friend, pageant winner Cheryl Frazier (Heather Burns) and emcee Stan Fields (William Shatner) are kidnapped in Las Vegas, Gracie’s crimefighting instincts kick in.
*  5 p.m. Sun. SS.

MOON DANCE (FSU) This short film is the story of Little Red Riding Hood, now 20, who seeks out revenge on the Wolf for the brutal murder of her Grandma. Trained in the fighting arts, “Red” discovers she must first battle the demons within before she is ready to seek revenge. Will she have what it takes to finish off the Wolf? Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

OASIS Winner of five awards at Venice International Film Festival in 2002. This remarkable Korean film strips away much of the sentimentality and goody-two-shoes attitudes that the movies traditionally display toward disabled people. At the same time, it coolly indicts an indifferent world that treats its misfits as inconvenient, half-witted children, who are easily exploited and abused.
*  9 p.m. Fri. TB; 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sat. TB; 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sun. TB.

REMEMBER ME, MY LOVE Premiered at 2003 Toronto Film Festival and screened at 2004 Sundance Film Festival. It was nominated for 10 Donatello Awards (Italy’s Oscar) and was one of Italy’s most successful films in 2003. This bittersweet drama delves into the lives and loves of a modern Italian family whose individual aspirations pull at the seams of their increasingly fragile unit. As their children come of age and begin to follow their own dreams, Carlo (Fabrizio Bentivoglio) finds himself torn between a passionate affair with Alessia (Monica Bellucci) and his wife Guilia (Laura Morante), while Guilia must face her own buried desires.
*  7:30 p.m. Fri. TB; 1 p.m. Sat. TB; 1 p.m. Sun. TB.

THE RING 2 This horror film picks up six months after the horrifying events that terrorized Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), in Seattle. To escape her haunting memories, Rachel and Aidan move to the small coastal town of Astoria, Ore. But Rachel’s resolve quickly turns to dread when evidence at a local crime scene–including an unmarked videotape—seems eerily familiar. The vengeful Samara returns more determined than ever to continue her relentless cycle of terror and death.
*  Midnight Thurs. TB.

ROSENSTRASSE Venice International Film Festival “Best Actress” winner, Venice, AFI and Toronto International film festival selection and a Donatello Award for “Best European Film.” Katja Riemann and Maria Schrader star in the film set in Berlin in 1943 on a street called Rosenstrasse, where Jewish men were rounded up for deportation to concentration camps and certain death. Based on a true story, their Aryan wives fought to save their lives. This little known and powerful struggle is both moving and inspirational, and shows there is nothing stronger than the power of love.
*  5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Fri. TB; 9 p.m. Sat. TB; 9:30 p.m. Sun. TB.

SIT AND SPIN (USC) This short film is the story of Mike Gordon, a brilliant guy who decides he’d rather live his life in perpetual adolescence. He gleefully self-destructs, finding himself unable to hold a job, keep a relationship, or do anything responsible. Mike’s best friend from high school is Jessica Cooper, who has all the things that Mike doesn’t. Then her life falls apart and the only person who can help her the celebrated underachiever. Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

THE SKY IS FALLING (FSU) Following the stock market crash of 1929, patrons who check into the Excelsior Hotel often leave by way of the rooftop, balcony or window ledge. To keep the woman he loves from losing her job, the hotel’s bellboy must prevent a determined patron from using this method of express checkout. Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

SPIKE & MIKE’S SICK AND TWISTED ANIMATION A collection of the most sick & twisted animated short films out there. For the sick & twisted 18-years and older only!
*  9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Fri. SS; 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Sat. SS; 7 p.m. Sun. SS.

STORM STORIES This Weather Channel documentary tells of the dedication and ingenuity that zookeepers in Gulf Shores had.They cared for hundreds of zoo animals threatened by the fury of Hurricane Ivan. As the zoo staff watched the track of the Category 5 Hurricane Ivan spinning off Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico, they devised an emergency evacuation plan that successfully carried more than 300 animals to safety.
*  8 p.m. Thurs. TB.

THRESHOLD OF HELL Catch a short preview of this dark comedy of the post apocalyptic future where several groups of the criminally insane converge to engage in violent conflict for control of the New America. The film, filmed on Pensacola Beach, is intentionally campy with plenty of comedy, large characters and over the top gore.
*  7 p.m. Sun. SQ.

TOKYO STORY In this 1953 masterpiece from famed director Yasujiro Ozu, an elderly couple travel from their provincial home to visit their adult children living in Tokyo. The film explores the relationships between the generations with warmth and subtlety and gentleness. The acting is superb throughout, emotions conveyed powerfully by as little as a swallow or a turn of the head, a handkerchief held in a hand. Tokyo Story is full of feelings, all understated, all with the tenor of universal truth.
*  7 p.m. Sat. UWF.

TOUGH GIRL (USC) This short film by Dean Yamada and Leilani T.Abad is about a young girl still coming to grips with her long-deceased mother. She’s distant and doesn‚t take flack off anyone. Part of FSU/USC Film School Bowl.
*  1 p.m. Sat. SQ; 1 p.m. Sun. SQ.

WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW!? It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. Amanda (Marlee Matlin) finds herself in a fantastic “Alice in Wonderland” experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality.
*  8 p.m. Thurs. TB; 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Fri. TB; 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sat. TB; 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sun. TB.

WHEN WILL I BE LOVED Vera (Neve Campbell) is a beautiful, capricious young woman exploring the limits of her sexual and intellectual power. Her boyfriend is a fast-talking hustler named Ford (Frederick Weller). Prepared to do anything in order to make a buck, he cooks up an idea to pimp Vera out to billionaire Count Tommaso for $100,000. The Count decides to give Vera $1 million instead and everything appears to be going better than planned–but the men have gravely underestimated Vera.
*  7 p.m. Fri. RV; 3 p.m. Sat. RV; 9 p.m. Sun. RV.

(TB) The Breeze Cinemas 8: 1223 Crane Crove Blvd., Gulf Breeze, 934-3315
(SS) The Silver Screen Theatre: 7280 Plantation Rd., Pensacola, 476-7469
(RV) Rave Motion Pictures 18: 6595 N. W. St., Pensacola, 477-0014
(UWF) University of West Florida Music Hall: 11000 University Blvd., Bldg. 82, Pensacola
(SQ) Seville Quarter: 130 E. Government St., Pensacola, 434-6211