Five-Point Redux

In this bright spot between SFIFF (and, as of this year, Tribeca) on one end, SIFF on the other and Cannes in between, Ruthe "that's my seat" Stein reported in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning that Roxanne Messina Captor ankled her role as Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. This marks the third high-profile arts figure to announce their departure in the last twelve months (although the loss of Pamela Rosenberg as General Director of the San Francisco Opera and the Pacific Film Archive's retiring film curator Edith Kramer will certainly have more of an impact on the city). As one former SFIFF staffer privately stated to me moments ago, "The wicked witch is dead."

To be honest, Ms. Messina Captor was considerably more involved in reaching out to festival guests in this installment of the fest than at any time previous. There were other minor improvements on her part as well. Less rambling, since she largely stuck to the script. Less time behind the microphone, delegating the responsibilities of introducing the screenings to folks actually knowledgeable about the films in question. The numbers, at first glance, seem to support some results. At his State of Cinema address, Brad Bird noted that film festival attendance is down everywhere. Erroneous information, provided to him by SFIFF. Festival attendance is actually up across the country. Attendance at the San Francisco International even increased by five percent in 2005 (a modest gain against a substantial drop between 2003 and 2004), although you wouldn't know it by actually attending the screenings (perhaps, pure speculation, because hundreds of free tickets are included in these figures). Regardless, the decision to leave, either her own or the board's (supposedly, it was mutual), is a necessary step in returning some level of prestige to the event. If possible.

Thus, item one in the Five-Point Plan has come to pass. The board of directors, upon which much of the blame should rest, will have to rise to the challenge of finding an appropriate replacement that can increase the number of year-round programs, clean house of some deadwood in the programming department and attract films of a caliber befitting the oldest continuously running festival in America. They need not look too far for an example of how to run a finely tuned ship. Long-time festival publicist Hilary Hart has managed an almost entirely new team every year and, of late, it's the only part of SFIFF that seems to function properly - even exceptionally.

Ideally, as the new figurehead eventually settles in to their daunting role, they will consider the other four items in the Plan. Move the festival from the Kabuki, for instance. Halt the practice of financing the event through inflated ticket prices. Refashion the festival to end on a more celebratory Saturday or Sunday. Perhaps, in a moment of inspiration, put Castro legend/Mel Novikoff Award recipient Anita Monga in charge of the programming department. Hire the right person to guide the festival and the event can be returned to its rightful place as a gem within the San Francisco film calendar. Hire the wrong and we'll end up with an even larger monstrosity that dwindles further into irrelevance.

-- Jonathan Marlow

Posted by dwhudson at May 13, 2005 4:45 PM