Seattle Dispatch. 9. Final.

1. In his excellent indieWIRE wrap-up, Brian Brooks quotes Seattle International Film Festival artistic director Carl Spence as stating that "...we have argued about shortening the festival for years but the audiences here in Seattle have embraced the largess and length of SIFF. They support it wholeheartedly..." Some of the regulars definitely support it. Others see it as evidence that the programmers are incapable of making difficult decisions about what appears and what doesn't. A few of the worst films that I've ever seen screened at SIFF. Who Killed the Baby Jesus, anyone?

2. Given its size (and the above comments notwithstanding), it always leads to questioning the films that didn't make it into the line-up. Where was Abduction? Where was Regular Lovers? I could go on... Granted, I'd sit through just about anything that Maryna Ajaja and/or Helen Loveridge were passionate about. It makes such a difference to have programmers with taste you can trust.

3. A considerable amount of talk has gone into the increased quantity of quality made-in-Seattle films, specifically last year's Sundance underdog Police Beat and Ward Serrill's high school basketball doc, The Heart of the Game. There was a larger-than-average number of Seattle-centric pictures in the program, most notably Rick Stevenson's Expiration Date (look for an interview with him here next month) and a pair of NWFF-related projects - Linas Phillips's obsessive Walking to Werner and Lynn Shelton's Slamdance winner, We Go Way Back. In the midst of all this adoration for locally produced product, I was disappointed that Kristian St Clair's remarkable film, This is Gary McFarland didn't generate deserved kudos after its sole screening at the festival. It is easily one of the best music documentaries of the year.

4. OSS 117: Nest of Spies won the Golden Space Needle for Best Feature, a film that wasn't even originally in the program but served as a last-minute replacement. A hit in France, OSS 117 currently lacks US distribution (WTF, Hollywood?). If anything, it proves that contemporary films that strive to evoke 1960s-era productions yet are set in the mid-1950s are long overdue for a comeback. Perhaps the forthcoming Casino Royale should've taken this approach.

5. SIFF has never been one to give credit where credit is due. In all of the comments about the landmark performance of Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie (their first live appearance together), it was only noted in passing that Emerald Reels' Reed O'Beirne was involved. It's a bit more complicated than that. Without his efforts and the behind-the scenes work of a few others, the show might not have happened at all. Spence evidently had the initial notion and contacted Gregg Araki (in addition to earlier collaborations, the pair scored Mysterious Skin). The plan was to get them to compose music for a silent feature film but they passed. Robin called Reed to see if he could suggest an alternative. Reed called me. I sent a dozen discs from my library of so-called "experimental" shorts and a similar number of recommendations from the nearly one hundred titles hidden among those collections. Some he used and some he didn't. Is it really too much to ask for a mere mention of the fact that most of the images on the screen came from the efforts of Bruce Posner's Unseen Cinema project by way of the Cabinetic archives (otherwise known as "my basement")? Does that minor mention really pose such a difficulty, even when pointedly asked about the print source during the Q&A by Peter Moore (another part of the Bay Area contingency at SIFF)? He had no idea that I was involved. I could say that I was disappointed, offering my time for no recognition (although, not that the oversight was his fault, Reed certainly made a point to thank me repeatedly), but it really confirmed what I expected from the festival all along. Nothing.

6. In fact, my disappointment (see above) was reserved for the absence of Bruce Baillie. In our first few conversations about the program, it was immediately decided that we wanted to present a film by the legendary Baillie with some small hope that he would also appear at the screening. Unfortunately, he did not attend. Unless, of course, I am mistaken and he was quietly there at the Egyptian all along. It wouldn't surprise me but it would definitely double the disappointment! I'll try not to think about such a possibility...

7. Outside of the plentiful films, what is the best part about attending a film festival? Meeting new people. John Anderson, I look forward to reading the book that you wrote with Laura Kim (and also referring it to others when they ask me the frequent questions about what to do with their film now that its festival tour has ended). Ishai Setton, I look forward to seeing your film The Big Bad Swim. Since I figure that friendly folks make good films, yours must be great. Anne Thompson, please keep reading our blog. We'll keep reading (and referencing) yours!

8. Much like previous adventures on SIFF's closing night, the official party was something of a lackluster affair. However, the after party was once again a clear highlight of the weekend. Makes me wonder why the same infectious energy can't be found at the earlier "sanctioned" event. Furthermore, I knew that Shannon Gee could keep pace with my crazy-person antics on the dance floor but who knew that Americanese producer/star Allison Sie and script supervisor Cecilia Tsai, along with Cinema Scope (and occasional GreenCine) correspondent Jay Kuehner, could match my moves? Color me impressed.

9. The final point is always a throw-away, right? This one is only geographically related - Gary Payton had to leave Seattle and the Sonics in order to get his ring. Congratulations, Gary! Someone should either make a movie about this guy or give him his own television show. The Finer Things in Life with Gary Payton. I'd watch that. Evidently, Susie Gerhard would watch it, too.

Posted by dwhudson at June 23, 2006 3:10 AM