Fests and events, 8/31.

"Anthology Film Archives in the East Village has rescued and preserved Chafed Elbows and two more of [Robert] Downey's riotous but equally endangered early works, Babo 73 (1964) and No More Excuses (1968), with the support of the Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation," writes Stuart Klawans in the New York Times. "These time capsules of another era - which like capsules of a different kind can act quickly on the nervous system - will be shown at Anthology in a weeklong series beginning Sept 18, along with one of Mr Downey's most personal films, the never-released Moment to Moment (1975).... Martin Scorsese, who is on the board of the Film Foundation, asked, 'How could we even think of not preserving these films?' Interviewed by e-mail, he described the pictures as 'an essential part of that moment when a truly independent American cinema was born.'"

"I am about to embark on seven straight weeks of cinematic discovery, an incredibly condensed period of time when I will sit through more films than most people see in a year. Toronto ends just as Independent Film Week begins, which overlaps with my beloved New York Film Festival, an event that ends just before the Hamptons International Film Festival kicks off.... How can you watch 100 films in seven weeks without going a little bit crazy? I wouldn't miss it for the world." Tom Hall previews "the films I am most looking forward to seeing (some for a second time) and writing about during my festival season."

Darren Hughes, who'll be covering Toronto for Senses of Cinema (and yes, I'll have an entry on the new issue as soon as I can), lays out his schedule.

"Respondents to our eighth annual Chasing the Buzz poll picked rebel opus Che as the movie they're most eager to see at the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from Thursday through Sept 13," notes the Toronto Star's Peter Howell. Via Jeffrey Wells.

At indieWIRE, Sylvain Verstricht files a dispatch from Montreal, where the World Film Festival runs through tomorrow.

In the New York Sun, Bruce Bennett previews Cinematic Atlas: The Triumphs of Charlton Heston, running through Thursday.

In the Auteurs' Notebook, David Phelps looks back on highlights from Japanese Screen Classics: In Honor of Madame Kawakita.

Online listening tip. At Cinematical, James Rocchi and Michael Lerman look ahead to Toronto.

Posted by dwhudson at August 31, 2008 2:01 PM