Around the world in 11 days
Ventura Film Festival to feature an international slate
By Tim Pompey 07/07/2011
What better way to kick off a film festival than by celebrating the 50th anniversary of West Side Story? After all, it broke new ground as a musical and drama, won 10 Academy Awards, and highlighted the avante-garde career of Leonard Bernstein.
That’s the way things will go for the third annual Ventura Film Festival, which is being held in downtown Ventura from July 8 to 18.
This year’s kickoff tribute will feature an appearance by two of the original stars from West Side Story: George Chakiris, who played the role of Bernardo, leader of the Sharks; and Russ Tamblyn, who played Riff, one of the leaders of the Jets.
Chakiris and Tamblyn will be honored with a dinner at the Ventura Beach Marriott on July 9, followed by a showing of the film at 8 p.m. at the Ventura Theater.
Larry Older, one of the event’s producers, called the festival a good reason to have a “film party.”
Without a doubt — from short flicks to full-length dramas, more than 200 films will be featured this year.
“We want to give the breadth of films that are being shown this year.” said Older. Take, for example, the quirky comedy White Knight, which will open the festival at the Century 10 on Friday, July 8,at 8 p.m. Selected as Best of Fest, its director and co-writer Jesse Baget has also been nominated as the festival’s best director.
The film features Leroy Lowe (Tom Sizemore) as the grand dragon of the Texas Klu Klux Klan. Lowe is thrown in prison for . . . well, causing trouble as the grand dragon of the Texas Klu Klux Klan. Inside the big house, potato- loving Warden Melville (Stacy Keach) decides to try and rehab the ornery redneck by pairing him in a cell with Mexican farm labor activist Emilio (Hector Jimenez). Leroy hates Mexicans. Emilio won’t stop talking about Ben Casey’s hair. Think George Wallace meets Cesar Chavez.
Some local films will also be shown, such as the documentary Motion Visuals, which features filmmaker Jim Martin, noted here in Ventura County for his stunning portrayals of Ventura County beaches. It will premiere on Saturday, July 9, 6:15 p.m., at the Ventura Theater.
Older talked briefly about the burgeoning independent film scene here in the U.S.
“There’s been, in my view, a real increase in the quality of films,” he said. “Typically, American films tend to be focused on production and are more corporate than the director-controlled films.”
For Older, today’s independent films are challenging that model. What’s more, an increasing number of these independent productions are from abroad. This year’s festival will feature films from countries such as Argentina, Japan, Israel, Ghana, Italy and Mexico. There’s even an animated short titled Daisy Cutter, produced by Basque filmmakers from the Iberian Peninsula. Which raises the question: Where in the world is Iberia?
Closing night awards and ceremony will feature a special showing of the documentary Inside Job. Winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary, the film exposes the corrupt Wall Street schemes that plunged the U.S. into a deep recession. Inside Job will be shown on Saturday, July 16, 8 p.m., at the Century 10.
This year’s festival venues will be the Ventura Marriott, the Ventura Theater, the Century 10, the Ventura Regency and Good Bar. Tickets can be purchased online at www.venturafilmfestival.org. There’s also a PDF schedule of all films on the festival’s website.
For all you celluoid lovers in Ventura County, what better reason to have a party? Movies, friends, stars and the occasional surprise. Two hundred films over 11 nights. I would say, in Hollywood terms, that qualifies as an epic.
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