The 2008 AFI Show: Hollywood Rolls Out The Red Carpet for Indywood
by
Kevin Desmond
[Editor's Note: The term "Indywood" refers to the middle ground between Low-Budget and Hollywood films. Most of these films are made for between $500,000 to $8 million dollars outside of the studio systems and then compete in festivals for distribution from Hollywood and boutique distributors. While Indywood films are much pricier than the no-budget films we focus on, changes in the Indywood community give a good barometric reading for the environment of Independent filmmaking in general. -JH]
Hollywood, though being in the epicenter of the film universe, doesn't truly have what one might call a pre-eminent film festival. (Pre-eminent being along the lines of Cannes, Berlin, Toronto or even Sundance.) AFI (the American Film Institute) is probably as close as it gets to some of the bigger players of the film festival circuit. AFI is the source of those wonderful lists with everything from Top 100 movies, movie quotes, Songs, Thrills, Laughs, Passions, and everything else under the cinematic sun. AFI is also one of the best schools to get a post-graduate degree in all aspects of film with a huge list of Alumni including Janusz Kaminski, Darren Aranofsky, David Lynch, and John Mctiernan—all of which come to teach at the institute from time to time.
AFI film fest, being at the end of the year, gives LA a chance to finally see movies that have made a lot of noise at festivals around the world. Among the list were The Class (winner Palm d'or at Cannes), Gomorrah (winner jury prize at Cannes), and buzzed about first timers like Steve McQueen with Hunger or Yu Lik Wai with Plastic City. The festival also highlighted Oscar contenders like Slumdog Millionaire, Doubt, Defiance, and the much awaited sophomore feature from Rian Johnson, Brothers Bloom.
Trying to distinguish how each film differentiates from the other is the common thread in the selection process. What I found was that all the films were auteur based, helmed by filmmakers who are very well versed in the language and technique of film. All the directors knew the world they were creating and the characters which inhabited that mock world. It didn’t matter what genre the movie belonged to; the filmmakers used the tools that they had at their disposal to create a realistic world that the characters belonged to, whether it was a low budget Sci-Fi piece like Time Crimes or the Big budget Kim-chi Western Good, Bad and the Weird.
Arclight Dome Theatre in Hollywood at Opening night.
The Class The Class is a brilliantly subtle film that leaves you contemplating life and the manner in which we view and judge others. Based on the book by Francois Begaudeau (who also wrote the screenplay and is the title character) and directed by Laurent Cantet, this film focuses on a teacher in the inner city who gives forth his best effort to inspire and educate his students to the importance of a good education despite their constant defiance. At the same time however, he underestimates their ability to learn this blazingly important truth or the actual educational lessons. The film is shot entirely at the school and does not give the audience the opportunity to judge the characters beyond the given environment, which is why the film works on such a profound level. The film forces one to reflect on oneself and society as a whole through the characters, which is one of the main reasons why the film won the Palm D'or at Cannes. Unfortunately, I believe very few people in the United States will truly appreciate this film, but nonetheless, I highly recommend this cinematic treat, especially if you are a filmmaker.
