Moviemaker - CA (2019 Summer)

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LEFT: COURTESY OF IRAM PARVEEN BILAL; RIGHT: COURTESY OF TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL

SUMMER 2019

banner they hung over the ter-

race right above one of the area’s

most frequented restaurants for

meetings—Caffé Roma.

Industry members from

around the globe are present at

Cannes, so while the festival of-

fers fantastic opportunities to try

and meet them, getting into any-

one’s calendar can also be a shot

in the dark. I was told that the

sales agents are more available

after the first weekend, but be

wary, moviemakers: A lot of them

shut down shop around that

time, leaving the market deserted

before the 12-day event’s end.

And as my stay neared its end,

I was left with a lasting impres-

sion: a surprising percentage of

Cannes’ festival population is

simply cinephiles, star-gazers,

and student trippers, all descend-

ing to soak in some celluloid

magic, glamour, and wonder.

—Iram Parveen Bilal

TCM CLASSIC FILM

FESTIVAL 2019

Timeless titles grow old

but never die at this

10-years-young tribute

to classic cinema

Repertory cinema is alive and

well across the world, and the

TCM Classic Film Festival is the

zenith of repertory celebrations.

This year’s 10th anniversary four-

day marathon, with more than

75 films screened, was a buffet

of cinematic classics catered

to an assortment of themes and

tributes. If you’re used to the

Turner Classic Movies Channel’s

Silent Sundays or Noir Alley, you

know what to expect. Where

previous years have focused on

literary adaptations, comedies,

and historical adaptations, this

year’s iteration shone a light on

big-screen romances, from the

Cary Grant/Katharine Hepburn

classic Holiday, to Bing Crosby

and Grace Kelly in High Society,

to the bromance of

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

There was even perverse love in

the 1935 Peter Lorre-led horror

classic Mad Love. Whatever makes

your heart soar—or skip a beat.

Another subdivision of the far-

reaching fest operated as a long-

running tribute to 20th Century

Fox, screening everything from

the first Best Picture-winner

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans—

or first-and-only winner of Best

Unique and Artistic Picture, if

you’re a stickler about that kind

of thing—to the ’80s gem

Working Girl, to a 70mm screen-

ing of The Sound of Music. With

the recent purchase of Fox by

Disney, it was a bittersweet trib-

ute—both a celebration and some

form of elegy. Everything screened

at TCM Fest is of a bygone era,

but this section displayed an era

whose place as a thing of the past

is still settling in. Fox as we

knew it may be no more, but

Marilyn Monroe’s performance of

Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend

will forever be timeless.

Down the street from the

historic TCL Chinese Theatre, at

the recently-purchased-by-Netflix

Egyptian Theatre, there are the ni-

trate screenings which remain the

most unique attraction at the fest.

Beyond the possibility of death by

incineration in a movie theater,

there is an indescribable thrill to

viewing a luminous nitrate print

on the big screen. This year’s selec-

tions provided lesser known gems

such as Jean Negulesco’s

Road House and the Betty Grable

and June Haver-headed

The Dolly Sisters. And there

was the Technicolor splendor

of the demented DeMille classic

Samson and Delilah. “Good” may

not be the operative word when

describing this biblical epic but, in

a theater full of classic film fans,

“electric” may be the more fitting

description.

A special addition to the festival

was the Legion Theater at Post 43.

A slightly longer walk from the

TCM PRIMETIME HOST

BEN MANKIEWICZ (L) AND RON PERLMAN

(R) LIGHT UP TCM CLASSIC FILM

FESTIVAL 2019 INSIDE L.A.’S

TCL CHINESE THEATRE

FESTIVAL BEAT

fest headquarters on Hollywood

Boulevard, the recently renovat-

ed Legion is a gorgeous locale:

The only historic theater in Hol-

lywood owned and operated by

veterans, it’s undergone a major

transformation into a state-of-

the-art cinema and event venue.

Seeing a wartime classic like

Sergeant York at such an im-

portant gathering place for vets

made it feel like the only environ-

ment that the Howard Hawks-

directed film should ever

be seen in.

The Legion rounds out a

terrific assortment of theaters

that includes the Chinese and

the aforementioned Egyptian,

as well as a poolside screening

venue at the festival’s head-

quarters, the Roosevelt Hotel.

(Those planning to attend next

year’s edition can look forward

to a select few screenings at the

legendary Cinerama Dome on

Sunset Boulevard.) What was

once the most fascinatingly

cutting-edge way that you can

see a film remains just that—an

old-school, special event presen-

tation like no other. It’s as rare

as the nitrate screenings and,

as with this year’s screening of

Cinerama’s Russian Adventure,

it’s just as beautifully immer-

sive. That’s just what the TCM

Fest remains after 10 terrific

years: an enchanting, envelop-

ing testament to the immediacy

of the classics and what makes

them oh-so-special.

—Ryan Williams

MAMMOTH LAKES

FILM FESTIVAL 2019

Elevated programming

makes jury duty fun at

this mountain-bound fest’s

fifth annual edition

Having narrowly escaped jury

duty this past spring, I volun-

teered myself for another. No,

not for a DUI case like the one

I nearly had to hear at an L.A.

county court, but for the fun,

exciting kind—the kind where

you find yourself deliberating

among esteemed colleagues to

award the best of competition at

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival’s

fifth annual edition.

Held every Memorial Day

weekend (this year May 23-27,

2019), MLFF steeps itself in the

mountainous milieu of the

village from which the festival

takes its name: Mammoth Lakes,

a rustic resort destination that

stands as the sole municipality

of California’s Mono County. If,

like me, you’ve never touched

the Sierra Nevada range outside

of a beer bottle, adjusting to the

five-day event’s elevated environs

can exhaust you within hours of

arrival. But with the support of

an small yet omnipresent staff,

founder and Festival Director

Shira Dubrovner eased movie-

makers and other industry attend-

ees into the altitude with warmth,

grace, and an ace itinerary—un-

corked on my first evening in

town with a dinner and wine-

tasting heady enough to rival the

high climate’s dizzying effects.

Judging the International Nar-

rative Feature section, I made a

point to see the films vying for top

honors more than once. That goal,

however obsessive-compulsive,

was made reasonable and reward-

ing by Director of Programming

Paul Sbrizzi

and company, who offered up

a consistently fresh and surpris-