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Smooth Sailing For 5th Annual BIFF
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Mary DeBerry
June 17th 2007 |
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 The 5th Annual Boston International Film Festival was held June 6 through the 13th this year right in the middle of downtown Boston. It was nestled in the set of buildings next to Emerson College and the Theater District, directly across from the bustle of the Boston Commons. The festival struck a coup this year screening all films at the mega-multiplex, Lowe’s AMC Theater. For a festival only in its 5th year - it is doing extremely well.
It is obvious that the success of the festival is due to the hard work, laser focus and solid organizational skills of festival founder and director, Patrick Jerome. In a few short years Jerome and his core group have managed to grow the festival exponentially. This year, 2007, they drew well over 1000 entries from 24 countries and 47 nationalities, and brought in a huge percentage of the films’ directors, producer and actors to attend the festival.
I thoroughly enjoy attending film festivals. They are crazy, creative, collaborative celebrations. But somehow the gang at the BIFF managed to keep the crazy to a minimum. I spent all day Saturday, June 9th at the festival, courtesy of Festival Director Jerome and his Public Relations Director Tacuma Vanderpool. If it’s not too corny or old fashioned to say - I had a blast.
I saw a great variety of films in a comfortable, technically current venue. There were no technical snafus. I got to gab with all kinds of creative people. Food and drink were readily available. The festival director was visible, available and involved. The programming “sessions” were in comfortably watchable 3 shorts and 1 feature setup. And even more amazing was that even late in the day, the staff was calm, cool and collected. I commented to Jerome that by this point in a festival, at least one person is sick, one is crying, some tickets are lost, and no one can find the film that starts in 2 minutes.
Jerome laughed looking as fresh and enthusiastic at 10pm as he did at noon. Tall and handsome, with a “light-up-the-room” smile, he shook hands, hugged people and welcomed all the arriving participants personally. “Well, things are rolling along” he admitted.
The powerhouse staff of the BIFF is supremely humble. I chatted throughout the day with Jerome, Vanderpool, Jean Desire or “J.D.”, the Program Director and Jenna Pitts – who introduced each Q&A session with a terrific sense of timing and polish.
I kept uncovering amazing facts about this group. Jerome’s production company BWAY7 Productions has a film ready to go to DVD distribution. The film, called “Holla to Me”, reminded me of Spike Lee stylistically when I saw the preview. In addition, their festival was the last one to screen the critically acclaimed documentary “Ten Questions for the Dahli Llama”. It now goes directly to national distribution.
In talking with Program Director, J.D., I noted how much I liked their choice of three shorts and one feature comprising each “session”. I told him it provided good pacing for stretches of sitting, and necessary trips out for food and the restroom. “It also gives the people their money’s worth” responded J.D. “We think that’s important”. JD watched the entire crop of over 1000 films along with the screening committee to choose which films would make the cut and be shown at the BIFF. I commented that choosing which films to put where must have been difficult. “Oh no, that’s nothing” he confessed. “The most difficult thing is choosing which films to be in the festival. There are so many wonderful and well done films.” The quality as well as quantity of submissions was overwhelming.
Festival Director Jerome is a filmmaker too. He learned most of what he knows on his own. He had two of his own short films screened. One of them, the haunting “Lyrics of My Life”, was also screened at Cannes this year. It is a psychodrama with music written by Jerome in English and French. The other short Jerome directed was written by the winner of the BIFF “Screenplay to Production” contest from last year. The short, “December 31”, is a mystery about an investigative reporter who is looking to rev up her career by solving a ten-year-old murder. The BIFF committee was impressed by the screenplay and chose it to be produced in time to screen this year.
 I spoke to the winning screenwriter, Julia Lieberman, who came to see her creation brought to life on the big screen. “I just took a chance and entered it” admitted Leiberman. She had no idea her work would be considered good enough to win. “It was exciting, and a good chance to learn about what it takes to make a film”. Program Director J.D. said it was also a way to keep giving jobs to area actors and film technicians.
Jerome saw his very first film in the cinema when he was 12. It was an ultra-violent karate film. It scared him so badly he had nightmares for a week. But he was intrigued and went back to the Movie Theater. The next film he saw was the goofy “Any Which Way But Loose” with Clint Eastwood and the orangutan. That’s when the light bulb went on for Jerome. He discovered that there are many ways to express thoughts and ideas on film and he knew he had to pursue that as his life’s work.
Here is a small sampling of the amazing films I saw: They included an animated piece about political conspiracies called “Saul Goodman” that was funny and scary at the same time. A Bollywood-type musical, “Bombay Skies”, done as a senior thesis by Rita Rani about a young girl trying to follow her dream. It was shot beautifully in both LA and in India. A documentary about the lagging interest of youth in the space program intrigued me. Titled “What’s Going On Up There”, it explains that most of today’s youth were born well after the nation-wide excitement of the US landing on the moon in 1969. Many of them think our landing on the moon is a myth!
While many of the film actors were unknowns, some producers and directors talked big names into performing in their films. A young man finding his way in life at a bar in New York City had the help of James Gandolfini, Joe Mantegna and Louis Gossett, Jr. in “Club Soda”. During the Q&A afterward with director Paul Carafotes, we learned that his wife was about to give birth at home, but his many other siblings were present to support him. Oh yes, and the young man in his film, Steve R. McQueen, is the grandson of the legendary Steve McQueen.
Ryan O’Neal agreed to play a part in a short called “Waste Land”. This short, which included sprinklings of voodoo and faith healings, is about a young woman beset by demonic spirits in a most erotic manner. That Q&A session with the director/writer/actor Rebekah Chaney was one of the most interesting I have ever attended!
Hugh O’Conor, played a young man unluckly in love who suffers amnesia and is accused of murder after “Speed Dating”. This fast-paced feature combined comedy, drama and mystery quite artfully. And I saw so many more great films and great performances! All I can say is don’t miss this festival next year!
To participate, check out the films screened, find out about the “Screenplay to Production” contest, or just learn more about the event, go to the festival’s website, www.bifilmfestival.com.
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