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Friday, September 24, 2010

Independent Film Fest Goes for Underground Cinema


Journal Staff Writer
          Last year's Santa Fe Independent Film Festival opened with 25 films buttressed by the organizers' Las Vegas poker winnings after their film "Rejection" was snubbed by the Santa Fe Film Festival.
        This year's version of the indie fest will kick off with 80 films, panel discussions and parties at Warehouse 21.
        Opening with a free screening of the blacklisted 1954 film "Salt of the Earth" at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 and running through Oct. 24 , the event will feature films from 12 countries and screen 40 world premieres, all accompanied by directors, casts, crews and filmmakers from as far away as Italy and Wales. Seventeen of the films were made in New Mexico.
        "It's a reaction to the original (festival) by the filmmakers, who sent us close to 300 submissions," said writer/director Jacques Paisner, who is organizing the festival with actor/co-producer David Moore. Paisner and Moore whittled down the lineup to 80; audiences will judge the selections online. While last year's event drew 300 attendees, Paisner projects a turnout of 2,000 for the 2010 version.
        Guests this year will include Ben Hur Sepehr, former personal filmmaker to the shah of Iran and a student of Ingmar Bergman. Sepehr will introduce his Holocaust film "The Desperate." Actor Gary Farmer of "Dead Man" and "Powwow Highway" will talk about the craft of acting; Duncan North, who wrote "The Tao of Steve," will talk about screenwriting; Scott Erickson will lead a session on "Queer Filmmaking"; and Oscar-winner and Santa Fe resident Xavier Horan (for sound in "The Bourne Ultimatum") will host an indie filmmaking discussion. Horan also did the sound on "American Gangster" and "Blood Diamond."
        The focus is on underground cinema, art films and experimental work rather than galas and glamour, Paisner said. "We never were involved with the main festival," he said. "We made a film that the Santa Fe Film Festival rejected and (we) decided we should start our own festival. We thought we'd show a few films in a coffee shop. It turned into 25 films at Warehouse 21."
        Now in its sophomore year, the celebration has garnered a bevy of local sponsors, including Hutton Broadcasting, Warehouse 21, Garrett's Desert Inn, Aztec Cafe, Talisman Tattoo Shop in Taos, RDM and Associates, and Reel West Pictures.
        "Salt of the Earth" — filmed in New Mexico by members of the blacklisted Hollywood Ten and the only American film to be blacklisted –– reflects the festival's focus, Paisner said. At the height of the McCarthy era, the Hollywood Ten refused to answer questions before the House Un-American Activities Committee and were convicted of contempt of Congress and jailed.
        The film's story is based on the real-life 1951 strike against the Empire Zinc Co. in Grant County. The miners were striking for wage parity with Anglo workers, as well as for health and safety protections. "Salt of the Earth" was one of the first movies to advance a feminist and Hispanic point of view. Today, film buffs see it as a cult classic.
       

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