Palm Beach International Film Festival

For press materials to refer to the Palm Beach International Film Festival as the "debut" in this, its fourth year, seems at first to be a bit of an oxymoron. But film festivals, like any venture, sometimes have to try a few times before getting it right. After three inconsistent years and much political squabbling, Palm Beach County finally brought in some new blood. Both Mark Diamond, already Executive Director at the Palm Springs Film Festival and the Boston Film Festival, and Paul Cohen, former President of Aries Releasing (Bad Lieutenant, Lovers), now Director of Marketing & Operations, have decided that this fourth year is their "debut." And to good result. As Richard Abramowitz, producer of Wigstock: The Movie, said, "For a first effort, it was the most organized, most impressive festival I've been to."

Running from April 11-17 and featuring over 40 American and international independent films and 20 shorts, the extraordinary weather and beach-front locale produced a relaxed and openly creative atmosphere. Events included an opening night tribute to Gene Kelly, three seminars and a sidebar called the Florida Film Forum. And the Festival ended with the closing night "Cast Party" held at the architecturally stunning Mar-a-Lago Club. It was there that David P. Moore, director of Hitting the Ground, surprised many a tux-clad, sequined gowned, nose-in-the-air onlooker by jumping into the pool while fully clothed. Moore was escorted off the premises just in time to field the Q&A session after the screening of his film.

Premiering at the Festival was first-time director Steven Feder's comedy, The Cottonwood, about four lottery winners who make a movie that's a blatant plagiarism. Feder commented, "It's an interesting city in that, in terms of audience, you have the young kids and then you have the people over 65; the middle wasn't there - 30s, 40s, 50s. But the kids were soaking it up like sponges." Festival organizers seemed to have anticipated this. Many of the seminars were already geared towards students working to build the infrastructure of an independent film community in Florida. And, a portion of the Festival's proceeds were donated to local film schools.

Other notable screenings included Julian Stone's Follow the Bitch, a quick-witted comedy about what happens when a woman joins a traditionally all-male Friday night poker game; Anne Rose Dremann's Cashing In, a drama in which four slacker roommates hatch a get-rich-quick scheme to tragic results; and Eric Bross' Nothing to Lose, a gripping portrait about the limits of friendship. Bross said, "The festival had a great spirit, and it helped to get the word out about my film to the area's population, but a problem that I saw was that the theaters where the films were showing were too spread out around Palm Beach County." Lisa Gottlieb, director of Cadillac Ranch, also remarked, "By spreading the theaters all over the place, there was less of a chance for a festival community to develop. The distances are too difficult."

"A function of having a county-wide festival is to provide the residents of the county the opportunity to see the films," answered Paul Cohen. "From a distribution standpoint, it seems like a great chance for the filmmakers to stimulate the audience and create word of mouth throughout an entire community, so I see it as a positive." Cohen concluded with three reasons why he considered the Festival a success: "One, I'm particularly proud of the fact that this inaugural festival emphasized American independent cinema. Two, the Florida Film Forum, with the support of The Florida Entertainment Commission, helped American independent cinema resonate throughout the Florida business community. And three, it was crucial having industry people see the high quality of our student films and recognize that Florida is rapidly emerging as an important educational center for the future of cinema."

The Cannes Film Festival by Noah Cowan
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival by Andrew O. Thompson
The New York Underground Film Festival by Pamela Grossman
Festival of New Latin American Cinema by Andrea Elliot
Palm Beach International Film Festival by Peter Steinberg