FESTIVAL ROUNDUP



 

Marco Island Film Festival

There’s Ma Kettle, Mama Rosa and Mother Courage, but few parents rate next to Momma Cruise, Tom’s materfamilias. The gal’s helped start a film festival. Yes, little Marco Island off Naples, Florida, home to millionaires and the friendliest retired souls around, is now scratching its way onto the celluloid screening calendar [October 15-18]. It’s slogan: "Every seat is an isle seat." And according to those attending, it’s one of the best run festivals about. It’s also one of the most festive – with daily parties on yachts or in the homes of the overly bankrolled; the observation of dolphins jumping at sunset; the consumption of hors d’oeuvres catered by a former L’Cirque chef; and if you’re still not in a belching state, the chance to nosh during your picture’s unspooling. Yes, the main screening venue, the tiny Marco Movie Theater, offers up World Famous Chicken Fingers ($4.95), Jalapeno Poppers ($4.75), Steak Fajita ($7.95), and even a carnivore’s dream, the Chargrilled Johnsonville Bratwurst ($6.75). Waitresses serve you before your feature starts and collect your cash in the middle of the film with flashlights ablazing.

Stock in Proctor & Gamble aside, the purpose of the festival — and why the community is 100% behind it — is to make "Marco Island" a household word. To bring this oasis to tourists’‚ and filmmakers’‚ attention. Let’s get the economy going. So if you need a warm weather location and want a populace that’ll bend over backwards for you, look no further. But if you have a film, why screen it at Marco Island? Well, whether you have a short or an epic, you’ll be treated like a god and given a luxurious room. Just ask Deanna Shapiro, the writer/producer/director of The Legend of Cryin’ Ryan, a tale dealing with both child abuse and the tombstone of a legendary bull: "It’s beautiful here. I’m having a great time. But then we’ve already got distribution on the film. Porchlight Entertainment. But I’ve met a lot of great directors and writers who I might possibly work with in the future." Yeah.

Also blissful was Florida-based George L. Cotayo, whose feature Deco, he boasted, was going to Sundance. (It’s not.) He arrived at Marco, however, with a short and opined: "It’s turned out much better than what I expected. The only unfortunate thing is that the Fest’s not long enough. It should be a week. There are a lot of good films here. Otherwise everyone’s very supportive and very friendly, especially when compared to the Miami Film Festival, which is unfriendly to filmmakers. I say Marco is the next opportunity for independents; Miami does nothing for independents. That festival believes Florida filmmakers are plain mediocre; Marco gives us respect." Director Andrew Gallerani whose Just Write, a comedy starring Sherilyn Fenn and Jeremy Piven, received its East Coast premiere here plus the Audience Award for Best Comedy, concurred in his acceptance speech: "You at Marco Island probably don’t realize how good your festival really is. It’s not we who should receive these awards. It should be you for doing a wonderful thing. I can guarantee you that these young filmmakers, including myself, will go back to our friends and tell them about how wonderful and organized your festival is. You may be small but you’ll certainly never be forgotten." The awards were given out at a local fish eatery where winners spoke while a large, silent TV played over their heads so the regulars and the losing directors could continue following the football action as they sloshed down brews. As for the films themselves, many of the features addressed the important problem of dating. In fact, you wouldn’t have been surprised if Helen Gurley Brown had been on the Board of Directors. Jack Gindi’s affable What’s Your Sign? chronicles "all the horrors and surprises we all go through in hopes of finding the right one." Decaf ("All she needs is one man, for one night. Anything this simple has to be complicated.") pursues the love life of a coffee shop owner. Great cast, but the film could use a little more caffeine. Then there was Paul Leaf’s God, Sex & Apple Pie ("Three days, nine friends, one pair of handcuffs"), the best promoted flick at the festival. Posters and cast were everywhere along with free hats. Some softcore sex, a stunning cast, a fake hanging, and a dash of wit gave this battle between the sexes good word of mouth.

But the more adventuresome films lay among the shorts: Jesus 2000 covered the next presidential campaign where a possibly bisexual Christ runs against Gore and Kemp. Bobby Loves Mangoes, which was financed by the very young director’s father’s wood business (he makes steps), explores the dilemma a principal must face upon receiving a video from the future predicting a school bus crash the following day. And Marriage a la Mode pursued mail order brides, real love, electronic music, and midgets. The most fun to be had though was both on screen and off with director Harry Bromley-Davenport. An L.A.-based escapee from Britain, he was willing to tear apart everything and everyone: "The theater owners used low-wattage bulbs to save money. That’s why the colors on his film were so dim." "The Montreal World Film Festival treats directors dismally." "Marco Island is fun but a waste of a time. In fact, all film festivals are a waste of time." Thankfully, his Life Among the Cannibals had the same attitude. It was a simple story about an untalented rock musician moving into a neighborhood where anyone’s foe is abducted, tortured and dismembered. The proceedings are videotaped, then replayed on party nights.

Taking a more serious stance was New Yorker Charlie Minn, who came to Marco with his work-in-progress about gambling, The Stall. Why are you here? "Completion funds. I believe that someone will watch my film and see it’s a good investment. I did the movie on a very low budget. It’s not like it would be a tremendous risk. I guess it’s pray every night and hopefully that rich person will come, though I don’t know if there are any distributors or producers here. My sense is that there aren’t." Instead there was Midnight Cowboy’s Sylvia Miles who was appearing with her latest film, Roses, your - everyday - well - acted - wife - kills - philandering - husband - and - keeps - him - iced - in - her - florist - shop effort. For a ludicrously low price, patrons were allowed to attend High Tea with the actress for one whole hour. After going through her husbands, directors, films, and theater work, the diva noted: "You can’t do art unless there’s some itch that cannot be scratched. You’ve got to have something that you got to fight about." And there’s no doubt that after its first sprightly effort – and with its huge amount of resident dermatologists – Marco Island will be back next year with Ma Cruise and her fellow executive board members punching away.



 
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