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Published
Articles & Reviews by Wendy Dent
Sydney International Film Festival
review
by Wendy Dent for
Filmfestivals.com June
2005:
Sydney International Film
Festival
Red Carpet Rules
The selection of films at this year's 52nd Sydney
International Film Festival is excellent. From foreign docs to short
Aussie animations, the sessions are selling out.
An obvious audience favourite screening today was the mockumentary
'A Day Without A Mexican', satirising a day when all latinos in L.A.
disappear (note, "no mexicans were harmed in the making of this
film"). The "startingly original love story" '3 Iron'
from South Korea captivated and enchanted its audience from beginning
to end, and 'Tell Them Who You Are' startled its audience as well,
as the cinematographer's own father-son relationship unravelled
onscreen.
In another full house session, of
the delightful doc Mad Hot Ballroom, the audience laughed and applauded
with every on-screen
victory. So in just 3 days it's obvious the showcase on offer at
SIFF is to be applauded too. But we
all know that – so why waste time repeating it? Please do yourselves
a favour and just go along and watch the films instead. Therefore what's
left to be said is needed to be said in a Tongue In Cheek Article About
Ambience.
If you’re only interested in the films then happy
days, you’ve got a hip and happening line up of world class cinema
to fill your dreams and fuel your thoughts for the next fortnight.
But if you’re a papparazzi or serial gossip here
then I’m
afraid it looks like slim pickings coming up. I asked a photographer
at the opening “who are you expecting here tonight?”. He
muttered under his breath that unforgivable 5 letter word “no-one”.
Then added with some hope “oh they say Bryan Brown is coming,
he’s just been nominated for Some Big Award, the Order of Australia
or something".
Unfortunately he didn’t show. Thank God that Jane
Campion did, and the always endearing Thomas Keneally and Barry Otto
in their own inimitable style.
But if you’re into talking
about fashion, and were waiting with baited breath for statements
on the
red carpet... well the closest that might come to would be wondering
if British films 'are the next black’.
Yes, in the words of Festival director
Lynden Barber, it was a “cracker” of a British film ('My Summer of Love')
that opened the 52nd Sydney International Film Festival. A BAFTA award
winner even. Shock horror. Shouldn’t it be an Australian film,
the press is accusing.
Should we be following the trend of many
‘
international film festivals’ in the USA that seem to boast an
impressive line up of US productions, with a token ‘Canadian’ foreign
film thrown in? "The Raging Debate" surrounding this years’ festival
seems to suggest that we must have an Australian headlining film or
an Australian focus.
Must we? Couldn’t that be
just as culturally cringe-worthy as a festival devoid of our own
culture?
Yes, Australian films are to be celebrated but the
Sydney International Film Festival has for a long time had the maturity
to be well above the role of
self-promoter of Australian work. I personally have seen my own purely
Australian-made films included as rare foreign entries in US ‘international
film festivals’ though listed in their programs as American.
So I’m relieved to see an international film festival proudly
showcasing its international selection.
But what I would like to see are a few more
international celebrities – and hey, yes throw in some Australian
ones too!- strutting their stuff on the red carpet scene. Because for
all the high brow fuss over the decadent decor of the extravagantly
elegant State Theatre the attractions were decidedly low brow.
For a supposedly ‘star studded’ and ‘diamond
studded’ night, I had to ask where are the stars? Where was the
pouting, the posing, the attitude, the arrogance, that makes any international
film festival grab headlines?
If we can’t do a red carpet
spectacularly, at least be
rebellious and do a green one. There was at least one absurdely tall
and skinny model-cum-beanpole taking the spotlight that must have given
many people a scare. Its easy to be intimidated when the event
is sponsored by a company selling diamonds worth more than the average Australian
film.
How
do you respond when on the red carpet - and onnational TV- you are
interviewed about who designed your ‘shimmering diamonds’ -
which are completely fake, and you realise that will be soon be discovered?
What doesone say? I said proudly “It's budget. I’m a BUDGET
film-maker. I try to avoid wearing jewelry thatcosts
more than my film." Cut! I find the interview is
abruptly over. Well, Australian film-makers are genuinely poor you
know!
But even without the high brow high-falutin,
I suspect when Australian film makers or cinephiles see red carpets,
bright lights
and camera flashes, they just don’t know what to do with themselves.
In fact, I overheard the partner of one of Australia’s best film
directors even ask him “but where is the entrance for those not
going down the red carpet”? “We all do honey”,
he replied.
She wasn’t the only person confused. Two girls tried to enter
behind the cordoned off media barrier – i.e. actually through
the media scrum instead of being coralled through the crowd entrance –as
if they were scared they might be kicked off the red carpet.
Watching all the festival guests rush down the red
carpet like roadkill caught in the headlights was
actually a very funny sight. Most people crossing the spotlights in
front of papparazzi and TV cameras frowned and darted the other way,
not realising all the live footage was not only being aired... oh I
don’t
know, somewhere.. but being simultaneously relayed to the waiting audience
in the cinema as well! It was a master stroke of multi-media genius,
creative and entertaining.
If only the opening ceremonies were just as
entertaining. The sponsor's ads got more laughs thanthe TV presenter
MCs, who stumbled their way through shameless sponsorship plugs and
cringed with embarrassment through paltry jokes about Tom Cruise & Katie
Holmes. “We thought in Australia we’d at least
get away with Cruise jokes." Oh and "the opening film is
about our Prime Minister's time on George Dubya’s Texan ranch,
aptly titled 'My Summer of Love'." Boom boom. Where is that TV
canned laughter track when you need it?
The laughter did come - at unexpected moments. Such as when a local
polly (that’s Australian for politician) virtually began his
own election campaign speech. Oh, though the point of it all was
to also keep reiterating “we DO have an Australian film industry,
we really DO”.
This is being repeated so often
its starting to alarm me. Perhaps next we’ll get an orange alert
system like the USA, to ‘reassure us’ against the alarming
state of Australian films.
So, what could save the day here? The Sydney
International Film Festival desperately needs a little more red carpet
attention. Plus an Oprah extreme makeover special on its guests.
As
Australia is unfortunately in the midst of a serious drought and endless
shots of dead trees won’t sell too many newspapers, we should
be able to manage a little front page publicity. After all, what is
the competition?! Shots of SIFF didn't even make the next night's evening
news. A report about George Lucas’ Lifetime Achievement Award
in L.A. did.
In leiu of red carpet training, or red carpet
examples, Sydney siders evidently need a few
guidelines here. Someone once told me their New Year's Resolution was
to try a new icecream flavour every time. I’d like to suggest
that all Sydney film-makers take the spirit of that idea onto the red
carpet, if not the icecream. Try wearing a different colour to a film
festival every time, instead of the regulation ‘indie’ black.
Where are the safety pin dresses, the credit card dresses, the lime
green tuxedos? Ok so its winter. Then I expect to see half an animal audaciously
adorning someone's fur coat, with
resulting gasps of indignant disgust.
Here’s another resolution
perhaps the SIFF board could bravely embark on; Try asking politicians
to keep their festival speeches shorter than the average short film.
And everyone should follow the example of
Lynden Barber, the SIFF’s new artistic director, an
ex-critic who’s now nobly responding to film
criticism. At the opening night of his inaugural
festival directorship he greeted the press with
charisma and intelligence, and presented his program with panache – and
a perfect set of teeth.
So the gossip and the glitterati are yet to come, but congratulations
to Lynden Barber and team on their ‘
cracker’ of a British oops I mean Sydney filmfestival opening, “jolly
good show old chap”!
When it comes down to it, the opening weekend
went flawlessly and a world class success it was;
Full houses & sold out sessions?- Check.
Glossy artwork with lots of arty
stripes – check.
Plus the opening film
'My Summer of Love' was; Interesting - Check.
Ideosyncratic- check. Controversial - Check.
Comedic -Check.
Whilst underpinned with pathos - Check.
International (ie foreign)- check.
Whilst oddly reminiscent of the
Australian sense of identity and irony- check.
Oh and Hong Kong celebrities such
as veritable ‘superstar’ Daniel
Wu are due on the next flight to Sydney? Check!
So on with the show.
And P.S. PLEASE, dear Nicole,
dear Geoffrey, dear Naomi, dear Mel, even dear Russell if you aren't
jailed, we KNOW you’re busy, we KNOW you’re in demand,
we KNOW you give endlessly to the needy, but please, give a little
attention and some sassy stilettos to the red carpet down here. Especially
Russell. There is some serious ‘swanning’ to be done and
Sydney needs you. Our politicans need you
to save them from the stage and their own shameless self promotion.
And above all, our indie film-makers that barely made the festival program
need you. Help the hungry film-makers, and give a little glamour where
its needed
most!
Wendy Dent
www.wendydent.com
Monday June 13, 2005
Sydney Australia
(C) WENDY DENT 2005
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