Venice, Day 5

No matter how much I plan, I always end up on a sleep deficit in Venice. Maybe it's the heat or the screening schedule, but I am struggling to stay awake, particularly when the films are not great.

The surprise film this year was PEOPLE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE SEA, a Chinese feature from Cai Shangjun, a dark and nihilistic violent thriller which is not the usual fare you get from China in the festival circuit. The false fire alarm which interrupted the screening provided some well needed relief from the bleakness. I'm still not sure what I think of the film, but it was certainly very well made.

Francesco convinced me to attend the homage to Armenian documentary filmmaker ARTAVAZD PELESJAN, which included two of his shorts (SEASONS and LIFE) and a documentary about him from an Italian filmmaker, THE SILENCE OF PELESJAN. The original shorts were beautiful, the tribute doc at the end less so. It certainly made me want to seek out his other work.

Gianni Mina is an acclaimed journalist who has traveled to Cuba over the last 30 years, and he has a clear love and affection for the island and the revolution, as I do. So I went into CUBA IN THE AGE OF OBAMA, PART 1 with high expectations. Unfortunately, like the Jonathan Demme doc, the filmmaker let its subject down, with poor camera work, lazy journalism and cloying use of music. A missed opportunity.

Following the international success of THE BAND'S VISIT, Eran Kolirin delivers a boring film about boredom - THE EXCHANGE. Following a university professor as he engages in bizarre behavior with a neighbor, this has moments of humour and originality but ultimately is a short film blown up to feature length.

The buzz on the lido has died off significantly, with screenings half empty and fewer people around in general. You can actually find a seat on a vaporetto! I guess this is the Toronto exodus that happens every year. Perhaps someone needs to reschedule?

Venice Days 1,2 & 3

My third Mostra in a row, and finally I have some time to watch films. For the past two years I have attended Venice in official capacity as part of the CICAE Art Cinema Management course, and this time, I rocked up just for the movies. Here's a round-up of what I have seen so far:

ALPS is the follow up from DOGTOOTH director Yorgos Lathimos, and follows the same twisted logic of that first film, but fails to bottle the same tension the second time around.

David Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD is a very un-Cronenberg-like film in its execution, an elegant period piece with a sharp script by Christopher Hampton. Its themes, though, are thoroughly in the vein of the Canadian filmmakers’ oeuvre: sex, violence and psychology. It was enjoyable despite some heavy handed acting from Keira Knightley, complete with dodgy Russian accent.

PERSEPOLIS was one of the most entertaining films of 2009, so I was looking forward to Strapjani’s follow up, CHICKEN WITH PLUMS, a foray into live action with one of the most talented actors around, Matthew Almaric. It was a huge disappointment – sentimental, clichéd and very much attempting to pull off a Jeneut-sense of wonder without the skills to do so.

Al Pacino is this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, and he’s brought a film with him: WILD SALOME, an essay-film very much like his directorial debut, LOOKING FOR RICHARD, in which the actor explores the process of putting on Oscar Wilde’s play Salome. It was self-indulgent and had true moments of Spinal Tap-ness about it, but Pacino still has an electric face and voice.

Fassbender is everywhere. Within 24 hours of his turn as Carl Jung, he shows up here in Steve McQueen’s follow up to HUNGER, as an executive with a predilection for prostitutes and porn. SHAME suffers in comparison to HUNGER because of its almost purposefully low-stakes plot, and Carey Mulligan is miscast as his troubled sister. There are a few moments of humour and originality, but overall its just too lightweight and familiar ground.

My favorite film so far has been Emmanuelle Crialese’s TERRAFERMA (pictured), a gentle and straightforward story about a Sicilian island and the struggles of its inhabitants in the age of tourism, dwindling fishing stocks and increasing African immigration. The characters were funny, interesting and real, and the director of THE GOLDEN DOOR has a sharp eye and ear for the Sicilian people and landscape.

Watch this space for more reviews throughout the week.

Venice Day 5

The pink building in the picture is my 'Pallazina' on the island. Not too shabby eh?

Saw my first MOSTRA screening today, Todd Solondz's LIFE DURING WARTIME. After the projectionists sorted out the out-of-synch subtitles and the rowdy crowd settled down, the hilarious film, which is a sort of sequel to HAPPINESS, played to continuous audience laughter. Solondz's style of sunny cinematography, upsetting subject matter and characters displaying complete lack of self-awarness makes for both disturbing and very funny comedy. Great turns by Ciaran Hands, Allison Janney, Ally Sheedy (yes, Ally Sheedy!) and Charlotte Rampling. Although inferior to HAPPINESS, I think it's a true return to form for this great director.

Will be trying to get into THE ROAD(which, like LIFE, features a performance from Omar from THE WIRE!) tonight at 10pm (should be a busy one) so will have review up tomorrow.

Ciao!

Venice, Day 3 & 4

Sorry for the lack of updates yesterday, but I barely had a chance to sleep! Things move at an alarming rate here, with classes from 9am till about 6pm, then screenings, and of course networking.

The Economics of Cinema, The Chain of Rights, Classics and Short Films were the subjects we've covered, plus of course all the homework we have to do. Tonight is the opening of the Mostra de Cinema (Film Fest) and I'll be scooting off in a vaporetto to the Lido in a little while to see some films.

It's really fascinating to be in the company of people from 20 od countries who all have your same job. I rarely meet other cinema managers in the UK, let alone across Europe. I'll be coming back loaded with ideas stolen from the best.

Back tomorrow with film reviews!

Venice

I'm flying off to Venice tomorrow morning to attend the CICAE Arthouse Cinema Manager training course. It's a ten-day, intensive period dedicated to all things cinema: marketing, programming, budgeting, funding, etc. We also get a pass to the Venice Film Festival, so I'll try and make as many screenings as I can.

I'll be blogging and posting as much as possible every day, so keep an eye out for film reviews, general comments and some nice pictures....(the picture above is the island where we'll be staying, San Servolo).

Arrivederchi

Venice Beckons

I'll be attending a 10-day course in Venice in late August organised by the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (which sounds like Star Trek's version of a cinema group) which is funded by various European bodies.

They kindly invited me and even provided some financial support, and City Screen pitched in as well. Its the only course of its kind in the world, designed specifically for cinema managers, focusing on marketing, programming, funding and pretty much anything else related to running an arthouse cinema. We also get a pass for the Mostra di Cinema (Venice Film Festival), so at least the evenings should be exciting.

This course highlights the lack of exhibition-specific training that exists in Europe. It is assumed that running a cinema is no different than retail, and that popcorn is the real business. I think this is a truism that could only apply to the multiplexes, where uniformity of experience and efficiency are paramount. If we are to attract audiences other than teenagers, we need to offer something beyond an acceptably projected film and a pile of over-priced sweets. Atmosphere, service, quality (in programming and in food & beverage) and the sense of a night out - these are the qualities that adult customers are looking for. Skillset, the UK's funding body for training in the film industry, focuses most of its efforts on film production. The same way the UK Film Council focuses the majority of its funding on making films that often never arrive at cinemas. We've built, with Lottery money, a perfect cake-making machine but no conveyor belt to take these cakes to the public. A pile of squashed cakes sits on the shelves of filmmakers across the country. If I could extend my baking metaphor, we need more bakeries and less bakers!

I would say that if any other industry skills are transferable to the arthouse experience, it's not retail, but rather venue/club/bar management. Add to that a passion for cinema and a keen knowledge of your customer base. So hopefully I will pick up some of these skills in Venice. If not, a handful of great films and the 'Queen of the Adriatic' awaits.

Some good films set in Venice:
- Everybody Says I Love You (Woody Allen)
- Death in Venice (Visconti)
- Don't Look Now (Roeg)
- Casino Royale (Campbell)