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TOPANGA FILM FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2010 KEY EVENTS AND LAUNCH OF TOPANGA FILM INSTITUTE (Topanga, CA) -- July 28, 2010 – The Topanga Film Festival to be held August 19-22, 2010, today rolled out the most ambitious screening schedule in the festival’s history. Since its inception six years ago, the Topanga Film Festival was a short film festival known for its eclectic mix of global content, with a reputation for “the smallest film festival with the biggest prize.” This year, the 4-day festival introduces an ambitious slate of feature length film screenings, special live and interactive events – many of which will take place in an oversized screening tent – in Topanga’s town center, Pine Tree Circle. Screenings at Pine Tree Circle will generally run from 11AM into the late evening except for Friday, August 20, where screenings will begin at 2PM to accommodate the Topanga Farmer’s Market. Unless otherwise specified, events will be held at the screening tent. Highlighted events include: Thursday, August 19, 2010: •
12-1:30PM Haiti Ciné Institute student short film showcase with remote introduction from Jacmel via Skype or iPhone. A silent auction will be conducted for the duration of the film festival of Tao Ruspoli’s photography with proceeds to benefit Artists For Peace and Justice, and their relief efforts in Haiti. Topangan Benar Geer reports on his own project in Haiti.
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2-3:30PM Kelly Carlin to host; sharing commentary by her late father, George Carlin and present Oliver Stone’s South of the Border. Oliver Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries to explore the social and political movements as well as the mainstream media’s misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.
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6-7:30PM Topanga director Jim Chryssanthis will introduce his award-winning documentary, No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos, with confirmed guests Vilmos Zsigmond, Laszlo Kovacs' widow, Audrey Kovacs, likely Karen Black and Peter Fonda as well as other fans of both the legendary cinematographers and Dennis Hopper. The documentary traces Vilmos Zsigmond's journey with Laszlo Kovacs, their widescreen images of American landscapes in Easy Rider, Paper Moon and Scarecrow inspired by their early years when they were adrift in a beautiful but forbidding new land. Easy Rider is credited as Kovacs' breakthrough film.
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8:30-10PM Lost Angels is a warm, humanistic portrait of Los Angeles' Skid Row, and much like the marginalized people it documents, it manages to walk an incredibly precarious line -celebrating the strong-willed characters who are allowed to thrive there without soft-pedaling the injustices that leave them with no other place to go. Expertly made and shot through with an undercurrent of righteous anger, director Thomas Napper's documentary is ultimately a tribute to the spirit of an area most would consider a simple urban blight. Produced by Topangan Agi Orsi, directed by Thomas Napper, narrated by Catherine Keener.
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8:30-11PM Topanga Film Festival Opening Ceremony and Tribute to Dennis Hopper | Easy Rider will screen at Abuelita’s Restaurant in conjunction with 6th Annual Topanga Film Festival opening ceremony. The No Subtitles Necessary team will also attend the creek side, open-air screening of this roadshow classic in honor of Dennis Hopper. Venue is Abuelita’s Mexican Restaurant.
Friday, August 20, 2010. Friday is environmental day at the screening tent: •
2PM Save the Farm | A short film by Michael Kuehnert is the story of a 14-acre organic farm in South Central Los Angeles. Over 14 years 350 families build an oasis that feeds the community with local, organic food. However, the city of LA sells the land back to a developer in a back room deal. Activists and celebrities stage an 11th hour tree sit to try to save the farm. Latino families, city politicians, a wealthy developer, environmental activists and celebrities collide in a milieu of ideologies, hidden agendas and issues of health and survival, all in a setting that could hold the key to the future of our planet.
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2:30PM DIRT! The Movie | Feature Documentary directed by Bill Benenson, Gene Rosow and narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis changes our notion of what dirt is. The movie propagates that the only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again” and promotes the premise that “what we've destroyed, we can heal.”
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7:30-9:30PM Budrus | A Feature Documentary film by Julia Bacha (Control Room) follows a Palestinian activist, Ayed Morrar, who tries to save his village from Israel’s Separation Barrier. In response to Israeli security forces’ decision to extend the security wall through Budrus’ ancient olive groves and cemetery, Morrar unites an unlikely group consisting of Hamas and Fatah members as well as Israeli supporters.
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4PM-11PM International Day at the Mountain Mermaid This day-long event co-hosted by the Topanga Film Institute and Swiss based Dreamago will include two panels, Bettering the World with your Story (panelists include Joan Scheckel, Kyle Ruddick, a Chumash storyteller) followed by The Big Picture (panelists include Fausto Callegarini, Paul Sparks, Eleonora Granata, Steve Reiss). The event will also highlight Direct Connect, a poolside speed networking event that will avail attendees to panelists, high-level new and traditional creative, production, distribution and financing experts. The evening program will include a special selection of short films.
At 7:15PM, David Lynch will be honored with an award for innovation in filmmaking followed by screening of his short film, Lady Blue Shanghai, starring Marion Cotillard Photographs of Haiti recovery efforts by Tao Ruspoli will be on display at the Mountain Mermaid that will be available through silent auction throughout this event and the duration of the festival, with proceeds to benefit Artists for Peace and Justice. 7:45PM Being in the World A Documentary Feature by Tao Ruspoli. Being in the World is a celebration of human beings and our ability, through the mastery of physical, intellectual and creative skills, to find meaning in the world around us. Some of our most renowned philosophers, from Harvard to Berkeley, take us on a gripping journey to meet modern day masters—people who not only have learned to respond in a sensitive way to the requirements of their craft, but have also gathered their communities in ways that our technological age threatens to make obsolete. Tao Ruspoli will introduce his film and will participate in a question and answer session following the film. Saturday, August 21, 2010 •
6PM Gate, 8:30PM Screening | International Short Film Competition at Trust Ranch on the Mesa | This year’s selection explores the possibilities of storytelling at all levels – ranging from documentaries, animation, drama, comedy to experimental shorts. Special guest Nic Harcourt will host the pre-screening party
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11:30AM Collection of Dance For Camera Shorts selected by Cari Ann Shim Sham. These films feature narrative and abstract story telling through dance, movement and stunning imagery. Special Guest Speakers will attend and tell their story about the making of Sublevados.
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3:30PM Tengri | A feature film by Marie Jaoul de Poncheville | According to Daily Variety, is “. . . is arthouse exotica of the most accessible sort. Lightweight tale, set in the Kyrgyzstan mountains, has a married jailoo (village) woman in the angering her neglectful spouse and community by carrying on with a smitten prodigal son. Their subsequent flight yields a back-countrytravelogue and mildly perilous adventure.”
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7PM May I Be Frank – A film About Sex, Drugs and Transformation | This feature documentary chronicles the transformation of Frank Ferrante’s life. Frank is 54 years old, obese, depressed and addicted. He stumbles into a local raw, organic and vegan restaurant in San Francisco, Café Gratitude. When Ryland, a server at Café Gratitude asks Frank “What is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank replies, “I want to fall in love one more time, but no one will love me looking the way I do.”
Sunday, August 22, 2010 •
10AM Soul Train: The Hippest Trip directed by J. Kevin Swain, narrated by Terrence Howard brings back the dancing, clothes and music. This VH1 documentary relives one of the most
successful music shows in the history and tracks artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Snoop Dogg. •
12-2PM Youth Salon two groups of budding filmmakers share their work, the under 12 group showcase is as 12 Noon followed by teen short films at 1PM
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2:45PM Rabbit Fever, a feature documentary by Amy Do | This endearingly amusing featurelength debut follows the annual competition at the National American Rabbit Convention, where more than 20,000 rabbits and their adorably quirky breeders gather to celebrate their common passion.
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6:30PM Topanga Film Festival Awards Ceremony at Froggy’s Fish Market | The $60,000 Panavision Grand Prize camera rental package will be presented along with awards for Suitable for All Screens an line film competition (Jury Award), Best Actor, Diamond in the Rough.
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7:30PM Best of Topanga short film screenings will continue at Froggy’s Fish Market after the Awards Ceremony, hosted by Topanga filmmaker Anastasia Fite.
Tickets for all events are available at http://itsmyseat.com or through the Topanga Film Festival website, http://topangafilmfestival.com. Individual tickets are available are all access passes for the duration of the festival. Due to minimal corporate sponsorship, screenings are presented on a fee basis, however, most children’s events, closing night and selected screenings are free of charge. The festival’s quick rise from a small town affair to an internationally recognized event is the result of it being an authentic celebration of film held in a beautiful setting that is home to many world famous writers, actors, filmmakers, musicians and artists. Almost immediately the Festival earned the admiration of a sophisticated audience of renowned artists and entertainment industry veterans. And, the fact that well know actors and movie makers could easily be recruited as jurors, because Topanga was already their home, instantly brought credibility to the event. The 2010 jurors will be announced in mid-August. The Topanga Film Festival is now a project of the International Humanities Center, a 501[c]3 non-profit organization. (http://ihcenter.org)
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