Lineup at Regent circles the globe
The third annual Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF), at the Regent Theatre closes Sunday, Oct. 27, but not before a full day of screenings:
Noon – COFFEE WITH DAVID MOORE (10:31 minutes)
Daniel Black, Director | USA | 2013|DOC
Q&A w/Subject of Film
OUT OF THE FIRE (76 minutes)
Courtenay Singer, Director | USA |2013|DOC
Out of the Fire offers a little known look into the world of wood-firing potters who use ancient, labor intensive techniques to achieve stunning, unique surfaces on their pots.
The film centers on potter Kevin Crowe’s compelling 4-day wood kiln firing to complete nearly 2,000 pots. But the film is about more than just making pots. The film’s characters also explore the drive to create, the importance of community, and the value of risk-taking and authenticity in making great work, and living life to the fullest.
2 p.m. – INDELIBLE LALITA (71 MIN)
Julie Mallozzi, Director | USA | 2012|DOC
What happens to a woman’s sense of self when her body changes beyond recognition? Indelible Lalita tells the story of a beautiful woman whose resilient spirit survives her body’s transformation by cancer, heart failure, and a dramatic loss of skin pigment. Meditatively flowing between surface and interior, the film follows Lalita as she migrates from Bombay to Paris to Montréal, and becomes completely White along the way. Lalita learns to let go of her body as the sign of her ethnicity and femininity – and ultimately realizes that her body is just a temporary vessel for her spirit.
3:45 p.m. – ASHAM: A Man Called Hope (90 MIN)
Maggie Morgan, Director | Egypt |2012|NAR
Six intertwined stories about aspiration, disappointment, and hope are tied together loosely through the character of Asham who encounters the characters at critical points in their lives. The stories take place against the backdrop of a restless Cairo before the January 25 revolution. The city is troubled: traffic is gridlocked, a man threatens to throw himself off a building to protest government injustice, street peddlers are harassed by the police… the tension is palpable.
5:25pm – LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT (14 MIN)
Mark Playne, Director | UK |2012|NAR
THE O’BRIEN’s (84 MIN) Co-presented with the Irish Film Festival
Slaine Kelly & Emmett Hughes, Directors | Ireland | 2013|NAR
The O’Brien’s is a witty, romantic comedy about a dysfunctional modern Irish family living on different sides of the Atlantic. After father, Pat organizes an impromptu family reunion at their beautiful family farmhouse in Galway, Ireland, it reunites siblings Fionn who lives in New York, Gareth who lives in London, and Una and husband Brendan and two children.
Q&A with Filmmaker
CLOSING WITH IRISH STEP-DANCERS
Slide show of scenes from the films >>
Scene from ‘Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth.’
The festival opened Wednesday. Oct. 23, with “Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth” by directors Frauke Sandig and Eric Black. It has won numerous international awards.
Beautifully filmed over years in Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico, it speaks to the ancient Maya belief that this present world as we know it, will end and a new cycle arise after 5,125 years.
The film follows six young modern Maya through their daily and ceremonial life, revealing their determination to resist the destruction of their culture and environment. Each story touches on a facet of the current global crisis, Their view that all life is sacred and interconnected presents a deeply compelling alternative to the opinions of many.
TO JOIN THE FESTIVAL
Films are at the Regent, 7 Medford St., Arlington.
Tickets are available exclusively through the Regent website or by calling the box office.
General-admission tickets: $11 per person
Festival passes: $50
VIP ticket and festival pass holders are invited to the opening-night after-party hosted at the Acitron Restaurant.
See the full program here >>
Note: Program and times listed here are subject to change.
NYC immigrants, Iran, Agentina
This year’s film program is extremely diverse. “I Learn America” by directors Jean-Michel Dissard and Gitte Peng follows five immigrant teenagers for one school year in a New York City public high school dedicated to serving newly arrived immigrant teenagers, with more than 300 students speaking two-dozen languages from 50 countries.
Through these five vibrant young people, their stories and struggles and their willingness to open their lives and share them with us, we “learn America.”
Following the screening, a distinguished panel will engage in discussion about the hot topic of immigration and how legislation will affect the children of immigrants. How we fare in welcoming them will determine the nature of this country in the 21st century and beyond.
Awarded 2013 AIFF Best Documentary, “The Iran Job,” a German/Iran production, directed by director Till Schauder, follows American basketball player Kevin Sheppard, who accepts a job to play in one of the world’s most feared countries, Iran. He expects the worse but what he finds is a country brimming with generosity, acceptance and sensuality.
“Clandestine Childhood,” directed by Benjamín Ávila, a coproduction of Argentina/Spain/Brazil, was awarded 2013 AIFF Best Narrative. Set in Argentina in 1979, the film is based on these facts: After years of exile, Juan and his family come back to Argentina under fake identities. His family is members of the Montoneros Organization, which is fighting against the military junta that rules the country.
Because of their political activities Juan accepts living a clandestine childhood until one day… a turn of events, when he rebels.
Other international independent films featured in this year’s festival are “Key of Life,” from Japan; “Asham: A Man Called Hope,” from Egypt; “Room 514,” from Israel; “Venice Syndrome,” from Italy; “Baghdad Messi” and “Memento Mori,” from Belgium.
The latter film portrays a mourning ceremony in which the photographer takes a picture of a little girl. Contrite assistants leave the room, leaving it surrounded by flowers. Little by little, we approach the girl and recoup her memories and the universe of death.
“Crossroads,” from France; “Love at First Sight,“ from the UK; “O’Brien’s,” from Ireland; and film shorts, including “Wapikoni Mobile” (French). The latter is a project by and for indigenous Canadians.
“Out of the Fire” by producer/director Courtenay Singer provides a compelling look into the little-known world of wood-firing potters, combining the pull of fascinating life stories with elements of an action movie. Along with portraying the camaraderie, techniques, and inherent drama of the firing, the film explores the drive to create, the importance of community, and the roles of risk-taking and authenticity in creating the best possible work — and living the most fulfilling life.
Local filmmakers make their marks
2013 was a good year for submissions from local filmmakers.
The organizers say they are “extremely proud” to present “Indelible Lalita” by Cambridge director Julie Mallozzi. The film tells the story of a beautiful woman whose resilient spirit survives her body’s transformation by cancer, heart failure and a dramatic loss of skin pigment.
Meditatively flowing between surface and interior, the film follows Lalita as she migrates from Bombay to Paris to Montréal, and becomes completely white along the way. Lalita learns to let go of her body as the sign of her ethnicity and femininity – and ultimately realizes that her body is just a temporary vessel for her spirit.
“Smokin’ Fish” by Watertown directors Luke Griswold Tergis and Cory Mann tell the story of one man’s attempts to navigate the messy zone of collision between the modern world and an ancient Alaskan culture, the Tlingit.
Sudbury director Myles David Jewell, the grandson of Phil DiNatale, an investigator who worked the Boston Strangler case in the 1960s, has made “Stranglehold: In the Shadow of the Boston Strangler.”
The case was not definitively solved, and now 50 years later, Myles plunges headfirst into his grandfather’s immense homemade detective archive to reveal never-before-seen details about the strangler investigation.
Q&As with filmmakers will follow most screenings.
This year AIFF is presenting in conjunction with the Irish Film Festival, the “O’Brien’s” by Slaine Kelly and Emmett Hughes. The film is a witty, romantic comedy about a dysfunctional modern Irish family living on different sides of the Atlantic. After father Pat organizes an impromptu family reunion at their beautiful farmhouse in Galway, Ireland, it reunites siblings Fionn, who lives in New York, Gareth, who lives in London, and Una and husband Brendan and two children.
Student filmmakers Oct. 26
As is our tradition, the festival will feature student filmmaker’s shorts on Saturday, Oct. 26, at noon. The Robbins Library will host a prescreening reception for the students, parents and teachers. The community is invited.
This year’s supporters
AIFF has grown in its number of submissions as well as its sponsorships. New sponsors this year are Ovations, a TV channel; ProductionHUB, J.P. Licks, Anna’s Taqueria, Kumon, 13ForestGallery, Irving House Bed & Breakfast and Acitron Restaurant.
Grants were awarded by the Arlington Cultural Council and the Arlington Education Foundation.
As the festival continues to grow, it builds community working hand to hand with Old Schwamb Mill Museum, Cyrus Dallin Art Museum, Arlington Center for the Arts and Robbins Library.
Said Alberto Guzman, founder and organizer of the AIFF: “As organizers, we are preparing for future films and our goal is to nurture our viewer’s passion and creativity, and nurture their passions in life. Working under our philosophy, and with our volunteers we will continue to bring the world of independent film to Arlington and to put Arlington on the international map…
“If we can dream it we can build it.”
The festival’s mission is to foster appreciation for different cultures by exploring the lives of people around the globe through independent film — to nurture the next generation of filmmakers within our community.
Tax-deductible contributions should be made payable to the festival’s fiscal agent, MIRA, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
This story was published Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, and updated Oct. 27.
