Coverage
"Coverage and Criticism" is a free panel discussion taking place on Tuesday, October 7, over at the Little Theatre. Sponsored by the Northwest Film Forum and Parallax View (a relatively new society of local film lovers, of which I am a member), the panel looks to explore the state of film criticism in our fair city. It will feature a film critic (Robert Horton), a publicist (Laura Bobovski), a filmmaker (John Jeffcoat), and an exhibitor (Michael Seiwerath).
The whole idea of opening up a dialogue between audiences and the people who work behind the scenes is a good one, but I'm worried that the scope of the panel might be a bit too broad. That's why I hope the audience is packed with local filmmakers--particularly those who have played the Seattle International Film Festival to good or indifferent reviews, and who have yet to land distribution. Film critics may be the most visible scapegoat in terms of influencing public opinion on whether people should see a movie or not, but the publicists, exhibitors, and filmmakers are also responsible for getting the word out. My hope is that this panel will rise out of theory and speculation and become something truly useful to the filmmaking and film-loving communities. This is the perfect opportunity for local filmmakers to ask the local industry people if they've seen their work, and if not, why not.
A couple of days before that panel discussion, also at the Little Theatre, the First Person Cinema series will close on Sunday, October 5, with Andy Warhol's screen tests. These are not scenes from his movies, but are instead cinematic portraits of friends, celebrities, and other visitors to his workspace, the Factory. On the surface, the concept sounds like it would be boring; he had people sit still for four minutes while he shot a roll of film of them. But from what I've read, the screen tests become fascinating: The subjects make subtle movements, and their comfort or discomfort says loads about what they're thinking and feeling. Plus, as I understand it, a 1965 Lou Reed squirms like a boy sitting for his school portrait. The 7 pm show will be followed by another panel discussion featuring members of our region's arts community, and the 9 pm show will be followed by video portraits of people who came to the series' opening-night film.
I haven't made it down to the Columbia City Cinema yet, but I've seen some of their programming and I like it. Last week they had the inspired double feature of The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven. Combining the work of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who was partially influenced by Hollywood Westerns, with the Hollywood Western adaptation of Kurosawa's movie was very nice, indeed. This week, on Saturday, October 4, they'll be host to a matinee of The Brave Little Toaster, an adventure film featuring talking appliances, and an evening screening of the wonderful Carol Reed film The Third Man, starring Orson Welles as Harry Lime.
