ABSTRACT: As today's Lisa Tolliver Show promos indicated, today's topics were the Tribeca Film Festival 2006 (TFF) and Mother's Day.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY - On Film: "All the world's a stage," wrote William Shakespeare in 1600 (As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7). That observation holds true today, over 400 years later, as evidenced in the breadth of perspectives and stories screened at the Fifth Annual Tribeca Film Festival and other actual, virtual (online) and cable TV film extravaganzas that extend the modern meaning of the term "stage."Cinematographer, Director, Writer, Consultant Emanuel Rund--in town selecting films for the Filmfest München) 2006--and Danbury News film critic Joseph Dimyan, Esq. joined me on the electronic "stage" known as the Lisa Tolliver Show to discuss the TFF. We also addressed some other film festivals of interest and shared a key resource for anything and everything you'd like to know (and more) about film festivals worldwide. FilmFestivals.com (Non-stop festivals), describes itself as a:
Searchable database of international film and television festivals. Listings include news, articles, interviews, film details, and multimedia.
A second Google search of "film festivals" returned this description for the site:
Major film festivals worldwide with daily news, movie info, columns, and city guides.
How to choose among the myriad of upcoming festivals? The answer depends on your tastes, geographic restrictions (if any), available time, budget and objectives. My ace boon coon, film maven Cheryl Dixon, arranges her work and vacation schedules to accommodate coverage of top international festivals in locations such as Cannes (Le Festival International du Film), London (The London Film Festival) and Venice (La Biennale di Venezia) and independent events such as the American Black Film Festival for the D.C. Film Society. Emanuel's profession requires attendance at top festivals; he noted that a core group of people tend to become acquainted on that international circuit. (It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.) And then there are people like Joseph and me, whose day jobs limit our availability to immerse ourselves in film festivals as much as we'd like to.
If you fall into the latter category, the tools at FilmFestivals.com are especially valuable for selecting, prioritizing, and booking festival arrangements as well as for watching some movies online. You might also be interested in some recommendations we made on air for upcoming film festivals accessible in New York City. Filmmaker Emanuel's direction is the Sundance Institute at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) scheduled for May 11-21. Sundance, he said off the air, is one of the most important film festivals and screening and winning awards there opens many doors for filmmakers. Attorney Joseph made the case for attending the May 5-June 15 B Noir film festival at Film Forum. ("Click here for the "film noir" definition.) The broadcaster in the bunch suggested that those with cable TV check out the month-long Turner Classic Movies festival entitled, "Race & Hollywood: Black Images on Film." Additionally, film enthusiasts might enjoy watching the TFF online film shorts and other goodies that are the next best thing to being there. One can also watch movies at other film festival sites and at FilmFestivalsTV.com.
Upcoming Lisa Tolliver Show broadcasts will feature additional filmfest reportage from people with various roles throughout the filmfest pipeline. Examples include additional guest spots from Emanuel and Joseph, exhibitors and performers in the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair, Director and real-life "Sci-Fi Boy" Paul Davids, Seed magazine writer Pam Grossman, and more!
On Mother's Day: Sunday, May 14 is Mother's Day. Click here to read about the history of this holiday, which generates record-high telephone traffic. Common Mother's Day gifts include flowers, candy, perfume and jewelry. Other remembrances that many mothers appreciate are meals prepared by their families and home-made cards and gifts. Caution is in order when gifting moms with cooking or cleaning appliances: I would eschew any gift on that order unless it were requested. Emanuel (whose beloved mother was a Holocaust survivor) made a wonderful suggestion: how about gifting Mom with a trip to the movies or DVD? My mother's receiving from me a gift she's long requested: a Glamour Shots portrait of her favorite (only) daughter and something else that's a surprise. ###
