AFI DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2008

By Shane Morton

A Festival To Remember!

It was extremely hard to believe that this is an international festival still in its infancy.  It’s only two years old and I really don’t remember hearing that much about last year’s festival.  Well, the times they are a changin’!

The 2008 AFI Dallas International Film Festival can teach a lot to the other “Top” American Film Festivals a thing or two about hospitality and programming.  The volunteers were just remarkable.  That old Texas hospitality was in full charm, and every volunteer that we spoke to either knew the answers or found them out quickly.  Communication is always a problem when you deal with hundreds of volunteers but apparently not in Dallas.  The hundreds of people who volunteered their time deserve all the praise we can heap on them.  I have to give out some serious kudos to the PR volunteers: Chessica, Joyce, Robert, Amy and everyone else….Thank you for all your support while we were there!

The venues that showed all of the films were varied and about 10-15 minutes from each other.  This was a festival of “The City of” Dallas as it was spread over most of the city. 

The Majestic Theatre          Landmark’s Magnolia           Angelika Theatre Center        The AMC Northpark 16         Landmark’s Inwood Theatre.

What I found most exciting was that they were just so different.  They included some of the older movie palace type of theatre’s in Dallas as well as the newer high tech theatres.  The Northpark theatre was in a giant mall.  And believe me, you have not been to a film festival until you do a red carpet with:

Stuart Townsend and CharlizeTheron

Jewel

l

Michelle Rodriguez

 and Martin Henderson

 in the courtyard of a mall.

There were a ton of people surrounding us and above us on the next level trying to see who would walk down the red carpet next. It was a one of a kind event and very exciting!

The Red Carpet events here were so much fun.  Every filmmaker in attendance got to walk down a red carpet event.  Just to give you a picture of how eclectic a red carpet could be: Along with Stuart, Charlize, Jewell, Michelle and Martin were:

Dolph Lundgren                                                                  

5 female impersonators and a Stewart Halpern

a filthy bannanna

Eva Amurri and Vadim Perelman

Barry Levinson

Keke Palmer

Steven Sawalich and Ray Livingstone

and Chuck D (teaching me the pose)

all tripped the Red Carpet at AFI, along with some amazing independent filmmakers.  This is what a festival is all about.

Well this kind of excitement, along with some fantastic films!  The programming team of James Faust and Sarah Harris put together a slate of films for the festival that just blew me away.  In an election year, there were a lot of documentaries and narrative films with a political bent.  Split, A Divided America, Crawford, Intimidad, I.O.U.S.A., The Iron Ladies of Liberia, and Stop the Presses: The American Newspaper in Peril all pushed the envelope and shined a light on important issues.

Flow: For Love of Water, Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars, Fields of Fuel, Burning the Future: Coal in America, along with Up the Yangtze all showed in the Environmental Visions Competition and pulled no punches.  It is a feather in the cap of AFI Dallas that they show so many films that push the boundaries and stretch across the political divide.

As well as the best documentary programming I have seen this or last year, the narrative section of the festival was also a great line up.  Amal, Mermaid, Blind, Faro - Goddess Of The Waters, Summerhood, Cook County, Fissure, The Last Lullaby, Disfigured, The Class, Tracing Cowboys, The Little Traitor, Snow Angels, Then She Found Me, and the amazing Battle In Seattle all shined a light on the human condition and talked about important issues within society.  The slate of features and shorts were well rounded and extremely well made.

As I flew into LA on that last day I knew that I was going to miss the “shuttle” service that AFI had on hand.  Instead of shuttle busses, they had a fleet of Lexus cars in all varieties.  The cars were excellent and very comfortable, (my business partner is now thinking of buying one), but what made the transportation so great was the drivers themselves.  Marcus, Phyllis, Omar, Mike, Char, and the fantastic Ms. Gaytha all made getting around Dallas a breeze.  I even got them to take me to the infamous ‘grassy knoll’ and Taco Cabana!  You cannot get that in LA and the queso is to die for.  They also suggested some of the best places to eat in Dallas too.  The fantastic tex-mex of Manny’s, the barbecue of Sonny Bryan’s, and the catfish of Aw Shucks made our stay in Dallas a tasty one!! (Thanks Ms. Gaytha)

Ghost Bar at the W hotel, hosted an AFI night with a live performance from Public Enemy and it was a definite night to remember.  They were awesome, and I liked the young protégé of Chuck D named Versatile, who is a Dallas native.  The bar was Fab, and the event was very cool.  Chuck D taught me to pose like a gangsta on the red carpet.  Much Fun!  As was the awesome awards brunch held at the W Hotel too.

Every film festival has a filmmakers lounge, and this one was sponsored by Target. 

There was a bullseye on everything that would stand still. They provided munchies, snacks, water and energy drinks all day long in the lounge.  Budweiser Select, Barefoot Wine, and Zodiac Vodka made sure everyone had a great time while they were there!  They had a guitar hero room, a pooltable, couches and conversation areas all over the third floor of the Victory Park.  This was also the Press area and I spent most of my time here.  Very comfortable and a place you could easily socialize, network and get to know each other.

The closing night party was at The House Of Blues, which is fairly new to Dallas.  The Polyphonic Spree performed and recruited me into their brotherhood of fans.  They were amazing!  I bought their CD’s in the lobby as I tottered out from the open bar. 

I met and spoke to so many amazing filmmakers at this festival.  We did over 40 interviews and five hours of red carpet’s which will be up soon.  Look for them to roll out in the next few weeks.  This festival is a jewel in the city of Dallas, and I cannot wait to get back there next year.  I also want to give a special shout out and thank you to the hardworking press staff of John Wildman, Carolyn Hodge and Michael Devous.  We look forward to seeing you in LA!

Here is a last pic of the Indie Express crew (Shane Morton, Mark Rice and the lovely Kiyomi Emi) with PR Director John Wildman