Fall 2006 Festival Season

It’s fall: leaves turn, night expands, and the naturally migratory population of film festival programmers, cinephiles, and critics instinctually heads north to Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver to spot new work in the wild. Anyone left behind on the West Coast might have a difficult time feeling sorry for what they might be missing, however. As it turns out, fall is film festival season here as well, with prestige fests and upstarts filling just about every visual craving imaginable. The list, for starters, includes Telluride, Mill Valley, Madcat, Festival Cine Latino, ResFest, Cinemayaat, SF International Animation Festival, Palm Springs. This week, SF360 checks in with a few of the Bay Area’s festival insiders to see what they’re most excited about in the coming film festival season.

1. Corey Tong
President, Makai Motion Pictures

I’m really looking forward to the release of ‘Babel,’ which will also be appearing on a few festival screens before its release. And don’t forget my favorite regional fests coming up on the horizon: Hawaii (late-Oct.), Pusan (mid-Oct.).

2. Tom Luddy
Co-Director, Telluride Film Festival

I’m looking forward to geting through my own film festival — Telluride — without any glitches or unwelcome surprises from mother nature ( two years ago we had a snowstorm, first ever on Labor Day Weekend in our 32 years) . I also look forwarding to attending, for the second time, the Moralia Film Festival in the beautiful capital of Michoacan, rich in Spanish Colonial architecture and a well run small festival where one can see some interesting new Mexican films, notably shorts and documentaries. It takes place October 14-22.

3. Michael Lumpkin
Executive Director, Frameline

I’m looking forward to The Palm Springs Shortfest. I attended for the first time last year and it’s a great to see short films getting all of the attention. In addition to the screenings, there are great panels, great parties, and a market where industry can view most of the hundreds of films submitted to the Festival. Frameline usually has several films screening in the Festival, and last year we acquired several out of the Palm Springs Festival.

4. Jonathan Marlow
Content Acquisitions Director, GreenCine/President, Cabinetic

Despite a few pockets of greatness here-and-there (“Lunacy” at IFFRotterdam; “Abduction” at Slamdance; “Backstage” at Tribeca), the first eight months of the year have thus far produced an ongoing sequence of disappointing feature films. I am definitely looking forward to Telluride and Toronto’s generally remarkable selection of recent efforts from established international filmmakers and, more importantly, exceptional works by first- or second-time filmmakers which might never be seen again.

Granted, the festival highlight of the months ahead is Le Giornate del Cinema Muto (otherwise known as the Pordenone Silent Film Festival). I won’t make it back this year, unfortunately.

5. Cheryl Eddy
Film critic, San Francisco Bay Guardian

I’m salivating over “The Host” at Toronto — midnight monster movie madness from Korean director Joon-ho Bong.

6. Chi-hui Yang
Director, SF International Asian American Film Festival

My annual Canadian tour: the very welcome, down-home Vancouver Film Festival atmosphere and its always challenging Dragons & Tigers program of Asian cinema to help wind down after working through a week of late night parties and 8:30am press screenings whirled into the beast that Toronto is.

Films that I’m excited to see:
“The Host,” Bong Joon-ho, South Korea
“The Namesake,” Mira Nair, USA
“Bamako,” Abderrahmane Sissako, France/Mali/USA
“Zidane: Un Portait du XXI