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September 18, 2008
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The other blockbuster season Movies (or, as they’re called in the fall, “films”) aren’t only for summer. At the mainstream cinemas, serious Oscar contenders will replace the big budget summer action and comedy fare. Locally, film festivals fill the schedule in September, October and November and ongoing film series offer even more reasons to spend your autumn in the dark. But not all movies are about big crowds and big box office — some local filmmakers are focusing on getting themselves noticed or on helping out a good cause. If you thought the end of summer meant fewer reasons to head to a theater, check out the next few pages for oodles of films to keep you in popcorn for the next few months. 10 reasons to love fall films By August, the summer movie schedule is something I’m eager to see end (hello, Disaster Movie). Here are 10 reasons I’m excited to see the leaves change colors. 1. The Duchess (Opens Sept. 19 in limited release; wider on Sept. 26) This biopic of distant Princess Diana relative Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, (Keira Knightley) has bosom-enhancing 18th-century bodices and accompanying massive hoop skirts that help to give even soapy stories Oscar hopes. It also has a marketing plan that’s been working overtime since at least last winter. All right, movie, I give, I’m excited. Helping increase the prestige factor are Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling and Dominic Cooper. Telluride by the Sea The Portsmouth Music Hall will present the 10th Telluride by the Sea from Friday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 21, featuring three days of films and discussions celebrating new cinema. Among those being presented is the latest film from Oscar nominee director Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake), a film featuring Oscar nominee Kristen Scott Thomas, and an ambitious Mob film, each one from the Telluride Film Festival, held each Labor Day weekend in Telluride, Colo. Telluride by the Sea is a young relation to the 35-year-old Telluride Film Festival. Held in Portsmouth, this annual event focuses the community’s attention on each of the Telluride films themselves in one grand theater and provides unique opportunities for the attendees to interact with each other and share their views before and after the screenings. Now in its 10th year, Telluride by the Sea remains a unique experience, packing one September weekend with the latest in international cinema, private parties, music and food. Last year’s attendees were able to view such films as Sean Penn’s Into the Wild, Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, and the memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Screening at the festival this year: Happy Go Lucky, Miramax Films’ UK feature by Mike Leigh; Gomorrah, the fast-paced Italian entry about the Mob; Kisses, a magical coming-of-age film from Dublin; I’ve Loved You So Long, the Kristin Scott Thomas vehicle from France; Helen, which follows the story of a girl gone missing from an English town; and O’Horten, a film from the Norwegian director of Charles Bukowski’s Factotum. Telluride Film Festival co-founder and director emeritus, and The Music Hall film curator, Bill Pence praises the Portsmouth festival in a press release, as reflecting “the original spirit and the early years of Telluride in Colorado.” Tickets range from $12.50 to $200 (for a weekend pass) and can be purchased through the Music Hall box office by phone at 436-2400 or online at www.themusichall.org. Pick with the planet Curious about those short films that win awards but aren’t listed at your local cinema? See 12 that were culled from 429 entries from 42 countries at the Manhattan Short Film Festival. Don’t worry. There are screenings in Concord and Bethlehem, N.H. They join venues in 113 other cities across the planet. The audience votes for favorites after each screening. Winners will be posted by 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at www.msfilmfest.com. In the Danish short Make My Day, a father advises his son to follow Clint Eastwood’s example. Bonds between people are explored in the Spanish film The Golden Thread. An African boy faces his first day in a new school after moving to Ireland in New Boy. Amit Gicelter of Israel based Sour Milk on a story his grandmother told him of her life in 1929 Jerusalem, in British Mandatory Palestine. “In 2007 three of the finalists went on to screen at the Sundance Film Festival in which one won, another was later nominated for a BAFTA, while another went on to receive an Oscar nomination. We are expecting similar results if not better with this year’s crop. The films are simply outstanding,” said festival director Nicholas Mason in a press release. This is the 11th year for Manhattan Short. Barry Steelman, Concord’s resident film expert and owner of Cinema 93 video rental, and Steve Ambra of the NHTI Film Society teamed up to screen the Manhattan Short at the college a few years ago — neither remembers how many. Steelman said he learned about it when State Cultural Resources Commissioner Van McLeod called. “He’d just been contacted by guy in New York ‘with a funny accent.’ He wanted to do something kind of outragious ... have a film festival where the audience indeed was the judge of the outcome,” Steelman said. (Mason is Australian.) Tickets are sold at the door, and Ambra reccomends getting there early. They added a third showing Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. (That’s in part because Mason realized the first presidential candidate debate will be televised Sept. 26, Steelman said.) The audience can also get involved by posting opinions or questions for filmmakers on the blog at www.msfilmfest.com during the festival, from Sept. 21 to Sept. 28. E-mail photos of yourself at the screening (with location) to hello@MSfilmfest.com. Read interviews with the filmmakers on their Web site now. Just a minute Participants in the 8th New Hampshire Film Festival and Override, a gas savings program created by Irving Oil and other retail partners, are looking for filmmakers in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts to submit 60-second films on the story of Override. Override is a network of retailers — it includes Irving Oil, Shaw’s Supermarkets, and Dunkin’ Donuts — that help customers lower their price of gas at the pump here in the Northeast. Customers can earn gas savings at more than 70 participating Shaw’s locations in each of those Northeast states. The contest is open to all ages and all degrees of film expertise — professional, amateur and student filmmakers. “You can make it animated, you can use live actors, you can make a musical, or you can make a silent movie. All you have to do is be very clever in 60 seconds,” Lars Trodson, a spokesperson for Irving Oil, said in a press release. The subject of the film is simple: Override is your answer to high gas prices. There are a few rules as well. The filmmaker must be 18 years or older to be eligible, and must be a legal resident of New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont or Massachusetts or a full-time student enrolled in one of these states. The film must include the Override logo (unaltered) at least once, and must be no longer than 60 seconds. For a complete list of rules and conditions, or to download an entry form, visit www.override.com. Entries are due by Tuesday, Sept. 30, and the award-winning filmmakers will be invited to attend the premiere of their films. The New Hampshire Film Festival kicks off this year on Thursday, Oct. 16, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 19, in historic downtown Portsmouth. The festival celebrates the art of filmmaking, uniting talented students, professional filmmakers, and screenwriters with industry experts, educators, avid movie-goers and film connoisseurs from around the world for an interactive weekend of films. This year’s festival drew more than 600 entries, the largest in its eight-year history. More than 6,000 people are expected to attend the four-day fest, which will screen approximately 60 films. Past New Hampshire Film Festival entrants have gained both critical and commercial acclaim, including the 2007 Grand Jury winner On Broadway, starring Joey McIntyre, Mike O’Malley and Eliza Dushku, which went on to theatrical release. The 2007 NHFF Best Feature winner, The Sensation of Sight, starring David Strathairn, also earned theatrical release. For more information on the film contest or the 8th Annual New Hampshire Film Festival, visit www.nhfilmfestival.com. One’s Hell-ish, one’s Freaky The IOKA Theater in Exeter will hold a special double-feature screening of locally produced horror films on Friday, Oct. 31, starting at 7:30 p.m. The two films, The Other Side of Hell and Freaky Farley, were directed by Bedford’s Jim McCrackin and Charles Roxburgh of Manchester, respectively. McCrackin is the creator of Lunchbox Films, an independent film production company in Bedford. He has worked for Back Lot Films, Inc., of Fremont, crewing in on the films Old Man Dogs (1997) and Fallen Angels (1998). He also created the short films Dead Minds (1996) and The U.F.O. vs. Joe Smith (2004). The Other Side of Hell is his first release through the Lunchbox production company. The Other Side of Hell tells the chilling story of Max Kimball, who’s a ticking time bomb. Murder is Max’s passion. As if giving himself the gruesome moniker “Psycho Sideshow Freak” weren’t bad enough, Max really starts to lose his grip on reality, plummeting into a world of demons, tripped-out dreams, lost identity and bloody horror. “My viewpoint in art and filmmaking is always being open and honest with yourself with whatever it is you’re making,” McCrackin said. “The Other Side of Hell is a violent, disgusting and interesting film. It’s taken ten years of my life, but I’ve learned a lot and have worked with a lot of great people.” The second film that will be screened at the event is 26-year-old Manchester native Charles Roxburgh’s feature effort, Freaky Farley. The film centers around Farley Wilder, who is a strange legend in his small New England town. He never left for college, doesn’t work, continuously bows down to his dictator of a father, and sneaks around his neighborhood at night. Farley particularly likes to spy on attractive young women — a practice that has earned him the nickname Freaky Farley. But when he meets an attractive and bold young woman, Farley begins to confront his own demons, as well as the dark secret of the spooky Morgantown woods — a secret that’s been killing people for decades. Roxburgh’s film has already made a fan in fellow director, and screen-sharer for the evening, Jim McCrackin. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a horror film that surprised me with its originality and creativity,” he commented. Tickets for the event cost $10 and can be purchased by calling the IOKA Theatre box office at 781-8922. For more information on the films, visit www.iokaentertainment.com. On set New England is not devoid of the entertainment industry, according to locals who have created a public access show called “Hollywood New England.” “The idea, of course, is to interview folks who have New England ties and who are working in entertainment and media,” John Campanello said. Campanello, of Between Gigs Casting, and Gail Scott-Key, who has worked in TV in the region, host. It’s produced by Mike and Elena Abbene, who run MIKEN Entertainment; Joe Cummings, who runs CPD Films Inc., and Ken Lawrence. Mike Abbene and Cummings launched the idea. “I thought it was a very interesting idea ... This is Chronicle without a budget,” said Campanello, who is also an actor. He had concerns when he learned it would be on public access. But when he sat down to talk with the producers about “the look and feel they wanted to bring to it,” he was impressed. “I immediately became really excited about it,” Campanello said. The producers wanted a formal, professional presentation and they do plenty of research to prepare for interviews. Campanello said one of the positives of the half-hour show is that it demonstrates that people can have careers in the media and entertainment in New England. Hollywood New England normally tapes at Bedford Community TV, and sometimes on location. They’ve interviewed a wide range of people for the 15 shows they’ve taped since December 2007. Meteorologist Mark Rosenthal, who hosts weather on NECN; independent film producer Scott R. Caseley, who directed Larry’s Home Video; Charlie Sherman, who has a long history in media in the Boston area and with WMUR; film score composer Charles Carpenter; and Gary Anderson, who has been filming documentaries for 20 years, all came on the show. Hollywood New England interviewed the writer, director and the two actors for Just Say Love, filmed at the Granite Media Center sound stage in Tilton. They also talked to Ron Kolek and Maureen Wood from New England Ghost Project, and David Wells and Gavin Cromwell from the British television program Most Haunted (www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Most_Haunted) when they were in the area. Due to a growing buzz about the show, Hollywood New England was asked to come interview the Hampton Idol contestants, and to conduct interviews at the Massachusetts Country Music Awards, Campanello said. So far, Hollywood New England is shown on access stations in Londonderry, Amherst, Milford, Goffstown and Bedford. They are working on getting slots in Manchester and Concord and are searching for sponsors to partner with to make the jump onto a commercial station. Some episodes are online at www.bedfordtv.com. Contact the show at hollywoodnewengland@yahoo.com, or cpdfilms1@yahoo.com. Medical movies Armed with cameras and open minds, New Hampshire residents Shirley Wolf and Kristi Drake headed off to a hospital in Ecuador with a team of doctors and nurses in April. Since 2002, Portsmouth surgeon Dr. James Wilton has led a group of doctors, nurses and volunteers, called Annie’s Angels Seacoast Medical Team, to Ecuador to perform procedures on leprosy patients. On their 14th trip south, Wilton and his crew let Drake and Wolf use a camera to document procedures and life in the villages. “It was really kind of interesting,” Wilton said. Technically, the people are cured of the disease, as they are taking antibiotics. But without these surgical procedures, they continue to develop scar tissue in the nerves, which become compressed around the joints and are very painful. The compression can cause permanent damage if it is not treated surgically. Wilton and the other surgeons use a decompression procedure to sort of release the nerves, Wilton said. “I was just so thrilled to be a part of it,” said Drake, who lives in Bedford. All the doctors and nurses volunteer their time for the excursion. Along with Wilton, general surgeon Dr. Philip Anderson, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Thomas King, who performs knee replacement surgeries, hand surgeon Dr. Jay Ericson and Portsmouth plastic surgeon Dr. Charles Gaudet took part in the operations. In addition, 10 nurses and 15 volunteers flew down to Ecuador, making for a team of about 30 people, Wilton said. Overseeing the Seacoast Medical Team is the nonprofit Damien House Foundation, which is headquartered in Chicago and has a facility in Ecuador. Damien House takes in the recovering patients who aren’t well enough to live on their own, Wolf and Drake said. To make the trip happen, the crew needs to raise about $40,000 each time to cover the costs of hotel, airfare, medicine and equipment, Wilton said. Drake and Wolf said they hope their documentary film, which they are looking to air at local venues, such as rotary clubs, will raise awareness and perhaps draw in some more donations. The pair was still editing the more than 20 hours of raw footage in August, they said. Working at Hospital Luis Vernaza, which is the largest hospital in South America, the doctors operated five days per week and typically work on 50 to 60 people each trip. They usually fly in on a Saturday and fly out the following Sunday, Wilton said. The first thing that happens is that the nurses bring the hospital’s facilities up to United States standards. They develop three full operating rooms, and then the doctors get to work with cameras by their sides, Wilton said. The cameras didn’t pose any problems for medical personnel. “We’re so into what we do,” Wilton said. “We’re in a different zone.” Wilton said they let Drake and Wolf point a camera wherever they wanted, and he said the pair pitched in and helped many of the patients. “They were great to work with,” Wilton said. The experience — Drake and Wolf said they had no idea what to expect going into it — was more enlightening than they could have imagined. Each day, potential patients lined up by the hundreds to see doctors, knowing they could only get to a limited number daily, Drake said. The connection between the doctors and Drake and Wolf began simply enough. Wolf, who worked as a radio broadcaster for nearly 20 years and lives in Portsmouth, is a patient of Wilton’s and the two began talking about the Ecuador trip. With Wolf’s media background and with Drake’s acting and filming experience, the possibilities grew from there. Wolf and Drake had teamed up on previous filming projects, but nothing of this sort, they said. The pair mixed up the filming as one of the two might focus on a particular procedure while the other might step out into the village with a camera. The area isn’t particularly safe either; Drake and Wolf had Ecuador’s special forces escort them just about everywhere they went, they said. While guards were ever-present, the two still were able to interact and get to know some of the patients. “They are beautiful people,” Wolf said. “The patients never complained.” “I didn’t know how I’d react to everything,” Drake said. “As soon as you started to interact with people, the different values came out.” “They were so grateful for the littlest thing,” Wolf added. The pair is planning to head to Ecuador again next June for more filming, they said. For more information, go to http://www.AnniesAngelsNH.com. Wishing to be a star If 10-year-old Rosie Garvey had one wish, she’d want to make a movie, complete with actors, actresses, extras and props. And she’d make it in downtown Manchester. But she wouldn’t want to be in the film, she’d want to direct it. The New Hampshire chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation is making that dream a reality. Garvey’s movie, Manchester Magic, took about nine days of filming this summer, mostly in Manchester. But the impact on Garvey, who has cystic fibrosis, and on her family will likely last much, much longer. “We were so fortunate,” said Rosie’s mother, Paula Garvey. “Usually we have to focus on Rosie’s health. It was nice to have a distraction from her health.” The Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has been granting wishes for New Hampshire children with life-threatening medical conditions since 1986, made sure Garvey had everything she needed to put the film together, including a director’s chair and a megaphone, though Garvey’s mother Paula might have preferred they left that one out, said Elizabeth Schulte, director of wish-granting for the foundation. “I didn’t realize it would be such a big deal,” Paula Garvey said, laughing. “It’s like a Hollywood blockbuster.” Rosie wrote the crux of the story herself and finalized the script with the help of writer and volunteer wish-granter Christine Burke. Then she directed the cast of nine people in a variety of scenarios throughout Manchester. They filmed at the Merrimack Restaurant (before it closed), the baseball stadium, the Palace Theatre and several other downtown spots. Rosie even got to direct a few Manchester police officers who took part in a couple scenes, Schulte said. “It’s incredible,” Paula Garvey said. “We had such fun doing it. How many kids at the age of 10 get to direct a movie?” The film is set to premier at the New Hampshire Institute of Art on Saturday, Sept. 27. The event is invite-only as there is limited seating at the facility. “It’s an adventure in the city,” Schulte said. The main character, who is supposed to be Rosie but is played by Emily Boyle, runs through a series of scenarios in and about the city after she wanders off from her family. “She was just the best director I’ve ever seen.” To make sure Rosie had the complete star treatment, Make-A-Wish procured a trailer so she and the cast had a place to relax in between scenes, Schulte said. Two other families took part in the brunt of the filming as their children were cast members. “It was nine long days all over,” Schulte said. “They basically spent the summer together.” Volunteers Aaron Hatin and Ryan Talbot took care of all the filming and editing, Schulte said. “They gave up so much time over their summer,” Paula Garvey said. “It just shows how good people are.” New Hampshire’s Make-A-Wish chapter has granted 79 wishes each of the last two years and has granted 719 wishes since its inception more than 20 years ago, said Lloyd Johnson, director of community development. For more information on Make-A-Wish in New Hampshire, go to www.newhampshire.wish.org.
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(above) Keira Knightley as “Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire” stars in The Duchess, a Paramount Vantage release. Photo by Nick Wall (c) 2008 by PARAMOUNT VANTAGE, a Division of PARAMOUNT PICTURES. All Rights Reserved Movie fine print Telluride Screenings Vote! NH Film Fest Fall film series Made in new hampshire In May and June, a comedy troupe from New York with Manchester ties came north to film their first feature, The Mystery Team. Director Dan Eckman said they are “still chugging away” at the project and will release a trailer soon. Read about it at hippopress.com, “Back Lot G,” July 17. Look for Derrick Comedy news at www.derrickcomedy.com. The Sensation of Sight, shot in Peterborough in October 2005, has just been released on DVD. The film had another limited theatrical release around the country this summer. See www.eitherorfilms.com for details on The Sensation of Sight. Just Say Love, shot at a new sound stage in Tilton, is in the final stages of post-production, according to Tyler Heon of Stagewright Films. The company is expecting a full release of Just Say Love in early 2009, Heon said. Bill Humphreys directed. David J. Mauriello wrote it. Visit www.stagewrightfilms.com. The thriller D.I.D. was filmed in New Hampshire, screened at the Palace this summer, and is now being entered into regional film festivals (www.gravesituationsfilms.com). Dunkirk Studios is putting finishing touches on their short filmed this year, Boundaries of Attraction (www.dunkirkstudios.com). — Heidi Masek Live! It’s the movies! At Wilton Town Hall Theater, (Main Street in Wilton, wiltontownhalltheatre.com, 654-FILM) the films are free and open to the public: At the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester, 668-5588, www.palacetheatre.org), admission to films costs $7: Hooray for bollywood! This isn’t the first Bollywood film to hit the greater southern New Hampshire/northern Massachusetts area. Most weeks, you can find an Indian film at Showcase Cinemas Lawrence (6 Chickering Road in Lawrence, Mass., 978-686-2121, www.nationalamusements.com). Rock On! is one of a handful of Indian movies I can remember seeing recently playing at the AMC Methuen at the Loop (90 Pleasant Valley St. in Methuen, Mass., 978-738-9850, www.fandango.com). Other theaters to check include Cinemagic Stadium Theatres (11 Executive Park Drive in Merrimack, 423-0240, www.cinemagicmovies.com) and Showcase Cinemas Lowell (32 Reiss Ave. in Lowell, Mass., 978-551-0055, www.nationalamusements.com). — Amy Diaz .
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