A Behind-the-Screens Look

By David Maurer, The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Va.

Nov. 2--The Virginia Film Festival takes pride in being a different kind of ship than the many others that make up a vast flotilla of events that fete motion pictures.

Yes, it has wooed and won supernova stars like Jimmy Stewart, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Hopkins, Sidney Poitier, Sandra Bullock and Sigourney Weaver. But just as importantly it has made the effort to court and bring in the writers, directors and producers without whom movie screens remain dark.

A major factor setting VFF apart is its focus on the anatomy of filmmaking. Its heritage has been to explore all aspects of the film industry with the goal of illuminating how movies past and present reflect, inspire and impact society.

The 22nd annual Virginia Film Festival opens Thursday and will run through Sunday. Marquee stars such as Matthew Broderick and Cherry Jones will be in attendance.

And, in keeping with tradition, this year's festival will celebrate and honor prominent filmmakers such as Alan Ball, John Waters and Norman Jewison.

"I'm very excited about Norman Jewison coming in, because he's a fascinating guy and truly a legend," said Jody Kielbasa, festival director. "He has directed so many incredible films over the years.

" 'In the Heat of the Night,' 'And Justice for All,' 'Fiddler on the Roof' and one of my favorites, 'Moonstruck.' That's just the tip of the iceberg on this guy.

"He has so much experience as a filmmaker, but he's also a very interesting guy on a lot of levels."

Jewison will join moderator David Edelstein on the stage of the Paramount Theater at 4 p.m. Saturday for a viewing of the 1979 film "... And Justice for All," which will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

"The film is kind of an examination of the judicial system in America," Jewison said recently via telephone from his office in Toronto. "It has always fascinated me from the standpoint that I've always thought there was a kind of justice for the rich and a different justice for the poor.

"That there was a justice for the whites and a justice for the blacks. I was always pretty cynical about lawyers and about the law.

"So in a way, 'And Justice For All' is kind of my attack against the judicial establishment. The film wasn't too popular when it first came out with the law society."

Jewison called Al Pacino's performance as an idealistic attorney who tries to fight corruption in the legal profession nothing short of brilliant.

"Al was a great follower of Lee Strasberg, who was really like a mentor, a surrogate father, to him," said Jewison, whose films have won 12 Academy Awards. "So I cast Strasberg as his grandfather in the picture, and I think that gave an impetus to his performance.

"Pacino has a wonderful anger that he can rev up. It's like releasing a Doberman pinscher -- you never know where it's going to go. And he's a very theatrical actor, so it's a matter of revving him up and letting him go and trying to handle him.

"He's never satisfied with his performance. He's always reaching, reaching, reaching. He's an interesting, consummate, wonderful actor."

Jewison considers "The Cincinnati Kid," starring Steve McQueen, to be sort of a breakout film for him. Prior to directing the 1965 film he had directed only comedies, albeit with stars like Doris Day, Rock Hudson and Tony Randall.

" 'Cincinnati Kid' is my favorite film in many ways, because it started me out on a different direction," Jewison said. "It was an interesting film for me, because it was my first major dramatic piece.

"And Steve McQueen was such an interesting cat. He was one of those actors who was a true film star, more than he was an actor. He always kind of played himself. He didn't go too far into character.

"All his characters have a similarity. But he had a presence in front of the camera that was uncanny. It was just powerful. He was not afraid to be vulnerable."

Jewison believes what directing comes down to is "controlling behavior." To do that, it helps to have a strong understanding of human nature.

"My parents had a general store and post office in the east end of Toronto called Jewison's Dry Goods Store," the director said. "Because of the store, I had contact with a lot of people all my life.

"If you observe behavior closely you can learn a lot about people just by watching, listening and seeing their motivations. I think my upbringing helped me in a way to a certain understanding of people at a fairly early age."

From the outset VFF has helped laypeople better understand films by covering major subjects with the help of yearly themes. This year it's "Funny Business," which embraces many of the topics the two words imply.

"Obviously, there's the underlying theme of comedy," said Kielbasa, who has been directing the event since taking over from Richard Herskowitz this past spring. "But, more than anything, I wanted to look at things like the funny business of politics and business.

"As a result of that I'm excited about our opening night film, 'Marching Band.' It focuses on and features the University of Virginia Marching Cavaliers and the Virginia State University Trojan Explosion Marching Band.

"This is a documentary film that looks at last year's historic presidential election through the eyes of members of these bands. One of the reasons this is significant to me is that in the middle of the festival we're screening 'Locked Out: The Fall of Massive Resistance.'

"This is a documentary that marks the 50th anniversary of African-American students being locked out of the school system in Virginia. Douglas Wilder, UVa professor Larry Sabato and the film's director, Mason Mills, will be participating in a post-screening panel to discuss where we've gone in those 50 years."

More than 80 films will be screened during the festival, some of which will include panels and interaction with audiences. For example, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Friday in Culbreth Theater, the 1939 classic film "Mr. Smith Goes to

Washington" will be presented.

The 1 p.m. showing will be followed by panel discussions led by Liza Mundy of the Washington Post, Candy Crowley of CNN and Sabato. This event has been made possible by a grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"The first showing of 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' is being completely filled with high school students from Albemarle County," Kielbasa said. "They'll have the opportunity to ask questions of Crowley and Mundy.

"The 1 p.m. showing, which we still have some tickets for, is open to the public. And we've really ramped up Family Day on Saturday, which has been made possible by another grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with support from Century Link.

"We'll start at 10 a.m. by screening Pixar Shorts in the Paramount Theater for the little ones. Then at 11:15 a.m. we'll be doing a 20th-anniversary screening of 'The Little Mermaid' for the price of a dollar.

"At 1:15 p.m. we'll be presenting a free screening of a great film for families to see called, 'More Than a Game.' It tells the story of LeBron James and his friends playing basketball as they're growing up.

"It's a great story of friendship and bonding. It also shows how the coach realizes the biggest gift he can provide for these kids is to mold them into young men of character."

Kielbasa said he intentionally programmed an aggressive schedule this year to energize the festival. He also has worked hard to strengthen the bond between the festival and the community, offering a great many free events and keeping those with admissions at $20 or below.

The new director understands the uniqueness of the ship he now steers. He plans to make it stand out even more in the future.

"One of the things that's really important to me is that we are the Virginia Film Festival," Kielbasa said.

"There's no other film festival that carries that moniker.

"It's important to me to send a message to filmmakers in the state, and to the state as a whole, that we're going to start screening films about Virginia and by Virginians.

"We have a huge number of films this year by Virginians, and many about the state. We have a mission to support Virginia filmmakers. That means that every year we're going to focus a segment of the festival in support of them."

And this year, like every year in the past, the festival will provide a place and time for industry giants such as Jewison to share unique insights into the business they love.

"Film is the closest art form we have to the reality of life," Jewison said.

"I think every feature film should in some way transport the audience to a very special place.

"That's what we're looking for. We're looking for something outside our own lives.

"I think that place has to be filled with laughter and tears. I think that's life."

The 22nd Virginia Film Festival opens Thursday and runs through Nov. 8. For a full list of events pick up a festival guide or go to Web site http://www.vafilm.com.

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