“I make films to rid myself of pain, like ridding yourself of a nightmare.” –Werner Herzog
I had a delightful day two, but I’m beginning this blog with a somber quote from Werner Herzog because of a film I saw yesterday: A Film Unfinished. Films about WWII seem to be an increasingly difficult sell, possibly because everyone has seen so many of them. I always wonder what another representation can do for my understanding of that time period or of human suffering. Yesterday, watching A Film Unfinished, I thought of Herzog’s quote as I watched Jewish people who lived through WWII watching footage of people who did not. The documentary A Film Unfinished is comprised of footage — including recently discovered outtakes — of the unfinished Nazi propaganda film shot by German filmmakers in the Warsaw Ghetto. It also exposes the constructed nature of the scenes once purported to be truth: Jewish people nonchalantly walking past corpses, ignoring beggars and starving children, and having dinner parties. Also included are images of mass graves and the ghastly Ghetto living conditions. The scene that stood out to me was of a well-dressed Jewish woman standing next to a sickly one. They were partnered for contrast, and the well-dressed woman’s face showed her conflicted feelings. She seemed to understand she was complicit in something indecent and was angry about it. That fight in her eyes was, I believe, her rebellion: her “eff you” to the Germans and her message to future audiences that her feelings would not be ignored. I cannot begin to imagine what witnessing this footage must be like for people personally connected to WWII, but it is important that I keep trying. I want that Jewish woman to know that I hear what her eyes are telling me. A Film Unfinished screens again Sunday, Sept. 26 at 8:45 p.m. at the North Shore Cinema.
Now, on to lighter things! The screening was well-attended, and afterward I chatted with Dave Monroe in the lobby where we met Kings Go Forth musician Andy Noble and DJ Frank Straka. Andy was off to see Bhutto, and Frank was buying tickets for Cell 211. All of us were excited about the films we had seen or were going to see, and it was a generally pleasant vibe. A group of women stood nearby engaging in similar conversations. While walking to my car, a man with a festival badge gave me a head nod as if we were part of the same club. I love how North and Farwell turns into a chatty and vibrant film community this time of year. It makes me want to run into the street and throw my hat up ala Mary Tyler Moore! (Perhaps later I will, once Adrian is around to photograph it.)
Later that evening, I headed to SPiN for the Gal Friday/Flexible Films party Kara Mulrooney, Mark Foote, Laurie Poblocki-Foote and I held to celebrate our films, the film festival proper, and filmmaking in Milwaukee. It feels like a breakthrough moment for our fair city, and everyone seems energized to be a part of it! Milwaukee Film even sent photographer Ryan Abel to document the event and staff member Theresa Malone to help work it. She did a great job at the door keeping the riff raff in and the respectable people out. Even one of the SPiN owners stopped in to express her excitement about the Film Festival and filmmaking in Milwaukee more generally. We’re in a good place, Milwaukee.
Of course the “Missed Connections” actors, dancers, and crew were on hand — Alicia Rice, Dan Katula, Linda Cieslik, Zarai Perez, Jesse Kaplan, Ashley Morgan, Ashley Coffey, Becky Cofta and Sydney Mei-Ruf Wong — all battling one another to win a ping-pong tourney. (I know I’m not naming everyone! Sorry!) Filmmaker/actor Ryan Dembroski celebrated AboutFace Media’s recent Sears Holdings “Partners in Progress” award. I was thrilled to meet his wife, Kristen, because every time I work with Ryan, he shows me photos of her and says, “Can you believe I’m this lucky?!?!” I can appreciate a man who isn’t shy about being in love. “The Violinist” star and executive producer Cesar Gamino was recently back from yet another LA film festival screening, so he offered some advice about the circuit. Filmmaker Jimmy Sammarco put a buzz in my ear about a feature project, and Tina Poppy of Violetville Vintage showed up looking stunning as ever.
I was particularly happy the UWM English department represented. (School family meet film family.) Cara Ogburn, “Missed Connections” Production Coordinator, and partner Erik Chandler arrived first, followed by Adam Ochonicky, Michael “Cupcake” MacDonald, Drew Anastasia and the stylish Shawna Lipton. Heather and Seth Warren-Crow, of UWM’s Visual Art and Dance departments, respectively, schooled everyone on what it means to break out the moves. (They’re amazing, by the way! Seriously LOVE these two!) Leah Delaney and Megan McGee popped in after their ExFabula fireside event, and besties Defne Tuzun and Adam Pfeiffer helped us clean up at the end. It was another great evening! And, were I a healthier person, it would have ended there.
Instead, I joined The Revenant director Kerry Prior, Milwaukee Film’s Angela Catalano, and Kerry’s cousin and brother-in-law, Scott and Adam, at Von Trier. Little did I know I was in for the rowdiest glass of champagne ever! You know how there’s that moment at raucous parties where everything gets kicked up a notch? Enter me. (Von Trier — thank you for your patience with our shenanigans!) Then exit all of us to make it in time for Kerry’s post-midnight screening Q&A.
I have always wondered who attends midnight screenings because I can’t. I get too sleepy. In fact, my notebook says, “I am amazed sober people are awake at this hour.” What struck me is the devotion of this crowd: One young woman told Kerry she already had tickets to see his film a second time. (It’s a zombie buddy flick, BTW. Harry Knowles described it as “a great little genre film that gets exactly as nuts as one would hope a violent buddy flick can get with the undead.” I’m sold.) Kerry discussed filming in LA on a tight budget and the difficulty of abandoning ideas and locations for the sake of time and money. He also mentioned that the film is being recut for a larger theatrical release. It was without doubt more interesting than I’m making it sound here, but I was pooped by that point. Plus, I kept thinking about how nice he smells. I’m not very good at being a real reporter.
Afterward, Kerry told me he didn’t use to take festival Q&A sessions very seriously — he sort of answered without giving questions much consideration. At some point he realized the earnestness of people’s questions and their investment in them. He said appreciating this made him more thoughtful with his responses and interactions with audiences. I know I’m all “blah… blah… I love the festival!” all the time, but I’m going to do it again anyway. Here’s a moment where an intimate audience gets to tell the director personally, “Your film rocks my world!” and then ask questions about his process. Here also is a moment where an emergent director gets immediate positive feedback and, while presumably soaking it in, also honors the place from whence it comes. I love Susan Sarandon, and I’m excited to see her today, but I wonder how long it has been since she felt the sincerity of these moments; I assume time and fame cloud them. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this, but now I am more eager to see The Revenant Sunday night at the North Shore Cinema than I am to see Susan Sarandon.
