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Show U.S. Film Festival explores The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, January 12, 1986 E3 alternatives to Hollywood Continued from l of Australian independent film, Sat ford spent 10 days in Sydney last Au gust, during which he screened all or pari of some 137 films His 25 choices will have their t!S premieres in E-- Hark City The Australian series replaces last years International Showcase "What I wanted to do with the International Showcase wa to broaden the context in which we consider American independent film." says Safford. "But I wasn't completely satisfied with how it turned out. You can t do international cinema with only 25 films. Yet I still wanted to add an international dimension, not in a scatter-sho- t way like last year, but in a refined, serious way Kindred Spirits There are kinships and similar spirits between American and Australian independent films. Both explore things about their countries that dominant cinema ignores." The main focus of the festival is. ol course, the independent films in the dramatic and documentary competitions. Programmed by Lory Smith, the producer services representative for the State of Utah Film Development Office, the 14 dramatic features and 15 documentary features are an eclectic group of films indeed Motifs Emerge When 'ooking at Smith's choices, certain motifs present themselves Three dramatic films look at the life of different ethnic groups. "Belizaire The Cajun." made by Glen Pitre of Cutoff, La., is set in the Louisiana bayou of 1850 and tells of a Cajun herbal doctor, played by Armand who still loves his childhood sweetheart although she now is married to another man. The "Belizaire" script also was worked on during the June laboratory of the Sundance Institute. Wayne Wang's "Dim Sum" is a contemporary story about a young woman from San Francisco's Chinatown who wrestles with her need for independence and obligations to her family. Peter Wang's "The Great Wall Is a Great Wall" is a comedy about a middle-ageChinese emigrant who returns to Peking, the home of his youth, with his Americanized wife and son. The title comes from a response Richard Nixon once gave a journalist when asked for his reaction to the Great Wall of China. (Peter Wang and Wayne Wang, by the way. are unrelated.) d Sexual Awakenings Two other films explore sexual awakenings in women. In "Smooth Talk. a film which has opened to excellent reviews in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Laura Dern plays a young woman whose first pangs of sexual excitement lead to mysterious. frightening consequences. Treat in the film which is Williams based on a novel by Joyce Carol Oates. "Desert Hearts" is about a New York woman who travels west to Reno, where she meets a vibrant young woman who works for a dude ranch. Eventually the two come to acknowledge their feelings for one another. Another film. Bill Sherwood's Parting Glances." explores a homoperisexual theme. During a od, the director shares with the audi- - ctue the highs and lows ol two men's relationship One of the men is in the early stages of AIDS Lighter Approach 'Seven Minutes In Heaven" also s deals with eonlronting their sexuality Linda Feferman s film, however appears to lake a more lighthearted point of view. !o eusing on the awkwardness ol being a teen-ager- teen Two more films look back to America's rural past. "Oil Valentine's Day." another film written by Horton Foote, is set in a small Texas town in y 7 The him is a "prequel" to "1918. Foote's wonderfully atmospheric story about a year in the life of this same small town. Dan Bessie's "Hard Traveling" is set in the 193iis and tells a Depression-erlove story about a handyman and a (who is also an d a hard-workin- g ex-co- widow Comedies comedies are always part of the festival. Mark Rappaport. who brought his unusual "Imposters" to Park City two years ago. returns with "Chain Letters." Dan Lewk and Gary Levy will unveil their "Raw Tunes." a movie about a rock band "whose accumulated I y. totals 48." Lory Smith describes Micheal Hoffman's "Restless Natives" as reflective of the same humor found in the movies ol Scotland's Bill Forsyth ("Local Hero"). "Restless Natives" is set in Edinburgh and follows two unemployed Scots on their quest for fame and fortune Mark Romaneks "Static comically explores an eccentric, if nut crazy, family in a manner that Smith describes as Faith Hubley's "The Cosmic Eve" is the only animated feature film in the festival. It tells a story about a trio of musicians Fine Documentaries The festival has earned a reputation for the fine documentaries it perennially brings to Park City. This year looks no different. Again there are strands of ideas that run through Smith's choices for this competition. Two fine documentaries explore two different art forms. Mark Oben-hau"Einstein on the Beach: The Changing Image of Opera" combines r avant-gardmoments from the opera by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass with interviews with the artists about musical and theatrical Off-Be- Off-be- space-travelin- g four-hou- popular theme for documentarians year Lee Shapiro's "Nicaragua Uur Home" and Susana Munoz Lourdes Portillo's "Las Madres: Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo" explore political conflicts and their painful consequences. "Nicaragua" is about the Miskito Indians whose vil lages were razed by the Sandanista government. "Las Sladres" is about the Argentine mothers who have organized into a group of over 2,500 to kidprotest the government-backeclaimed that and killings nappings some 30,000 during the 1970s in that country Rockets and Oil Facets of life in America are portrayed in Nancy Yasecko's "Growing Up with Rockets" and Robert Tran-ehin'- s "Wildcatter: A Story of Texas Oil." "Rockets" is a portrait of growing up in Cocoa Beach. Fla., at the height of the space race. "Wildcatter follows the intrepid oilmen who risk their fortunes for even bigger fortunes drilling for crude. Politics past and present are the basis of two other documentaries. Ken Burns' "Huey Long" portrays the Louisiana politician whom Franklin D. Roosevelt once called "one of the two most dangerous men in America." Glenn Silber and Claudia Vianel lo's "Troupers" is a documentary on the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a group of political activists whose comedy, satire and drama has entertained and challenged audiences for 25 vears Human Rights The struggle for human rights in America is the basis of two more documentaries. "Contrary Warrior: A Story of the Crow Tribe," a film by Connie Poten, Pamela Roberts and Beth Ferris, tells of Robert Yellowtail who in 1910 fought for his tribal lands and heritage by journeying from Montana to Washington. D C. to appear before the U.S. Sfmate. "You Got to Move, by Lucy Massie Phenix and Veronica Selver, explores the grass roots nature of social change in the South over the past 50 years. Academy Lynn Littman will bring "In Her Own Time" to Park City. Littman's film is a portrait of Barba-r- ; Myeroff. the cultural anthropologist. Myeroff was making a film of her own. about the Fairfax neighborTins Was and The six-yea- r e concepts. Christian Blackwood's "Private Conversations" is a fascis look at the nating making of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" for television. Blackwood lets us in on the conversations between actors Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich and director Volker Schloendorff and Miller for a revealing look at how theater is created. behind-the-scene- Sexual Stereotypes Jerome Gary's "Stripper," and Lucy Winer and Paula de Koenigs-berg'- s "Rate It X" explore sexual stereotypes and male chauvinism. Two unique personalities are revealed in Terry Zwigoffs "Louie Bluie." and Robert Mugge's "The Return of Ruben Blades." "Louie Bluie" is about Howard Armstrong, the leader of one of America's last black string bands. Panamanian Ruben Blades, a Harvard Law School graduate. is making a name for himself as an international salsa music star. The turmoil in South America is a Award-winnin- g sub-cultu- the festiFor late-nigval will offer "Orson Welles Remembered." a series of movies by the late director and producer. Advance tickets for the festival are on sale at the Cosmic Aeroplane. 258 E. 100 South; Simply Sundries. Level II in the Triad Center; Brigham Young University's Harris Fine Arts Center ticket office in Provo; and the Park City Chamber of Commerce. 528 Main. Park City. Prices are $10 for the premieres, $5 for the independent competition films and Australian series films. Once the festival begins. the Cosmic Aeroplane will continue to sell tickets up to the a particular screening. Tickets also will be on sale in the Memorial Building, 427 Main, Park City. To make an informed choice on what movies to see. pick up a free program guide at the above locations. s, day-befor- all or parts of 137 films, from which he chose 25 to bring to the festival in Utah. Jimmy Deans return a pleasure By Nancy Melich Tribune Staff Writer "Come Back to the 5 and Dime. Jimmy Dean. Jimmy Dean," is not a musical about a country singer returning to W'oolworths. The Jimmy Dean of this play is the James Dean of the '50s who made only three films before an automobile accident on a California freeway end- ed his life. ol one character. Mona. She is the founder of the Disciples of James Dean and the woman who claims to have given birth to the late actor's son. As the play opens, the time is Sept. 30. 1975, 20 years to the day after Dean was killed. A reunion is taking place in McCarthy, Tex., just a piece down the road from consciousness Marfa, where "Giant," Dean's last picture, was filmed The disciples saunter into the heat 5 and of Juanita's Dime expecting to languish in nostalgia. Instead they are jolted into reality by a woman no longer interested in d Theater review n hood in Los Angeles a of orthodox Jews when she discovered she had cancer. Littman explores the Fairfax project, as well as Myeroffs own personal struggle. film-goer- Tribune Staff Photo bv Lynn R. Johnson Tony Safford, director of the U.S. Film Festival, journeyed to Australia to screen Seen on Broadway in the '70s (and also as a film), the New Shakespeare Players now bring Ed Graczyks "Jimmy Dean" to a local stage for the first time. Director Fran Pruyn has carefully selected an intriguing company of actors to tackle this story of loneliness and deception. For the most part her choices have been wise, and the result is an absorbing evening of theater showcasing many individually fine moments of acting The structure of the piece requires that the time fluctate in and out of the hero worship The story is potentially an emotional roller coaster for an audience, but this production satisfies mainly because of the character sketches drawn so vividly by the actresses. It is as if you had just walked into a diner, sat down for an order of hash browns and sunny side ups and found yourself in the middle of a group of restaurant regulars There's Juanita, the aging dime store owner, swatting flies and de Greene on American life Continued from E-- 2 know. It is far better to have dirty shoes in the morning, than to wake up and discover you have no shoes at all." One rather plaintive column deals with the woes of the book tour, "a staple of modern literary life." In one our heroic aurecent twelve-montthor was sent on three national book tours, visiting 36 cities. He doesn't moan and complain about the long hours, bad hotels, indifferent interviews that are concommitants of such tours. They help sell books. And on one such tour, he sat beside Britt Ekland and heard her discuss her theory of "sensuous beauty. Chances are. Ooene will swing round the nation once again, book and pen in hand, at the ready for autographing. Maybe sensuous Britt Ekland will be opposite him once again. Jack Goodman. fending God, while the Sissy struts around bar stools expounding on Ice Capades as well as The childless Stella Mae, who has found wealth and a mouth given to vulgar frankness free-talkin- g, beer-guzzlin- g s. during the past two decades, has no difficulty hitting beneath the belt. Her targets, the sweet and pregnant again Edna Louise, the psychotic Mona and the "new to the club sophisticate, Joanne. There are also recreations of what once was, as Mona ' (then). Sissy (then) and Joe appear behind the counter, sitting on unopened cereal crates and waiting for their lives to take shape. These people all come to life through intriguing portrayals by Jayne Luke and Betsy Nagel (Mona). Bonnie Copeland (Juanita), Kate (Stella Mae), Jon Shuman (Joe), Barbara Smith (Joanne) and particularly absorbing, Barb Gandy as the shy and pregnant Edna Louise, and Jaye Maynard as a wonSissy. derfully realized hard-cor- e Nancy Jones is Sissy's identity 20 years earlier. The 10th character in this rewarding production is the dime store itself. Based on a concept by R. Mark Read and constructed by Cory Dangerfield, the place looks like it has always been housed on the stage at Westmin- ster's Converse Hall. It feels old and smells old. From the soda fountain counter to the screen doors, broken overhead fan, assorted fingernail polishes and crepe paper streamers. Juanita's haven has it all. Some of her "things you'll want to buy, others, you'll be more than happy to leave behind. Stop by and meet these disciples. now through Jan. 25 in the Courage Theatre at Westminster College. 1300 East, 1700 South. 10th Anniversary Great Designers Fashions 9 EVERYTHING in the store 0 Salt Lake s finest contemporary clothing store Salt Lake Milton 1 St) West 500 South Salt Lake City, Utah BO 533-03 3 uesday nnnsjGBH' The Closet Connection offers a simple, economical solution to u messy closet. Coyote reversible jacket We'll design and build a versatile, efficient system of adjustable shelves, drawers and multiple hanging rods that will get your storage project off the ground once and for all. Call the Closet Connection for a estimate. 942-090- 2 free fruililliiiiiil.i itta I 223 liv n 1 MlllutfCP in-ho- tTosct :0 3SO East First South CONNECTION lR) |
