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Show I Ten O'Clock Whistle I by David Fleisher Note: The following Whistle was originally published in the January 15, 1981 issue of the Park Record. Film Festival Etiquette With the U.S. Film and Video Festival here this week, it behooves us all to be aware of at least a few socially accepted standards of behavior. There are a number of prestigious filmmakers here; consequently, acting in a less than admirable manner, or worse yet, like a buffoon or an ignoramous would be embarrassing to all of the Festival participants. What exactly is the appropriate way to act during a film festival? Well, let's first consider going to the screenings, or to the movies, as laymen say. Scene: inside a movie house. Time: anytime. Place: Holiday Village Cinemas in Park City. Action: You are watching a film. All of a sudden, the person in front of you decides he would rather talk with hi s neighbor than watch the film. You continue to watch the film, trying to overcome the loud obstacle in front of you. You cross your legs. You clear your throat. You clean your glasses. You clear your throat again, this time louder, possibly damaging your ' vocal chords. The person in front giggles, then talks in a loud whisper, then giggles again, completely ignoring the movie on the screen. What is the appropriate behavior at this point in our story? What do you do? What should the person in front of you do? Let us first, consider what you should do under these circumstances. Lean forward and politely ask the person to stop-talking because it is bothersome. Assuming the person ignores your pleas, gently get out of your set and inform the usher of the problem. Assuming the usher is more interested in eating popcorn than solving the problem, walk quietly into the projection room, introduce yourself to the projectionist, and tell him to turn off the film. Assuming the projectionist complies with your wishes, turn on all the lights in the house, and walk directly to the front of the screening' room. After apologizing for the interruption, point your finger at the person who was sitting in front of you and say, "You are inconsiderate and selfish without even considering the fact that your talking and gigling has been irritating to me and probably to many other people in this theater. I move that you leave this theater at once so the rest of us can enjoy watching this film. (Looking at the audience) All in favor, say aye." Assuming everyone says, "aye," gently escort the criminal out of the theater, and return to your seat. Now, after the movie is over, you might be invited to take part in a film commentary; or, you could be asked to attend a cocktail party. Any number of events can take place during a film festival, so you should be prepared to behave accordingly, let us consider the film commentary. Film commentaries are generally interesting, especially if the film critic hosting the discussion is knowledgeable about films. What makes these commentaries boring sometimes is when someone gets up and starts talking in seventeen-syllable seventeen-syllable words about a brilliant film made in Iceland that no one has ever heard of. What do you do in a situation like this? Generally speaking, you have two courses of action: (1) in order to avoid feeling stupid, shake your head up and down and repeat, 'AAh yes, that was a wonderful film, beautifully directed." (2) Tell the Icelandic film nut to continue his discussion in the bathroom, where he can stare at himself in the mirror and practice articulating. Although cocktail parties are usually informal, you should itill be on your toes. One observation: when discussing a particular film, never refer to it as "a movie." If you have ;ver been around filmmakers, you know that they make 'films." They do not make movies. They used to make movies, but now they make films. "Gone With the Wind" is a movie; "Ordinary People" is a film. "Cit;zen Kane" used to be a movie, but now it's a film because graduate students said it was brilliant. As I walk up Main Street, I hear the Ten O'Clock Whistle. |