Indie Fest 2000 (2)
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Special Report By Monica Sullivan
There's something for, well, almost everyone at the second annual Indie fest, opening tomorrow night at 6:30 at the Victoria Theatre and continuing through Friday the 14th at the Fine Arts Cinema in Berkeley. The opening night film is Matthew Leutwyler's "The Space Between Us" starring Jeremy Sisto as Alex Harty, a grief-stricken young widower who vacates the rat race of Los Angeles for the homier terrain of San Francisco. The late Maggie Harty is played by Vanessa Marcil, last seen sticking her finger down her throat in "Beverly Hills 90210." Here, she's everything an idealized spirit should be, both in flashbacks and as a friendly apparition trying to comfort Alex. The plot moves from crisis to resolution in 103 minutes and along the way, we meet an assortment of wild & wacky San Francisco characters, including Alex Kingston, who isn't a local, actually.
Richard Sandler's "The Gods of Times Square," playing Friday the 7th from 1:15 to 2:45 at the Lumiere, features the usual gang of idiots that we go out of our way to avoid, only Sandler didn't avoid these motormouths with attenuated opinions on absolutely everything, he followed them around with a camera between 1993 & 1998. Better him than us!
Todd Verow's "Shucking the Curve," the 90m. video that follows "The Gods" at the Lumiere at 3:20, is more of the same, only the context is fictional & the venue is New York's Lower East Side. Made in 1998 by Gregg Araki's cinematographer, "Shucking the Curve" already feels like something out of a far more dated time capsule.
Mark Atkins' "Night Orchid" (Friday at the Lumiere at 5:25) is Florida Gothic, as opposed to-what?-Louisiana Gothic? Kentucky Gothic? Georgia Gothic? In any event, it's about this loner-type guy who's drawn to this loner-type gal.
The last person you'd expect to turn up in Jordan Brady's "Dill Scallion" (Friday at the Lumiere at 7:55) is Henry Winkler, so he, naturally, is exactly who DOES turn up. "Dill Scallion" is a spoofy, goofy look at the country music scene, specifically the aforementioned Dill Scallion & his Dillionaires band.
The closing feature Friday night at the Lumiere at 10:15 is "Lucinda's Spell." Lucinda is a New Orleans witch & a prostitute and guess who Jason is looking for?
After Friday's quintuple feature, die-hard film fest buffs can line up at the crack of dawn on Saturday at the Lumiere. THAT means 1 p.m. when Brian Shep's gay-themed "Gypsy Boys" plays, followed by "Radiation" at 3:25, by Bob Ray's "Rock Opera" at 5:35, by Gregory Lanesey's "30, Still Single: Contemplating Suicide" at 7:45 & by Coke Sams' "Existo" at ten.
Still not tired yet? Charles Koppelman 's "Dumbarton Bridge" plays Sunday at one at the Lumiere, followed at 3:20 by Katie Tallo's "Juiced," at 5:30 by Gordon Erikson's "Love Machine," at 7:35 by Reed Paget's "Amerikan Passport" & at 9:35 by Don Most's "The Last Best Sunday." Yes, THAT Don Most. The same freckle-faced redhead who played Ralph Malph on "Happy Days" between 1974 & 1980 is still a freckle-faced redhead & a 46-year-old filmmaker. Don Most & many of the directors & stars of the 18 other films at this year's indie fest will appear in person to chat with audience members about their respective projects. For more information on indiefest, contact sfindie.com
© 1999 - Monica Sullivan - Air Date: 1/5/00
