Tributes/Awards
and Julian Schnabel. The “Vanguard Director Award,” recognizes a director for their
visionary achievements in cinema.
one of those that has been popular to a vast group of people for years...some
call it a cult film. Describing what is going on in the film is impossible. It is
unusual and it makes you come up with your own ideas of what is happening. I
had to watch the entire film to see how it ended. The star Jack Nance was
captivating in his acting. The film contains very little dialogue; it is in black and
white and relies on sound effects and the music to guide you through the ups-
and-downs of the film’s storyline.
Lynch is well known for his influence in filmmaking through his career in other
films that are very well known. He has left a mark on the film industry that other
filmmakers would love to have done. His uniqueness is what makes him so
intriguing. He seemed very quite and more amazed by all the attention he was
getting from the festival attendees.
The movie that stands out in my mind is "The Elephant Man." His directing of
that film was very good and added to this very interesting film based on a real
person. I think the way he sees a film through his camera angles and sounds is
what makes him so effective in filmmaking. Also, the casting adds to all his films.
Lynch has been going on for 30 years and does not seem to be stopping, which
is good news for the film-going public.
Julien Schnabel's 2000 film “Before Night Falls” was screened at the festival.
The following is from the CineVegas program:
"It is rare for a director who is not also an actor to have his reputation precede
him into his debut film. It is rarer still for a director to make a debut as stunning
and critically lauded as BASQUIAT, Julian Schnabel's biopic of the tumultuous
life of '80s art sensation Jean-Michel Basquiat. But then again, Schnabel has
always been a rare talent, one whose successes have kept pace with his
abilities. He wrote the adaptations for and directed both BASQUIAT and the
universally praised BEFORE NIGHT FALLS. His meticulous direction immerses
us in real worlds that we could only view through a very distinct looking glass.
The insight he brought to his depictions of these troubled artists added a layer
of emotional truth that a director without Schnabel's artistic pedigree would
struggle to achieve."
They showed many of Bruce Conner’s short films including: “Choice Hot Shots
from Bruce Conner,” “Cosmic Ray,” “A Movie,” “The White Rose,” “Breakaway,”
“Vivian,” “Ten Second Film,” “Mongoloid,” “America is Waiting,” “Permian
Strata,” “Report,” “Take the 5:10 to Dreamland,” “Valse Triste.”
His first film, “A Movie,” was selected for the U.S. National Film Registry at the
Library of Congress as one of the few American experimental films deemed
“culturally, historically, or esthetically important.”
Conner’s films were ahead of there time and computers mostly do what he could
do with film now. He has worked with 16mm film shorts since 1958. What can be
done in a few minutes, might have taken weeks for a 13 min. film back then.
Conner said he still likes to work without the use of computers. He feels they are
too easy to make that way. Which is very true. Splicing films back in the 1950s
and 1960s was very hard.
Conner has been an innovator as well and an influence for many filmmakers. He
has been a production and editing advisor to producers and directors. He is
known also for his paintings, sculptures, and photography he has created for
over 50 years. His works are in major museums around the world. He has
received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the
Arts, the Ford Foundation.
He is also a very good dancer. He was dancing at the Billy Joe Shaver concert.
I enjoyed listening to him talk about how he made his films and how it compares
with how films are made today.
dancing at the
"Billy Joe Shaver" concert.
