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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear MCAers,
It's November, and that means that the 21st Annual The Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) will begin soon! SLIFF, which is one of the largest international film festivals in the Midwest, starts on November 8 and ends November 18 and offers many opportunities for filmmakers and media professionals to learn, network, celebrate, remember, and, most importantly, watch lots of movies. Tickets at most venues are on sale now, and even free events sometimes require an RSVP!
SLIFF will screen more than 400 films: 110 narrative features, 73 documentary features, and 226 shorts. This year's festival has a record 209 programs, with 50 countries represented. The fest will also host more than 100 filmmakers and related guests, including honorees Joe Dante (Lifetime Achievement Award), Ross McElwee (Maysles Bros. Lifetime Achievement Award in Documentary), Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (Women in Film Award), and Beau Willimon (Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award).
There are two Master Filmmaking Classes as part of the SLIFF and hosted by KDHX and the Webster Film Series, who are proud to present two Master classes: "Editing and Cinematography" and "Documentary." These programs are supported by the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Both classes require RSVPs to reserve your space.
The Master Class in Editing and Cinematography features two of the most respected talents in Hollywood, Carol Littleton and John Bailey, who will present a joint master class on their respective disciplines. Editor Carol Littleton (E.T., The Big Chill, The Rum Diary) and cinematographer John Bailey (American Gigolo, Groundhog Day, As Good As It Gets), who are wife and husband, will also introduce and discuss "The Anniversary Party," which screens November 11 as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival.
WHEN: Saturday, November 10, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Sverdrup Room 123 at Webster University, 8300 Big Bend Blvd.
COST: FREE with RSVP
The Master Class in Documentary features Academy AwardŽ nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy ("The Garden," "OT: Our Town," "Fame High"), who will offer an instructive seminar on documentary filmmaking as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival where his films will also screen.
WHEN: Saturday, November 17, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Sverdrup Room 123 at Webster University, 8300 Big Bend Blvd.
COST: FREE with RSVP.
SLIFF's Filmmaker Seminars also offer opportunities to learn more about casting, documentary filmmaking, and the industry. SLIFF holds a free day of filmmaking seminars at the Regional Arts Commission.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov 10 at 11:00 am
WHERE: Regional Arts Commission
COST: Free
11 a.m.: Casting By Seminar. The documentary "Casting By," which screens on the evening of Nov. 10, focuses attention on the important work of the casting director. Local casting directors Joni Tackette and Carrie Houk and the film's cinematographer, Peter Bolte (a St. Louis native), discuss the casting process.
12:15 p.m.: Documentary Filmmaking Panel. SLIFF features several documentaries either made by filmmakers with St. Louis and Missouri connections or focused on local subjects. Filmmakers Josh Aronson ("Orchestra of Exiles"), Phillip Andrew Morton ("Spanish Lake"), Jon Paley ("Ballplayer: Pelotero"), Daniel Blake Smith ("Envisioning Home"), and Douglas Wilson ("Linotype") explore the nuts and bolts of making a documentary.
1:30 p.m.: Conversation with Jennifer Lynch. Lynch ("Boxing Helena," "Surveillance," "Chained") talks about her career with St. Louis Post-Dispatch film critic Joe Williams.
2:45 p.m.: Conversation with Jere Hausfater. Post-Dispatch film critic Joe Williams holds a conversation with native St. Louisan Hausfater (pictured), a leader in the media and entertainment industries for more than 30 years, working as an executive for Disney and Miramax. Hausfater currently serves as the chief operating officer of Aldamisa International, whose Jayne Mansfield's Car plays SLIFF on Nov. 11.
There are various parties and gathering, plus its chance to see other filmmakers and film buffs at our favorite place -- the movies! There many films from the St. Louis Filmmakers' Showcase which will be screened at SLIFF, so support your local filmmakers by seeing their films on the big screen and by congratulating them. Here are the local filmmakers whose hand you should shake: Adam Huber, Audra Demariano, Brett Marren, Chip Gubera, Cody Stokes, Danny Safady, David Lassiter, Devin Devon, Hannah Radcliff, Jack Snyder, Jeremy Cropf, Joshua Miller, Larry Ziegelman, Michelle Davidson, Mike Gualdoni, Mike Lemcke, Mike McCubbins, Mike Roth, Patrick Lawrence, Paul von Stoetzel, Richard Taylor, Rita Hunt, Sarah Worner, Scott Heugerich, Thomas Malkowicz, Tim Reischauser, Tyler DePerro, Van McElwee, Virginia Lee Hunter, and Zlatko Cosic.
Some of other films screening are having their St. Louis Premiere at the fest or have OscarŽ buzz. SLIFF opens with the St. Louis premiere of "Silver Linings Playbook," a dazzling new comedy by David O. Russell ("The Fighter," "Three Kings"). Starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, and Jennifer Lawrence (who's generating significant OscarŽ buzz), "Silver Linings Playbook" won the People's Choice Award at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival. Other prominent films featured in the festival include "A Late Quartet" (SLIFF's Opening Weekend Spotlight Selection), "Hyde Park on the Hudson," "Stand Up Guys," "Jayne Mansfield's Car," "Quartet, Rust and Bone," "Struck by Lightning," "The Giant Mechanical Man," and "The Sapphires."
For more on these films and the many other great films, visit the Cinema St. Louis website at www.cinemastlouis.org and download the fest schedule, ticket information, and a complete list of films with descriptions. SLIFF's main venues are the Hi-Pointe Theatre, Tivoli Theatre, Plaza Frontenac Cinema, Webster University's Winifred Moore Auditorium, Washington University's Brown Hall Auditorium and the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville, IL. Ticket are generally $12, but only $10 if you are a member of Cinema St. Louis, and memberships will be available to purchase at the fest and offer not only a discount but also free tickets to the fest and other films throughout the year. Some events and films are free, which is clearly spelled out on www.cinemastlouis.org. There's one other way to save money and still see films at the fest, and that's to volunteer. As of this writing, there were some opportunities to volunteer, but these are filling up fast because each volunteer gets a free festival T-shirt and volunteers get a free ticket for every shift they work. If you are thinking of volunteering, don't delay and miss out on your preferred shift. Head to the SLIFF volunteer page at http://www.cinemastlouis.org/sliff-2012-volunteers, and click the venue links to browse the volunteer schedules. "The Enemy Among Us" Screenplay Reading offers an opportunity to remember and to celebrate the life and work of Bobbie Lautenschlager.
WHEN: Monday, Nov 12 at 7:00 pm
WHERE: Webster U./Moore
COST: Free
Fondly known as the Godmother of St. Louis film, Bobbie Lautenschlager, a longtime member of the SLIFF family and beloved member of the St. Louis filmmaking community, died this summer, and the festival is paying tribute with a reading of her screenplay "The Enemy Among Us." Bobbie generously gave advice to and shared her industry contacts with any filmmaker who asked, and at the St. Louis International Film Festival, she was the driving force behind the annual New Filmmakers Forum. In addition to helping others achieve their Hollywood dreams, Bobbie had her own filmmaking aspirations, and "The Enemy Among Us," a World War II-era drama about German POWs imprisoned in Missouri's wine country, is currently in active development. Actors will read the screenplay in its entirety, and at its conclusion, SLIFF is inviting all those who loved and worked with Bobbie to offer some words of remembrance.
Closing-Night Party and Awards Presentation also offer another kind of celebration, and you can see who and what wins an award.
WHEN: Sunday, Nov 18 at 8:00 pm
WHERE: Contemporary Art Museum
COST: Free
21st Annual The Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival concludes with a party at the Contemporary Art Museum. Complimentary Stella Artois is served, DJ Rob Levy provides music, and SLIFF announces the audience-choice and juried-competition awards, and CinemaSpoke announces the winner of the screenwriting competition.
See you at the 21st Annual The Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival!
Sandra Olmsted
MCA St. Louis President, 2012 |
