With Boyhood, Richard Linklater‘s “12-Year Epic”, gearing up for wide release following its limited opening this past weekend, the indie guru has been on a whirlwind press tour, promoting the film across the country. This past Thursday, the tour found him in San Rafael, California, at the Smith Rafael Film Center, where he participated in an audience Q&A and chatted with some high-profile guests at the after party, all organized by the California Film Institute.

“It had to be one movie that felt all the same, and all you could notice was the people getting older. The film itself had to feel consistent,” Linklater said at the Q&A (moderated by CFI Director of Programming Richard Peterson) when asked how he kept the tone of the film steady over the course of the 12-year production. “People ask me, ‘Did you evolve over the 12 years as a filmmaker?’ and I say, ‘I hope not.’ If I evolved, it was maybe in the other films.”

When asked about how many scenes fell to the cutting room floor, Linklater gave a startling answer, considering the enormity of the production. “There’s very little on the floor. There will never be another version [of the film.] I probably cut out less material, ratio-wise, than most films.” It speaks to his efficiency as a filmmaker, which he touched upon with us in our chat last year about Before Midnight.

Following the Q&A, Linklater moved from the packed theater, booming with applause, to a private room where several of his peers awaited to shower him with praise (and nibble on some tasty treats, of which I may have stolen a few.) In attendance were Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, a film buff and Bay Area musical mainstay, Pixar mastermind Brad Bird, CFI Executive Director Mark Fishkin, and an assortment of industry vets who were universally touched by Mr. Linklater’s sweeping passion project.

Boyhood is picking up some serious momentum, and with luck (and more publicity tours), Linklater and his crew could ride the wave all the way to the Oscars.

The California Film Institute screened 10 short films made by girls aged 11-14 at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael as a part of their “My Place/My Story” program.

Designed to familiarize the girls with digital tools like Final Cut Pro and Photoshop to tell a cinematic, autobiographical story, the program had fruitful results, as the ten films (made over the course of five days during the girls’ winter break) were varied, inventive, personal, and engaging. Covering themes of friendship, loss, and even suicide, the girls bared their hearts on the movie screen to the delight of the audience, filled with friends, family, and community members.

The young filmmakers who participated in the program were:

Madeline Crawford (14, Willow Creek Academy)
Ta’Naejah Reed (12, Willow Creek Academy)
Nancy Hoang (11, Martin Luther King Academy)
Yamaecha Davis (13, Marin Horizon School)
Aliyah Jackson (13, Lovonya DeJean Middle School)
Shira Loggings (13, Pinole Middle School)
Talaiah Louis (14, Lovonya DeJean Middle School)
Nylah Rose Moore (14, Manzanita Charter School)
Cameron Vickers(13, Mira Vista Middle School)
Terra Wilson (13, Manzanita Charter School)

“The place you call your home could be [anywhere]. Even though the image of Richmond is bad, where you call your home is a safe haven for you,” said Madeline Crawford, one of the young filmmakers, in response to a question about portraying her hometown of Richmond–typically viewed as one of the rougher cities in the Bay Area–in a positive light in her film.
Click to view slideshow.
The films are eligible for entry in the Mill Valley Film Festival’s Youth Reel program. The 2014 festival runs from October 2-12.

CFI Education runs several youth-film programs throughout the year. For more info about CFI and their programs visit www.cafilm.org/education

Mark Fishkin, California Film Institute (CFI) Executive Director and Founder, has announced that the 37th annual Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) will be held October 2 – October 12, 2014.

MVFF’s programming team, led by Zoë Elton, Director of Programming, also announced the Festival’s Call for Entries in all categories, including feature length films (50 + minutes) and short films in the following genres: Narrative, Documentary, Animation, Children and Family, Experimental and Youth Produced. Festival sections include Official Premieres, World Cinema, US Cinema, Valley of the Docs, Children’s FilmFest, and the popular “5@5” shorts programs.

MVFF’s regular submission period begins March 1 and ends May 16, 2014.

The Mill Valley Film Festival entry form is available for download at mvff.com. Preview formats for submissions are DVD (NTSC: Region 1 or Region 0). MVFF will also accept online submissions through Without A Box, withoutabox.com, as an economical, eco-friendly, and secure alternative to traditional hard-copy DVD submissions. Presentation formats for films accepted to MVFF include 35mm, DCP, and HDCAM.

Designated as one of the “20 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by Moviemaker magazine, the Mill Valley Film Festival offers a high profile, prestigious, non-competitive environment perfect for celebrating the best in independent and world cinema. 

With a reputation for launching new films and creating awards season buzz, MVFF has a knack for spotting emerging talent as well as drawing legendary artists. Know as the filmmaker’s festival, MVFF welcomes more than 200 filmmakers and guests from around the world and has hosted such luminaries as Dustin Hoffman, Ang Lee, and Steve McQueen.

Last year, the festival featured 200 screenings, representing 49 countries with 43 official premieres and more than 40,000 audience members present.

[Pictured at top: Mark Fishkin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Steve McQueen, and Zoë Elton at the 2013 festival.]

If You Build It, by Patrick Creadon, follows activist-designers Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller as they set up Studio H–an innovative shop class engineered to teach students the fundamentals and virtues of humanitarian design–in Bertie County, the poorest county in North Carolina. Check out our chat with Pilloton about the film here.

Pilloton and Miller’s radical approach to education back in 2010 has now evolved into Project H, a non-profit currently partnered with REALM Charter School in Berkeley, California, where the Studio H program is taught to over 200 students (there were only ten in the first class in Bertie).

When the 108 eighth grade students at REALM were asked what they wanted to build for their senior project, they decided on building a school library, since they don’t have one. The library will house over 3,000 books and use stackable X-shaped shelves they designed themselves called “STAX”. They’ve chosen the name “X-Space” for the library (awesome), and have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project. It’s earned over $55,000 of its $75,000 goal in just a few days.

This past Saturday night at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, California, Joan Lubamersky presented Pilloton with a Certificate of Recognition from State Assemblyman Marc Levine’s office following a screening of If You Build It. Pilloton, a native of the area, was clearly touched. “I’ve been crying for the past 15 minutes,” she said with a proud smile, wiping tears away.

“I love architecture,” Pilloton said. “In my mind, there’s this venn diagram of math, social studies, history, reading…whatever. Architecture, for me, is the thing in the middle that makes everything else relevant. You can learn any of those subjects through beautiful architecture.”

For more information about Project H and the film, visit projecthdesign.org and ifyoubuilditmovie.com

On Sunday night, Ingoma Nshya–Rwanda’s first female drum troupe and subjects of the wonderful documentary Sweet Dreams–filled the San Rafael Film Center in California with thunderous music, to the delight of the packed house in attendance. Traveling thousands of miles to the Bay Area to spread the word about the film (directed by siblings Lisa and Rob Fruchtman), the visit was a more raucous and invigorating affair than the typical screening/Q&A event.

Following the troupe’s journey to open Rwanda’s first ice cream shop (spearheaded by the group’s matron, Kiki Katese, with the help of the good folks at Brooklyn’s Blue Marble Ice Cream) Sweet Dreams takes three ostensibly disparate elements–ice cream, drumming, and the Rwandan genocide–and churns them together to make a seamless, perfectly balanced story of hope in the wake of devastation. For my full thoughts on the film, check out our review.

Earlier in the night, the film was introduced by a Bay Area music legend, Mickey Hart of the Gratetful Dead, who gushed about the film and expressed his shared “drummer’s spirit” with the troupe. Also in attendance were the Fruchmans, Katese, and Alexis Miesen and Jennie Dundas of Blue Marble (who also appear in the film). Following the film, the Ingoma Nshya drummers performed an amazing routine, and were even joined onstage by Hart, who held his own with the Rwandans as they walloped their drums ferociously and in perfect sync.

Remember to check out our interview with Lisa Fruchtman.

If you live in the Bay Area, there are still plenty of opportunities to see Sweet Dreams for yourself, including a screening TONIGHT in Berkeley:

Opera Plaza San Francisco, CA

Sweet Dreams will be playing at the Opera Plaza for an extended stay. Lisa Fruchtman will be attending most screenings. Stay tuned for updates.

Tues Dec 10, 7:00 PM
Q&A with Lisa Fruchtman

Thu Dec 12, 7:00 PM
Q&A with Lisa Fruchtman

Shattuck Cinema Berkeley, CA

Sweet Dreams will be playing at the Shattuck Cinema for an extended stay. Lisa Fruchtman will be attending most screenings. Stay tuned for updates.

Mon Dec 9, 7:10 PM
Q&A with Lisa Fruchtman

Wed Dec 11, 7:10 PM
Q&A with Lisa Fruchtman

San Rafael Film Center

Sun Dec 15, 7:00 PM

For more info on screenings, visit  sweetdreamsrwanda.com 

On MVFF’s gigantic penultimate day, a quintet of some of the industry’s most exciting directors gathered for a meeting of the minds, the stars and directors of At Middleton and Beside Still Waters unveiled their respective films to packed houses, and the whole lot of them partied it up in the beautiful town of Tiburon, right down the road.

Filmmaker Superfriends

To start off Day 10 of the festival, a killer lineup of directors gathered to participate in a panel organized by Variety, in which they discussed the industry and their filmmaking processes. In my previous festival recap, I mentioned that Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) asked Steve McQueen a question during the 12 Years a Slave Q&A; McQueen didn’t seem to notice that the young buck was a talented filmmaker himself at the time, but when the two met officially for the Variety panel they became fast friends. Joining Coogler and McQueen for the panel was J.C. Chandor, who helmed the Robert Redford “man at sea” film, All is Lost and 2011’s Margin Call. We spoke to Chandor about the film, so keep an eye out for our interview next week. Also in attendance were John Wells of August: Osage County and Scott Coooper of Crazy Heart and Out of the Furnace.

Click to view slideshow.

Andy Garcia’s Campus Romance

At Middleton,  directed by newcomer Adam Rodgers, focuses on a sporadic on-campus romance between George (Andy Garcia) and Edith (Vera Farmiga), who meet while accompanying their kids on a campus tour of Middleton University. A walk-and-talk rom-com cut from the same cloth as Richard Linklater’s Before series but with a more lighthearted flare, the film was received incredibly well by the Mill Valley audience at CinéArts@Sequoia, who expressed their enthusiasm during the post-screening Q&A with Rodgers, Garcia, and the films’ producers. “When you have a chance to play with [an actor like] Vera Farmiga,” Garcia gushed, “[the scenes] are all fun.” The chemistry developed between the accomplished actors, amazingly, took no time to develop at all. “We never even read the script together once,” Garcia said, to the surprise of the audience, who had been so taken by the screen romance. “We got to know each other as the characters did on camera. She’s incredible.”

Future BIG Movie Stars CHILL in Beside Still Waters

A few feet down from the At Middleton screening, another movie about people talking was pleasing a separate batch of MVFF-goers. Chris Lowell, an actor best known for his roles in Veronica Mars (the “kickstarted” film version is shooting now) and The Help, hops into the director’s chair for the first time with his nostalgia-driven hangout movie, Beside Still Waters. In it, a tragedy causes a group of old childhood friends to reconvene at the memory-filled cabin in the forrest they grew up playing around in (no, it’s not a horror movie). The cast, comprised of some of some of the prettiest rising-star actors in the game right now (just look a the pictures!), were all in attendance at the MVFF screening along with their incredibly excited director, who was all smiles during the audience Q&A. “I was really excited to direct [and] talk to actors the way I’d like a director to talk to me,” Lowell beamed. “That was probably the thing I was most thrilled about. That, and not having to go through hair and makeup in the morning.” Comparisons to the king of all hangout movies, The Big Chill, are inevitable, and Lowell didn’t shy away from acknowledging the influence of Kasdan’s film, which has a strikingly similar premise. “[My co-writer Mohit Narang] and I obsessed over every conceivable reunion [movie], to see what people did right and wrong. The Big Chill is obviously the big tentpole film for [this kind of movie], which is why everyone comes back to it. It’s a film that you watch when you’re sick because it makes you feel good and right about the world.”

Worlds Collide…Over Cocktails

After the dual screenings of At Middleton and Beside Still Waters, the buzzing crowds and proud filmmakers met again at the Tiburon Tavern just down the road to schmooze, booze, and enjoy delectable bites of delicious food (the coffee-coated cheese was curious, yet excellent). Andy Garcia and the Beside Stll Waters cast were happy to mingle, keeping the good vibes flowing along with the bubbly. Lowell and Rodgers, both elated to have their films so well-received, shared their experiences and a big, congratulatory hug.

Stiller Closes Out With Mitty

MVFF closed out big with what looks to be one of the most visually striking films of the year, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Ben Stiller unsurprisingly drew a blitz of media and fan attention when he arrived at the CinéArts@Sequoia theater to present his passion project, about an office worker (played by Stiller himself) who lives in picturesque fantasy worlds represented onscreen beautifully by Stiller and DP Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano). After the screening, Stiller was given the Mill Valley Award and then headed down the street to San Rafael’s beautiful Elk’s Lodge where everyone–from the hard-working festival staff, to the filmmakers, to industry people, to the excited festival-goers–celebrated as the wonderful 11-day festival came to a close.

But wait…that’s not all! We’ve still got a ton of content coming out of the festival, so stay tuned in the next few days for more MVFF goodness!

Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave, and the Unexpected Guest

Of all the films in the exceedingly strong MVFF lineup, none have generated the momentum and near-universal acclaim of Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. McQueen and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor (who plays Northup) and Lupita Nyong’o took the stage in front of a full house at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center to answer the questions of the audience, who were still reeling after seeing the gut-wrenching film.

“I wanted to make a film about slavery because I felt, within the cannon of film, this particular subject hadn’t been tackled,” professed a straight-faced McQueen. “Everybody knows Anne Frank’s diary. Every school should have 12 Years a Slave (the book) on their curriculum. That’s my aim with this film.”

During the Q&A session, something very special happened, though few noticed it. The mobile microphone that had been floating around the theater from person to person wound up in the hands of Fruitvale Station director and Bay Area native, Ryan Coogler, one of the brightest young directors in the game. Funny thing is, very few audience members seemed to recognize Coogler, though he didn’t seem to pay that any mind at all. With wide-eyed curiosity, eagerness, and humility, Coogler–amongst a sea of weighty questions about slavery–chose instead to ask McQueen about filmmaking technique, specifically his proclivity for doing one-shot takes as opposed to traditional coverage.

“I don’t do coverage,” McQueen explained to the intently focused Coogler. “For me, it’s a waste of time because I know what I want.” It’s this confident, assertive, no-bull attitude that so many great auteurs share, and in that moment between McQueen and Coogler, I could sense the future of cinema getting just a little bit brighter.

A Dark Teen Idol Returns with a Powerhouse Performance

No red carpet arrival at MVFF could match the energy of Jared Leto’s. The most likely explanation for the fervor is that he’s one of the dreamiest cinema dreamboats of the past 20 years, but in his new film, Dallas Buyers Club (his first film in four or five years), he proves once again that he’s much too talented to be reduced to just another pretty face.

Based on a true story, the film (you know, the one Matthew McConaughey lost a bunch of weight for) follows Ron Woodruff (McConaughey), a bull-riding man’s man who was diagnosed as being HIV positive and subsequently waged pharmaceutical war on the FDA and other companies in the ’80s in hopes to make alternative treatments available for HIV-positive patients. Leto plays Rayon, a transsexual, HIV-positive business partner of Ron’s who’s got sass and hustle for days. Though McConaughey is likely to get an Academy Award nomination for his turn as Woodruff, Leto is equally deserving of a supporting nod, with a performance so lived-in and remarkable it’ll make you wish he’d quit 30 Seconds to Mars (that rock band of his) and come back to acting for us full-time.

Leto stayed in character even when off-set, walking around with Rayon’s leggings, lipstick, and clothes on. “It was interesting how people treated me differently,” Leto said in the post-screening Q&A session. “Every glance somebody gave me, every time I had an encounter, every time a grip offered his hand when I stepped out of the van…it ultimately helped me deliver a much better performance.”

John Wells Turns the Tables

One of the best things about film festivals are the Q&A’s; everyday people like you and me get to pry the brains of some of the most talented filmmakers in the business. Director John Wells, however, flipped the script on the MVFF Q&A crowd–who had just finished watching his new film, August: Osage County–by asking them questions.

“Did you think it was funny?” Wells asked, earnestly, which was met by an emphatic, unanimous “yes” and a smattering of applause from the smiling festival-goers. Wells was likely concerned whether the film’s humor came through or not because the film–based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tracy Letts, who also wrote the screenplay–revolves around a family tragedy and crises. The feuding women of the Weston family–played by Meryl Streep as the drug-addled matriarch, and Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis as Streep’s daughters–are brought together after years of separation to their old Oklahoma home after receiving devastating news about their father, Beverly (Sam Shepard).

Wells went further with his questioning, asking the audience members who were familiar with the play if there was something they missed from the stage version that he cut from his screen adaptation. When several audience members voiced their preference for the play’s ending (which is only slightly different), Wells admitted their feedback could have an effect on the final cut of the film. “I actually have to lock the film by Monday or Tuesday next week, which is why I’m asking these questions!”

When asked about the on-screen relationship between Streep and Roberts and how they approached their roles as mother and daughter, Wells explained just how significant their mother-daughter chemistry is to the story. “One of the themes of the film is, for better or for worse, we become our parents. We reach a moment in our adult lives at which we have to decide what we’re going to use and what we’re not going to use.”

Blues Bad-Asses Rock Sweetwater

In celebration of late Blues guitar legend Mike Bloomfield and the new film detailing his life, Sweet Blues (which played at MVFF), music fans piled into Mill Valley’s historic Sweetwater Music Hall to listen to some of the baddest Blues on the planet played by some veteran virtuosos and some old friends of Bloomfield’s. Amongst the music marvels were Conan O’Brien cohort Jimmy Vivino, Bay Area Blues veteran Elvin Bishop, and harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite. The tiny, excellent-sounding venue was packed shoulder to shoulder with elated music lovers swaying as one, a perfect way to unwind and a perfect lead-in to what’s sure to be a killer final two days at the festival.

Stay tuned to Way Too Indie for all the news coming out of the festival this weekend, including coverage of the directors panel (Ryan Coogler, Steve McQueen, JC Chandor, Scott Cooper, John Wells), capsule reviews, interviews, photo galleries, and much more!