The Campus Chronicle

Volume 3, No. 41
October 24, 2003

“Tupperware!,” one of the professional entries in the Savannah Film Festival, tells the story of inventor Earl Silas Tupper and Brownie Wise, the self-taught saleswoman who trafficked in “bowls that burped.” The documentary will be shown Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at Trustees Theater and Oct. 30 at noon at Lucas Theatre.

Savannah Film Festival: screenings, stars and surprises

By Aimee Yarber

The sixth-annual Savannah Film Festival, Oct. 25 - Nov. 1, offers something for everyone, including more than 60 films from all across the world, a new series of informative and constructive panel discussions with industry professionals and, of course, a few awards and familiar faces along the way.

The festival will honor famed director Arthur Penn with an Achievement in Cinema Award Oct. 28, 7 p.m., at Trustees Theater. Penn is known for Academy Award-winning classics such as “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Alice’s Restaurant” and “The Miracle Worker.” All three of those movies also earned Penn Oscar nominations — two for Best Director and one for screenwriting. The festival will feature a special screening of “Bonnie and Clyde” following the award presentation, as well as a Penn retrospective. Penn also will host a question-and-answer session with students from the SCAD media and performing arts and film and television programs.

The festival also will honor columnist Army Archerd with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Entertainment Journalism Oct. 31, 7 p.m., at Trustees Theater. Archerd has had a wide-ranging career in entertainment journalism and is celebrating his 50th anniversary with Daily Variety, for which he has written since 1953. Archerd may be best known for breaking the story about actor Rock Hudson’s death from AIDS in 1985, leading to an earlier realization of the scope of the virus, as well as his responsibility for Michael Jackson’s apology and the changing of lyrics that were deemed anti-Semitic on Jackson’s “HIStory” album in 1995.

Actress Thora Birch will receive the festival’s Young Hollywood Award Oct. 26, 7 p.m., at Trustees Theater. Following the award presentation on Oct. 26, Birch will attend a screening of her Academy Award-winning film “American Beauty” and will participate in a question-and-answer session following the film. Birch was last seen portraying Liz Murray in Lifetime’s original film, “Homeless to Harvard,” based on a true story. The film was nominated for three Emmy Awards, including one for Birch as Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Her latest theatrical release was the MGM/UA award-winning “Ghost World,” which garnered fantastic critical acclaim, reviews and praise, culminating with Birch’s 2002 Golden Globe Best Actress nomination.

In addition to presenting achievement awards to Penn, Archerd and Birch, the 2003 Savannah Film Festival will include screenings of a number of important upcoming films prior to their release from nearly every major studio and several independent film companies.

The festival kicks off Oct. 25 with a gala reception and a screening of Miramax’s top prizewinner at the Toronto Film Festival, “The Barbarian Invasions,” 6:30 p.m. at Trustees Theater.

Actor Alec Baldwin will present the Southeast premiere of his film “The Cooler” Oct. 29, 7 p.m., at Trustees Theater. In addition to Baldwin, “The Cooler,” from Lion’s Gate Films, also stars William H. Macy and Maria Bello. Following the screening, Baldwin will participate in a question-and-answer session along with producer John Cornick.

The Southeast premiere of Project Greenlight’s “The Battle of Shaker Heights” is featured Oct. 30, 7 p.m. at Trustees Theater. The film, executive produced by Project Greenlight creators Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, stars Shia LaBeouf (“Holes,” “Even Stevens”), Amy Smart and Elden Henson. Directors Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle will introduce the screening and participate in a question-and-answer session immediately following.

Stars Debra Winger and Arliss Howard will introduce a screening of their film, “Big Bad Love” Oct. 26, noon, at Lucas Theatre and will participate in a question-and-answer session immediately following. “Big Bad Love” also stars Paul Le Mat, Rosanna Arquette and Angie Dickinson and is directed by Howard.

Lion’s Gate Films’ highly anticipated film, “Shattered Glass,” will have its Southeast premiere Oct. 27, 7 p.m., at Trustees Theater. The film stars Hayden Christensen (“Star Wars: Episode II,” “Life As a House”), Peter Sarsgaard, Chloe Sevigny and Steve Zahn.

In honor of Halloween, the festival will screen the 1922 silent classic “Nosferatu,” Oct. 31, 9:30 p.m., at Lucas Theatre. “Nosferatu,” the earliest surviving screen adaptation and perhaps the most frightening portrayal of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” features a stunning new score, which will be performed live at the screening by Silent Orchestra.

Rosanna Arquette will attend the screening of her provocative documentary “Searching for Debra Winger” Nov. 1, 3 p.m., at Trustees Theater, and will participate in a question-and-answer session immediately following the screening. The festival will close Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. with the awards ceremony and a screening of Fox Searchlight’s “In America,” co-written and directed by Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot”). At the ceremony, HBO Films once again will be giving out the HBO Films awards and cash prizes for best producer and best student film, the latter being unique to the Savannah Film Festival. Last year’s student winner, “Left Behind”(directed and written by Christof Putzel), won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award for Best Student Film, cementing a prestigious awareness of the Savannah Film Festival’s quality among film industry professionals.

Other guests expected to attend this year’s festival include actors George Segal, Alan Cumming and Illeana Douglas, each with a special screening included in the festival. Director Phillip Noyce (“The Quiet American,” “Rabbit Proof Fence”), CEO of LivePlanet Larry Tanz, director Dennis Erdman, Co-Presidents of Sony Pictures Classics Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and casting director Sheila Jaffe also are expected to attend.

The workshops and panel discussions have also been revamped this year into four “Master Panel” series, each with a different theme, including careers in film and digital media, meet the filmmakers, the art and business of film and digital media and master workshops. Master Panel Series 1: Careers in Film and Digital Media features panel discussions with industry professionals about careers in the camera and sound departments, producing and directing, casting and acting and post-production. Master Panel Series 2: Meet the Filmmakers allows the audience to interact with filmmakers who have work included in the festival and is divided up by film genre, including short and feature narrative films, short and feature documentaries and animation. Master Panel Series 3: The Art and Business of Film and Digital Media features panels about the business of “the biz” and screenwriting. The last series, Master Panel Series 4: Master Workshops, features a workshop about sound design, moderated by Matthew Akers, chair of SCAD’s sound design department, as well as an improvisation and acting workshop that features games and exercises to help students work on their improvisational process.

For more information, film synopses and a complete schedule of events, visit www.scad.edu/filmfest.

Yarber is assistant director of public information.