360|365 GEH Film Festival Recap … Where eggs come to perform

Only Sid Rosenzweig, 360|365 Programming Committee member, could introduce himself before more than one screening as an “all-around good guy” and not have it get old. Complete with a smile spanning ear to ear, Sid’s jovial demeanor never let you see the statement as anything other than a good-natured ice-breaker, leading him into the description of whatever film he was presenting next. This attitude was prevalent amongst all involved, making it a joy to attend the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival‘s inaugural season, knowing that the organizers, presenters, and…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: Winter’s Bone [2010]

“Never ask for what ought to be offered” If you are going to adapt a novel by author Daniel Woodrell—the self-coined writer of “country noir”—you better make sure you get the look and feel of the Missouri Ozarks correct, no matter how dark, dirty, or devastating its hellish journey. I haven’t seen Ang Lee’s attempt to do just that with Ride with the Devil, but after catching Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone at the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival as well as listening to co-writer and producer Anne Rosellini afterwards,…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: Io sono l’amore [I Am Love] [2010]

“‘Happy’ is a word that makes one sad” It only took one look at the American poster for Io sono l’amore [I Am Love] to know I needed to see the film. The use of typography over an elegant family portrait, blocking every face but star Tilda Swinton’s, is gorgeous and much more relevant to the work it represents than I’d ever imagine. Throughout the entire piece, characters are often seen with obstructions between them and the camera, giving the audience a voyeuristic view into the Italian family’s world. There…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: Monogamy [2010]

“When do you want to swing by to choose your prints?” Those of you that say a monogamous relationship isn’t possible, that you can’t live the rest of your life with the same person and seriously be happy, Monogamy is the film for you. As succinctly and authentically as it can, Dana Adam Shapiro’s film, (Oscar nominated director of the documentary Murderball), peers through the window of Theo’s life. The guy has it all: a beautiful fiancé, a self-employed photography job where he calls the shots, and an apartment in…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: Celda 211 [Cell 211] [2009]

“I’ll see what I can do” Now this is the film I thought Un prophète would be. Despite all the hype surrounding that French prison drama—it was great—it never reached the pedestal of perfection for me. Yet here is the Goya sweeping Celda 211 [Cell 211]—not even given the country’s selection for inclusion on the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar list, but then that whole process of one per country is messed up to begin with—criminally given no buzz in America that I’ve been aware of. It snuck by me…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: The Secret of Kells [2009]

“I’ve seen the book that turned darkness into light” I remember the morning that Oscar nominations came out and hearing which films were up for the Best Animated Feature, completely perplexed when The Secret of Kells was announced. I had been nodding my head in a gesture of agreement until that moment, having never heard the film’s title before in my life. Well, thanks to the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival, I was able to finally enter Tomm Moore’s Celtic world at the time of the legendary Book of…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: Cinema Museum [2008]

“Floral Odors: fresh, inspiring, and nice” The second half of a Mark Lewis documentary short doubleheader at the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival was his 2008 look inside of the Cinema Museum. A private collection owned by Ronald Grant and Martin Humphries in Britain, their curator Anna takes us on a first person tour of the cluttered and packed rooms full of movie memorabilia spanning decades. Lewis shoots it all, I would guess, with a Steadicam that he helms, following Anna through the corridors and into cramped rooms, or…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: Backstory [2009]

“I have to light whatever face he’s wearing today” What better way is there to tell the story of the cinematic technique called rear projection than with the father/son duo integrally involved in its success, interviewed in front of their own technology? It definitely helps that Bill Hansard Sr. and Bill Hansard Jr. possess such a humorous attitude and candid nature, keeping Mark Lewis’ documentary short Backstory as fun as it is informative. For every story about new riggings for improved car motion footage or technological innovations to even get…

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360|365FF10 REVIEW: The City of Your Final Destination [2010]

“How could any outsider understand this place?” A two and a half hour round trip to see a movie may appear crazy on the surface, but when it’s for opening night of something as well put together as the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival, all is completely sane. Attending the first screening wasn’t in my original plans; I was supposed to just arrive for the weekend. Thankfully, though, I decided to throw caution to the wind and drive up for director James Ivory and his newest work, The City…

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360|365 GEH Film Festival … Opening Night

The opening night of the newly named, and thus inaugural, 360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival has ended with a standing ovation. It was James Ivory’s first, at least to his recollection, and a wonderful testament to his extensive and successful body of work. His newest film, City of Your Final Destination, opened the festivities along with the acceptance of the title George Eastman Honorary Scholar with a lovely plaque denoting such. It was my first experience with a Merchant Ivory production and well worth the wait to…

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The new (sort of) 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival preview

Previously known as the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival, the actual event will be holding its ninth annual incarnation, but it will be the first under the name 360 | 365 George Eastman House Film Festival. It’s a six-day ode to film, full of features, documentaries, shorts and children’s programs, bringing both new and restored old classics to the big screen. According to the press release, this will be the first time a major film archive will have aligned with a contemporary film festival, something that is an amazing…

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