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Maui ushers in its first film festival
with outdoor theaters and
Hawaiian storytellingTICKETS | EVENTS | SCHEDULE
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinWHAT'S the major distinction between this week's inaugural Maui Film Festival and those in Toronto, Los Angeles, Sundance, and Cannes?
Size? Yes. Prominence? OK. Presence of dignitaries? Perhaps.
But for an even more significant difference, think, surfing, snorkeling, midnight sails and a Dolby-equipped theater on a golf course.
A frantic Barry Rivers, the Maui festival's director, agrees, joking "location, location, location."
Maui recently was named the "World's Best Island" by Travel & Leisure magazine and the "Best Island in the World" -- that's six years running -- by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
"But this festival is a lot more than just that," said Rivers, who has incorporated some personal beliefs into this event. The festival is committed, he said, "to present films that nurture and sustain the best in people, the kind of films that any individual or company can take pride in being associated with."The festival will also honor Hawaii by integrating Hawaiian storytelling traditions -- oli (chant), hula and mele -- into daily activities.
The festival opens tomorrow with the premiere of Dreamworks' animated feature "Chicken Run," one of 17 feature and three short films to be shown at venues in Wailea and at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
"Chicken Run" is the first full-length feature film from Aardman Studios, home of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit series. It stars the voices of Mel Gibson and Miranda Richardson, and follows the story of a group of chickens determined to fly the coop for good. Wailea will have two unique outdoor theaters -- the Under-the-Stars Celestial Cinema, and the SandDance Theater on Wailea Beach -- where showings will be held in the evening; the Maui Arts and Cultural Center will show films during the day and evenings.
"If you've ever experienced the wonder of a planetarium, while a voice in the dark revealed myths and legends of the endless sky, enjoying the stories told on the big screen," Rivers says, the outdoor screenings "will equally thrill you."
(Celestial Cinema is on the slopes above Wailea's Gold & Emerald Clubhouse. Low-back beach chairs, mats and blankets are allowed; beach chair rentals are available.)Rivers will show more films than originally planned. After the festival's announcement earlier this year, producers began offering Rivers films, giving the inaugural festival a higher profile, he said.
The eclectic selection of films range from the aforementioned animated feature, an unusual choice for a premiere, to "Passion of Mind" with Demi Moore, who plays a woman who must choose between love and illusion; the silent film classic "Camille," starring Rudolph Valentino and Alla Nazimova; foreign films like the romantic comedy "Bossa Nova" about several couples in present-day Rio de Janeiro, and the sexy romantic French film "Girl on the Bridge;" to the black comedy "One More Kiss" by Vadim Jean, about living life to the fullest, even in the face of terminal illness.
In 1997, Rivers created a film series at the the 1,200-seat Castle Theater at the MACC to show films that are "an alternative to Hollywood action blockbusters."
The inspiration for the Maui Film Festival grew from his desire to simply show "a few movies under the stars."
Rivers estimates the event will cost as much as $500,000, though much of the expense is being covered by sponsors.
The outdoor theaters have proven to be Rivers' biggest challenge. Two 50-foot poles had to be installed in 3-by-7-foot holes, with a mass of wires to hold the poles and the 47-by-21-foot screen in place. A special trailer was built for the projector and the Dolby Digital sound system.
"Fortunately, we didn't have to dynamite," Rivers joked.
The golf-course theater will hold about 2,000; the beach venue, 600.
Attracting celebrities to the festival has been difficult because the Maui event is on the heels of the Cannes Film Festival. So the 2001 Maui Film Festival will be moved a couple weeks later, to June 13 to 17.
Rivers expects this year's festival to draw 5,000, split equally between mainland visitors and Hawaii residents.
The Maui festival will also feature two awards: the Silversword Lifetime Achievement and Spirit of Aloha Audience honors.
Film festival tickets
Premiere Passports
1. Access to all festival $160 (before tomorrow, $160; $200 after)
2. Four premieres at Celestial Cinema in Wailea: $11 and $125
3. Twelve premieres at Maui Arts & Cultural Center: $80 and $100
Single tickets
1. Wailea: $28 and $35
2. Maui Arts & Cultural Center: $8 and $10
3. Starry Starry Night Opening Night Gala at the SeaWatch Restaurant tomorrow: $60 and $75
4. Midnight VIP Cruise on Maalea Bay Friday: $76 and $95
5. Taste of Wailea Saturday: $76 and $95
6. Filmmakers Panels, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday at Maui Arts & Cultural Center: FreeInformation: (808)-579-9996
Web: http://www.mauifilmfestival.com
Maui Film Festival events
Tomorrow
10 P.M. TO 1 A.M. "STARRY STARRY NIGHT AT THE WAILEA RESORT"
Opening night party and gala at Seawatch Restaurant with pupu and dessert reception
Friday
10:30 P.M. TO 12:30 A.M -- MIDNIGHT VIP CRUISE
Ma'alaea Harbor with champagne and dessert reception
Saturday
1 P.M. -- "GETTING IT OUT THERE: THE INS & OUTS OF PROMOTING INDEPENDENT FILM"
Panel discussion with Todd Robinson (director, "Amargosa"); Alan Roberts (producer, "Burning Man: The Burning Sensation"); and Doug Wolens (producer/director, "Butterfly"); moderator Christian Gaines, director, AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival3:30 P.M. -- "THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENT CINEMA"
Panel discussion with Brett Leonard (director, "Lawnmower Man," "Virtuosity"; and IMax films "T-Rex Back to the Cretaceous" and "Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box"); moderator is Emmanuel Levy, film critic for Variety.5 TO 7:15 P.M. -- "TASTE OF WAILEA"
Wailea Gold & Emerald Clubhouse, with cuisine prepared by Maui's resort chefs, 5 to 7:15 p.m.10 P.M. TO 1 A.M. -- "MAUI MOON DANCE"
Closing night gala with Spirit of Aloha Audience Award presentation at Seawatch Restaurant. Awards will also be presented to films that best exemplify the festival's commitment to life-affirming storytelling.
Film schedule
Tomorrow
7:30 P.M. -- "CHICKEN RUN" (PG)
Opening night premiere on the Wailea Gold & Emerald golf course features the full-length animated feature film. It tells the story of a group of chickens determined to fly the coop for good. Led by the rough-and-ready newcomer Rocky (voice of Mel Gibson), the chickens of Coop 17 hatch an elaborate plot to escape from the clutches of the menacing Mrs. Tweedy (Miranda Richardson) before she serves them up as pies. At the Celestial Cinema on the Wailea Gold & Emerald golf course.
Thursday
5 P.M. -- "GIRL ON THE BRIDGE"
Hawaii premiere of award-winning director Patrice Leconte's modern fairy tale that begins one night on a Paris bridge when a luckless girl meets a knife thrower who needs a human target for his show. This romantic drama stars Daniel Auteuil and newcomer Vanessa Paradis. At MACC.7:30 P.M. -- "PASSION OF MIND" (PG-13)
Demi Moore stars in this film from Golden Globe Winner Alain Berliner ("Ma Vie En Rose"). She plays two women, Marie, a lonely American widow living with two daughters in the south of France who creates an imaginary existence in her dreams, and Marty, a glamorous New York career woman dreaming of a life in Provence. The question soon becomes, which life is real and which is the dream? Celestial Cinema.7:30 P.M. -- "ANIMA MUNDI"
Music and images from the naturalist film field are accompanied by a continuous soundtrack by Philip Glass based on rhythms and music from the most unspoiled traditional ethnic music. Preceded by "Amargosa," an Academy Award documentary finalist that tells the story of reclusive artist and dancer Marta Becket, who lives in the remote ghost town of Death Valley Junction, Calif., embracing the rapture of the dance by performing in her hand-painted opera house. With the nearest town more than 25 miles away, patrons were scarce, but Becket was committed to performing, in the spirit of "if you build it, they will come." MACC.10:30 P.M. -- "AMERICANOS: LATIN LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES"
Hawaii premiere of a film that celebrates the legacy of Hispanics in America. Those interviewed and profiled including Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, El Vez, street poets, low-rider artists and performance artists. MACC.10:30 P.M. TO MIDNIGHT -- "CAMILLE"
Starring Rudolph Valentino and Alla Nazimova. This movie of the early '20s tells the tale of a Paris courtesan who falls in love with a young man of promise, Armand Duval. At her father's request, she leaves him, only to find later he has not lost his love for her. SandDance Theater.
Friday
2 P.M. -- "ONE MORE KISS"
This black comedy by Vadim Jean is about living life to the fullest. After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Sarah (Valerie Edmond), a successful young executive, returns from New York to her home on the coast of Scotland, hoping to spend her remaining days with her ex-boyfriend Sam (Gerard Butler), the love of her life, who is married. MACC.5 P.M. -- "WHAT'S COOKING"
This film had its world premiere as the opener for the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. It humorously explores Los Angeles and its diversity. Set amid a smorgasbord of lavish cuisine, four families of different ethnic backgrounds, African-American, Jewish, Latino and Vietnamese, celebrate Thanksgiving dinner according to their cultural traditions.7:30 P.M. -- "GRASS"
In the year 2000, more than 50 million American citizens smoke marijuana. In the last 20 years, the United States has spent $250 billion dollars fighting the war on drugs. Hawaii has recently passed legislation permitting the medicinal use of marijuana to ease pain and suffering for people dealing with different types of illness and/or the effects of prescribed drugs. Ron Mann's documentary is part history, part deconstruction of the government's oft-times hypocritical win-at-all-costs war against marijuana since the start of the 1900s. The film is narrated by marijuana advocate Woody Harrelson. Preceded by "The Dancing Cow." MACC.7:30 P.M. -- "WHEN THE DAYS BREAKS" AND "STRINGS"
The Alloy Orchestra -- Terry Donahue, Ken Winokur and Roger C. Miller -- will perform for the Hawaii premiere of the two film shorts and the "The Masters of Silent Film Comedy" series featuring "Easy Street" (Charlie Chaplin), "One Week" (Buster Keaton), and "Big Business" (Laurel & Hardy). Celestial Cinema.10:30 P.M. -- "BURNING MAN: THE BURNING SENSATION"
Each summer, for one short week, people flock to Burning Man, about 110 miles east of Reno, to recreate their lives. People have returned to this temporary community, an artistic happening, for 16 years. It started as a solstice celebration on a California beach, with people building and burning an 8-foot ragtag scarecrow. Preceded by "The Flight of the Rock." MACC.
Saturday
11 A.M. -- "YELLOW SUBMARINE"
The Beatles save Pepperland from the dreaded Blue Meanies before they can turn everything to stone eliminating music, happiness and love. A digitally remastered soundtrack sparkles. This surreal animated classic is based upon the song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. MACC.2 P.M. -- "AN AFFAIR OF LOVE"
Responding to a newspaper ad, a woman and man decide to begin an anonymous, sexual relationship that they describe as "pornographic." Shot in mock-documentary fashion, the couple moves through the stages of their relationship, discovering that the pursuit of sexual desire is not as simple as they had anticipated. MACC.5 P.M. -- "METROPOLIS"
Screening of Fritz Lang's classic vision of a modern city features live accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra. MACC.7:30 P.M. -- "BOSSA NOVA" (R)
Rio de Janeiro is the setting for nine lonely hearts who cross paths and destinies, unleashing passions to a soundtrack featuring the music of Tom Jobim. At the epicenter of all this activity is an attractive English teacher, Mary Ann Simpson (Amy Irving), a former flight attendant and a widow who's been living in Rio for two years, since the death of her husband, a Brazilian pilot. English and Portuguese with English subtitles. Celestial Cinema.7:30 P.M. -- "BUTTERFLY"
Julia Hill, a k a "Butterfly," spent more than two years of her life perched 180 feet above the ground, atop a 1,000-year-old tree. The tree, which she calls Luna, was in the middle of a private timber property owned by Pacific Lumber but Butterfly felt it was her duty to protect it and its neighbors. Doug Wolens' film documents Hill's plight.10:30 P.M. -- "GROOVE"
This independent feature film explores San Francisco's rave scene and the complexities of '90s subculture through its many characters. MACC.
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