Festival Finds Its Footing

By late Sunday afternoon, most of the Hamptons International Film Festival press office and hospitality center at the Huntting Inn was in cardboard boxes and lines were forming for the festival's last official screenings. Later, as producers, filmmakers, and distributors talked at the closing night party, the question changed from "What films did you see?" to "Did you close any deals?"

Industry professionals say the still young Hamptons festival is beginning to find its footing among other American film showcases. "It still doesn't command the same kind of crowds as Toronto or Sundance," said Karen Levine Glasser, the East Coast director of creative affairs for RKO Pictures, "but it includes a lot of independent stuff, which is nice." Still, she said, the young festival "doesn't have its own voice - yet."

"It's gone through its growing pains, turned the corner, and has its feet on solid ground," said Linda Biscardi, a member of the festival's board.

More Mellow

Coming on the tails of the New York Film Festival and the New York Independent Feature Film Market, a stage for films in progress looking for finishing funds, its advantage is that it offers a mellower look at emerging directors and new films than its older New York cousins.

"As in the past and more so now, filmmakers like it here because everything is accessible. They can see everyone and do everything they want to do," said Toni Ross, the chairwoman of the board. A few people in the industry told her they would encourage acquisitions people to come to the festival next year because of this kind of accessibility.

In fact, despite opening and closing night galas, festivalgoers with a celebrity-watching agenda would have been disappointed. Sure, there were some well-known actors and directors - Angelica Huston, the secret guest of "A Conversation With...," Roy Scheider, and Spalding Gray - but the glitz level was low.

Perhaps it's an indicator that the festival has found its niche - an off-season event with the serious purpose of commingling industry, filmmakers, and fans.

Resource For Kids

Ms. Biscardi, who is an East Hampton Middle School teacher, sees another purpose in the festival - as an educational resource for children in the community. More than to museums, galleries, or local theaters, kids gravitate to the movies, she said.

"It's important to incorporate more of the art involved in film in kids' lives here, at all levels and all ages," she said.

The festival distinguishes itself by its emphasis on young filmmakers, even giving monetary awards for stuent films, unlike many festivals.

"There are a lot of young filmmakers out there, but here they are included in just about everything that goes on, there's not really a hierarchy," said Ms. Ross. "They will be the established filmmakers of tomorrow, that's why we chose them."

Seeking Funding

"Filmmakers are interested in our festival for a number of reasons - its proximity to New York, its friendly atmosphere for the audience to look at films, and the number of creative people in this area," said Ken Tabachnick, the festival's director. That, and a huge increase in industry and press attendance this year, combined to create a promising stage for unsigned films.

Some came to show a finished product, others, like Breck Eisner, the director of the science-fiction short "Recon," came to give producers and distributors a taste of what they could do with better funding.

If you listened in on conversations among filmmakers and festivalgoers, the magic of film boiled down to stories of funding - how long it took to gather the money or who invested in the project.

Industry Buzz

The French animators Didier and Thierry Poiraud spent two years raising the money to make their 12 1/2-minute short film "The Wild Heels." It took them 10 days to film it. The brothers and their movie visited the United States for the first time last week for the film's first festival screening Thursday.

The day after the festival, there was no word as to whether some of the highlights had been picked up by distributors, Mr. Tabachnick said, but he talked to filmmakers over the four days who had been approached by many potential distributors.

There reportedly was a big buzz in the industry about the joint winners of the juried Golden Starfish Award, "Puddle Cruiser" by Jay Chandrasekhar and "Mugshot" by Matt Mahurin, even before the festival began.

As to which films will be big hits outside of the festival circuit, the festival director didn't even want to speculate. "It's impossible in this industry to predict anything. Nobody would have ever thought 'The Crying Game' would have crossed over and made millions, but it did," Mr. Tabachnick said.

Personal Favorite

His personal favorite of the festival, the Russian documentary "Anna" by Nikita Mikhalkov, may never make it into mainstream theaters here because the venues for documentaries are so few and far between.

In choosing films this year, the organizers looked for strong artistic and cinematic voices, Mr. Tabachnick said.

Many had provocative, even disturbing, subjects. The selection drew mixed reviews from audience members - some saying they found the films better than last year, while others thought they fell short - with general nods of approval for their boldness, if nothing else.

Many festivalgoers, whether casual filmgoers, serious afficionados, or film professionals, were also harsh critics. When the Golden Starfish winners were announced in one screening, an audience member was overheard saying she couldn't believe that "Puddle Cruiser" had shared the award.

"I call them like I see them, and I walked out of it," she said to her companion.

Immersed In Film

Rich Feleppa, a film buff from Amagansett who spent the better part of the past week in the movie theater, was enthusiastic about the roster of films. Though he saw a few turkeys, most of the 12 films he took in seemed better than last year's offerings, he said. He reveled in the chance to get immersed in the art of filmmaking. "It takes you to other places you're just not likely to be," he said.

Still, he didn't think his favorites were likely to be big box office draws. He liked "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" by the Yugoslavian filmmaker Srdjan Dragojevic and echoed Mr. Tabachnick's praise for "Anna." "They should make it to the mainstream, but they probably won't," he ventured.

The hope of catching a gem that may never make it to a big movie house and a penchant for fresh visions in the medium brought film buffs from around the South Fork and farther afield to the festival. Once they were here, however, some were frustrated with the box office chaos. Problems with the ticket-printing machine forced many buyers to return again and again.

More Glitches

And yes, there were more glitches. On Saturday morning, while a ferocious northeaster was raging outside the movie theater, village police were called to the theater showing Greg Mottola's "Daytrippers." The screening had been full and the film about to run when friends of the filmmaker showed up to watch the film, too. Told they could not stand because of fire regulations, they were asked to leave, but refused. Enter the police. A second screening of "Daytrippers" was added Sunday morning to satisfy the demand.

Filmgoers also reported minor projection and sound problems at many screenings.

Outside the UA theaters there were picketers from the projectionists union, who were waiting for a deal between United Artists and their union. The East End Disabilities Group was protesting too, with signs urging people to boycott three local restaurants owned in part by Toni Ross, because, they claimed, the eateries were not accessible to the disabled.

Despite the troubles, Mr. Tabachnick said ticket sales were higher than any other year and "people liked it." Ms. Ross, who is one of the founders of the festival, agreed. "It went exceedingly well, I had an incredibly positive response," she said.