This evening the tenth annual Loft Film Fest begins an eight-day celebration of 47 independent, foreign and classic films. The fest opens with a likely Oscar contender, “The Two Popes,” and closes with Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” recipient of the Palme d’Or at Cannes last May.
Special guests include the forceful actor and Academy Award nominee Edward James Olmos and versatile cinema personality Illeana Douglas. Both will receive the Lofty Achievement Award for 2019.
“He’s iconic, and he’s an activist,” said the Loft festival’s executive director Peggy Johnson. Olmos’ career includes “Stand and Deliver,” “Zoot Suit,” “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez,” “American Me.” “Mi Familia” and “Selena.”
As timely as tomorrow is Olmos in his new film, “Windows on the World.” He plays Balthazar, an undocumented Mexican immigrant working at the famed Windows on the World restaurant on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center when it was attacked on 9/11.
In the chaotic aftermath, Balthazar is counted missing and presumed dead. But in Mexico, his wife insists she saw him in a TV news clip running from the carnage. Against all odds, Balthazar’s son Fernando (Ryan Guzman) heads for the States to find his father.
That journey becomes our look into the hazardous life of all undocumented foreign workers in the United States today. “Windows on the World” is directed by Olmos’ son Michael. This is the third film they have worked on as actor and director. Together at the Loft they will introduce the film and lead a Q&A session afterward.
“I’ve done some really great pieces of story that I’ve had great passion for, and this is right there with him,” said Olmos at a screening last month presented by TheWrap. “I can’t believe that we got this on the screen.”
Illeana Douglas is a longtime friend of pioneering female film director Allison Anders, in turn a friend of the Loft for many years. Back in 1996 the two women made “Grace of My Heart” together, a film now making its re-release in a digital format.
Also on stage together at the Loft, Douglas and Anders will introduce and talk about “Grace of My Heart,” set against the changing pop music recording scene from the late 1950s to the psychedelic 1970s.
Douglas’ versatile career includes being an actress, comedienne, writer, producer and director in both film and television. Listed in her film credits are “Goodfellas,” “Cape Fear,” “Ghost World” and “Six Feet Under.”
She is also a host, writer and interviewer for Turner Classic Movies and the author of “Blame Dennis Hopper: Stories of a Life Inside and Outside the Movies.”
One agenda Johnson considers essential when programming the festivals is to seek out and support films directed by women. Last year and this year at least 50% of LFF films have had women in charge.
“I’m very proud of that,” said Johnson.
“We’re breaking the curve,” added Yanc. “A lot of the festivals just don’t make it a priority.”
“The excuse festival directors always use is that they don’t consider gender. They only look for quality films,” Johnson said. “But then, all the films that get picked are directed by men.”
Johnson says every year she attends the Sundance festival and the European ones in Cannes and Venice.
She feels Cannes is especially bad about ignoring women. Only a few female directors get screened.
“The quality is out there,” Johnson insists. “Last year we started making this our objective – to have 50% of the films be directed by women. It wasn’t dificult to do.”
Some cutting edge technology has been booked this year, as well. An experimental lab display of virtual reality, with 10 Oculus head sets available, will put each audience member right in the middle of the 20-minute movie clip, “Traveling While Black.”
From the dance world comes “Cunningham 3D,” a feature-length, three-dimensional documentary tribute to the dance innovator Merce Cunningham.
Landmark works are performed by the last generation of his dancers.
“Diversity” is the word Johnson and Yanc choose to describe the LFF’s 10 years of success. “Balance” would be another favorite.
“Over the years, the Loft has always had a lot of empathy for foreign films,” said Johnson. “We look at balance in a lot of different ways.”
“And, there’s also what I like to call the ‘discovery’ films,” said Yanc. “The ones nobody heard of. This year I’d say take a chance on ‘Give Me Liberty’ and ‘Deerskin’.”
If people can only see one movie at the Loft’s fest, Johnson chooses “Parasite” or “The Two Popes.” For her favorite discovery films, she picks “The Heart” and “I Was At Home, But.”
