Savannah Film Festival: a celebration of film for all walks of life

As the coastal autumn breeze swept Broughton Street in front of Trustees Theater on Halloween night, the Savannah Film Festival sprang to life once again. Inside the theater’s doors, an anxious congregation of film buffs watched as the opening scenes of Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger” ushered in the festival’s return.

Now in its 12th year, the popular event has returned with more charm than ever before. People from all walks of cinematic life—including professional filmmakers, students, film journalists and silver screen veterans—have assembled in Savannah to participate in the weeklong festival.

The Savannah Film Festival has a lot to write home about with events such as screenings of probable Oscar contenders like “An Education” and “The Hurt Locker” to a showcase of the cinematic ambitions of local college students. The festival also features a variety of workshops, including a panel discussion on film editing and a young directors forum with producers Barry Rosenbush and Tony Mark.

Perhaps most importantly, the festival boasts star-studded after-hours parties and sunrise coffee get-togethers—a great opportunity for Savannah’s young artists to network with industry professionals.

“No other film festival achieves this much synergy between its local community, its student filmmakers, visiting independent filmmakers and Hollywood,” said Jen Yamato, an entertainment writer and the former senior editor at Rotten Tomatoes who flew in from Los Angeles to cover the event. Although seasoned in film festival coverage, Yamato has found an uplifting uniqueness about the Savannah Film Festival.

“There’s a real feeling that this festival is serving both its local supporters and its student population in a very enriching way,” she said.

Aspiring student filmmakers from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the festival’s host, are offered the chance to throw their own cinematic creativity into the mix.

Graduate student Stephen Withers is a finalist not once but twice in the “Break into the Spotlight” Student Bumper Contest. After earning his BFA in visual effects, Withers returned to SCAD to pursue an MFA.

“This time around, I wanted to take some film classes,” he said. “Film and video are really what got me into visual effects in the first place.”

Finalists in the competition get to see their bumpers—films less than a minute in length—screened during the festival.

Withers collaborated with three other students to develop the bumper “Frames,” and he created “The Magic of Film” on his own.

“Taking classes with film majors who live, breathe and speak film is somewhat out of my comfort zone,” he said, “so it’s really gratifying to have my first student film project be so well received.”

The bumper contest was the brainchild of SCAD film and television professor Michael Chaney, who had seen many a bumper featured in various other film festivals he’s attended over the years.

“Any time I see a student film on screen I feel like a proud parent,” he said. “I feel this immense pride and joy—that’s a wonderful experience.”

Chaney also hosts the festival’s 8 a.m. “Coffee Talks,” where participants discuss festival happenings over coffee and doughnuts. He’s been involved with the Savannah Film Festival for each of its 12 years.

“A very different vibe occurs at the Savannah Film Festival,” he said. “There’s more of an attitude of sharing and community than at other festivals.”

In addition to the finalists of the “Break into the Spotlight” Bumper Contest, the 11 films by students from across the country are screening as part of the festival’s professional competition.

Evan Watkins, who graduated from SCAD in May, is seeing his work premiered on the big screen. His short film, “The Fakers,” is being featured alongside films from students from as far north as New York City’s Columbia University and as far west as the University of California in Los Angeles. “The Fakers” took all three quarters of Watkins’ senior year to complete, and although he’s a contestant in the competition, he’s just happy to have his work showcased.

“I’m not emotionally involved in the competition aspect of the film festival,” Watkins said. “Winning anything is just a feather in my cap. I’m not too hung up on it. All in all, I just hope that my little film brings a bit of joy to people. If I get one laugh, then I’ve done my job right.”

One feature film in this year’s lineup holds a special place in the heart of Savannah and SCAD. The documentary film “45365” was produced and directed by brothers Bill and Turner Ross, both SCAD graduates.

The film captures the day-to-day mechanics of what younger brother and current SCAD student Alex Ross called, “a small American town, in every sense of the term.”

“It’s showing what you would see if you’ve gone back home after a long time and experienced other places,” said Ross, who was able to help his brothers film the documentary in his hometown of Sidney, Ohio, during his time off from school.

The film won the prestigious Grand Jury Award for a feature documentary film at this year’s South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. It’s also the first film independently produced by SCAD alumni to achieve a national theatrical release.

“We never could have imagined the good fortune that would come to us through our work,” director Bill Ross said, “but we didn’t seek it out, either. This has always been about creating for the sake of fulfilling a personal need, not seeking recognition. We’re honored to be coming back to Savannah.”

Unique in its lack of exclusivity, the Savannah Film Festival has evolved into a buffet of cinematic excellence waiting to be devoured by local film fans who find themselves starved for variety.

“Mercy” is a powerful film written by and starring Scott Caan as Johnny Ryan. The film was shot without a budget because the financier backed out last minute, and only through many favors—and Caan’s money—did it ever see the light of day.

For the film’s first 15 minutes, it appears to be a chick flick, but at minute 16 the script systematically crushes any preconceived notions the film may have put in the viewer’s mind. It grabs the viewer by the ear and refuses to let go. Overall, it’s an exceptionally chilling tale of love departed. It’s puzzling why the film has yet to be picked up by any movie studio.

The short film that preceded “Mercy,” “Love and Road Kill,” is derived from a play by the same name. Directed by John David Allen, the short is a witty, insightful look at society and the overall removal of upper-class individuals from real life.

Somewhere between “Juno” and “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Dear Lemon Lima” tells the story of Vanessa (Savannah Wiltfong), a half-Eskimo outcast at an Alaskan private school who rallies her fellow misfits for the school’s annual Snowstorm Survivor competition.

The graphics in the film’s opening credits are fantastic, and the film as a whole feels like a worthy addition to the “cute high school indie film” genre. The script maintains its innocence while tackling more serious issues and shifts from unapologetically cute to darkly comedic with ease. Wiltfong’s love affair with geek-turned-playboy Philip is especially fun.

“Me, You, A Bag and Bamboo,” the short preceding “Dear Lemon Lima,” is just as sugary-sweet as the feature. The bright colors and alluring visuals—especially the robotic father and son—gave the short an irresistible allure.

“Bomber” is a complex, emotionally involved comedy that depicts a suburban English family on a holiday trip through Europe. Conflicts break out between the emotional protagonist and his snarky, steel-nerved father as they drive through the country on the father’s secret mission: to apologize to a German village for his raids during World War II.

Masterful cinematography and artful performances send audiences on an adventure of humor and sorrow. The delicately crafted and incredibly demanding dialogue touches watchers at their core, invoking uproarious laughter and more than a few heartaches.

The elegant short preceding the film, “Underwear,” follows two senior citizens in parallel apartments communicating their love with underwear notes and a laundry-line. The short proves that nothing says, “I love you” like an ink-spattered silk bra that says, well, “I love you.”

“45365” is a documentary showcasing the residents of Sidney, Ohio. The feature takes the audience through the plethora of social events, elections and chaos within Sidney’s city limits.

The signature documentary-style shooting, painstaking pace and lack of complete narrative structure or artistic statement may be off-putting to many audience members, but beautifully calculated and composed scenic shots and intimate encounters with the local color of the town bring a genuine feeling of connection and understanding for the citizenry of area code 45365.

“Lessons in Self-Defense,” the short preceding the film, is the touching story of a brief meeting between a father and the daughter who resulted from his last failed marriage. It becomes apparent that the insecure daughter’s feelings are driven by greed, and the emotional strife begins.

“So Right, So Smart” follows in the vein of “An Inconvenient Truth” and other documentaries focused on the environment. This particular documentary focuses on Ray Anderson and the people at Interface, a little-known carpet tile company that’s a world leader in the sustainability market.

The graphics used throughout the film are phenomenal, and the story of Interface’s CEO, Ray Anderson, is interesting. The biggest criticism of the film is its clear bias towards sustainability and environmentalism. Sustainability’s current popularity is no excuse to ignore the other side of the argument.

The short before the movie, “Welgunzer,” tells the tale of Donald, who intends to travel into the future to murder himself. The short’s plot gets even more ridiculous from there, and the film commits fully to its over-the-top subject matter.

“No. 4 Street of Our Lady” is the poignant tale of Francisca Halamajowa, a Polish-Catholic woman living in Germany during World War II. At first glance, she appears to be a Nazi sympathizer. Quickly, the viewer finds out that this is not the case; in fact, this woman is hiding 16 of her Jewish neighbors.

“It just showed a lot of emotion, pain and struggle,” said Camille Dawkins, a film major at SCAD.

“I was impressed with the interviews and locations,” said Alison Vallecillo, another film major at SCAD. “It was amazing that they were able to get half of the survivors of that town.”

“The pacing was good,” added SCAD film major Mary Mullane. “They didn’t reveal upfront the story line. The children and the aftermath of post traumatic stress disorder stood out to me the most.”

“Love Hurts” guides viewers through the life of a British doctor (Richard E. Grant) who, with the help of his son, becomes a small-town ladies’ man after an unwanted separation with his wife of more than 20 years. The plot moves forward with striking authenticity. Largely due to Grant’s comedic timing, laughter resounded in the theater for the bulk of the film.

Overt symbolism throughout the movie added to the overall experience. A prominent example is the doctor’s dog, who begins to mate several surrounding dogs long before the doctor’s promiscuity enters the equation.

The musical short before the feature, “That’s Magic!” ,told the tale of a mechanic trying to introduce his son to a magician. The film uses visuals to compare the “magic” of lovingly throwing a child in the air to a magician levitating.

Due to several scheduling errors, The Inkwell was unable to write a review of “An Unlikely Weapon” in time for our print edition. The movie will be playing again on Friday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m. at Trustees Theater. The Inkwell will be sending a reviewer.

The movie itself tells the story of Eddie Adams, a maverick photographer who caught five decades of grim reality with his lens. The viewer is taken on a journey through time, watching Adams’ photography evolve alongside humanity itself.

“Eddie Adams is a hero to me,” said director Susan Cooper in an interview with Buzzine. “Here was a man who was not interested in self-promotion; instead he wanted to make the world a better place…It would be my hope that the audience would be inspired by Eddie Adams and realize that they too can make a difference with their work.”