Industry News :: Super Bowl of subtitles at Rafael's foreign film festival

Go to Original

Foreign films are exotic tidbits for the eyes and mind. They offer rare, spicy bites of cultures and countries that are mysteries to most of us.

Beginning Friday, a banquet of 19 international contenders for the 2006 Academy Award category "Best Foreign Language Film," will be served up at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center. The 13-day festival is called "For Your Consideration."

"It's such an unusual opportunity," says the festival's programmer Jennifer Schmidt. "Only the Palm Springs International Film Festival exhibits this large a group of foreign films. The Rafael is literally the only other venue in the U.S. that is screening so many of these movies - one third of everything submitted to the Academy - prior to the Oscar nominations being announced."

The cinematic feast encompasses flicks from South Africa, Croatia, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Thailand, Costa Rica, Israel, Indonesia, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Estonia, Bolivia, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Mexico, Iceland and Fiji.

"These are the best films coming from each country," Schmidt continues. "For instance, 'The Land Has Eyes' is the first-ever Fijian film produced by Fijians. The likelihood that many of these will get distribution in the U.S., is small. This may well be the one and only opportunity for people to see them."

Since 1956, the Los Angeles-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which produces the Oscars, has invited dozens of countries to submit what they think is their best film, for consideration in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category. This year, 58 countries from four continuents sent films to the Academy Awards - a record number.

A Foreign Language Film Committee screens each submission. They choose five films for nomination. Once those five have been selected, the final voting process for the Oscar winner is open to all Academy members.

The catch? Members, wherever they live, must see all five films to be eligible to vote. And they must view them in an either an Academy-sanctioned screening, or a public screening.

"That's one reason why this festival is so important," explains Cheryl Moody, director of marketing and public relations for the Rafael. "From an industry perspective, the Bay Area, along with New York, is the largest conglomeration of Academy members outside of Los Angeles. It's kind of a closely held secret. These screenings will give members an opportunity to see films they wouldn't be able to see without traveling to another city."

"For Your Consideration" is not an Academy-generated festival. It was dreamed up by Rama Duneyavitch, former marketing director for the Rafael. The first "Consideration" launched three years ago, with six foreign films. This year is a breakthrough in terms of how many movies will play, says Schmidt.

"I threw as many balls into the air as I could, and they all dropped at once," she says. "We came up with a list of 19. Even once the program was locked, I had to turn a couple more films down."

Because most are shot on miniscule budgets by American standards, foreign films tend to be unusually intimate. They focus on people as much as plot, often pulse with politics, and feature pacing that, at its best, sweeps you into the tale and makes you feel like a voyeur. Special effects, if used at all, serve the story rather than drive the moviegoing experience.

Mark Fishkin, founder of the Mill Valley Film Festival and executive director of the California Film Institute, which runs the Rafael, sees a growing American appetite for foreign film.

"That's personified by some of the great breakthrough films of the past few years, such as 'Amelie,' and 'The Swimming Pool,' he says. "I remember the first year we did this festival, we had a film from Romania. It filled up Theater Two, not only with people from all walks of life; the whole Romanian community came out for it as well."

"Foreign films are great ambassadors for their culture," Cheryl Moody opines. "This festival is not just about good independent films from around the globe. It's a selective group of films that represent the highest filmmaking standards from the countries that submitted them."

Leslie Harlib can be reached at lharlib@marinij.com.

IF YOU GO GLOBAL

What: "For Your Consideration: Submissions for Best Foreign Language Film"

Where: Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St. (between A and B streets), San Rafael

When: Friday through Jan. 26.

Tickets: $9.25; $6 for seniors 60 and over and youths 12 and under; $6.25 for matinees before 4 p.m.; $5.50 for California Film Institute members for all shows.

Information: 454-1222 or cafilm.org.