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Enjoy the Movies
5th Annual Traverse City Film Festival
by Chris Aliapoulios
 The 5th annual Traverse City Film Festival took place from July 28 – Aug 2, 2009. Deb Lake, Executive Director for TCFF stated “film makers from all over the world always tell us that TCFF is their favorite festival and I think that’s because it is a very film and filmmaker centric festival. It is founded and run by a filmmaker, and he runs it the way filmmakers like it to be run. We treat filmmakers as if they are royalty and we strive for perfect sound and projection in our venues.”
This year’s festival featured over 71 feature films and 50 shorts representing 30 countries and five continents. TCFF brings out the best of Traverse City. An elegant small town set in a picturesque Lake Michigan harbor with an international feel.
This year some of the highlights included: Woodstock 40 years; the work of Paul Mazursky (Bob & Carol and Ted & Alice); two groups of unfiltered films from the middle east; films spotlighting the urgent global environmental problems we face; a look at documentaries; short films highlighting the work of local Michigan producers and schools; and a strong dose of comedy. There was also a 20th anniversary screening of Michael Moore’s prophetic Roger and Me.
State Street was blocked off on Tuesday July 28th for the opening of the festival and a stage was erected in front of the State Theatre. Michael Moore was introduced as “the visionary who predicted General Motor’s plight 20 years ago and the same dream weaver who envisioned that Traverse City was a great place to hold a film festival.”
Moore took the microphone and said “I’m not really proud of the prediction about General Motors, but thank you for bringing it up on such a festive night. When we were sitting here four years ago we had no idea what would happen. Here in Traverse City we love the movies, and it seemed that were not getting to see a lot of the really great American indie and foreign nonfiction documentary films that people get to see if they live in larger areas. With the difficult economic times we figured this would be a difficult year for the festival. What we didn’t plan for was a 37% increase in the sponsors of the festival over last year – absolutely amazing and we are really grateful.”
Moore went on to credit local cofounders Doug Stanton, and John Robert Williams. Then he made a special point of crediting two other cofounders of the first festival Jason Pollack and Susan Brown.
 The annual presentation of the Michigan Filmmakers award soon followed. Prior festival award winners included Jeff Daniels, Christine Lahti and Kurt Luedtke. Festival cofounder John Robert Williams introduced the 2009 award winner as “the guy who was in the first meeting of the founders and wisely walked away saying ‘you guys are nuts. ’” Richard Brauer humbly accepted the award and also made the point that “the fact these guys are nuts was established way before I met them.”
Richard Brauer told Michigan Movie Magazine that “it’s really fun to get this award. This town is nuts about film. I am grateful to be here and to receive this after being in this business for 32 years. This is the 5th TCFF and when this all started people wondered if it would really catch on - they took a lot of risk. Now look at this! It was a really good gamble, and it has had a big impact on the community. This is the best year yet, from the screening to the sound and popcorn. It is going to keep getting better and better.”
The opening ceremony concluded with a ticket ripping ceremony. The oversized movie ticket was ripped and Moore said “enjoy the movies,” and TCFF participants certainly enjoy the movies. The lines form for sell out screenings almost 45 minutes before the show. Lines are typically wrapped around half a city block at each of the five venues and the open space is packed at night for the free screening at the lake.
The festival is staffed by over 1300 volunteer workers. That’s right volunteers. Moore stated that the number of volunteers was increased this year to reduce the number of hours per volunteer to allow everyone to see their fair share of movies.
 Festival co-founder Doug Stanton (bestselling author Horse Soldiers) provided Michigan Movie Magazine additional insight in to the festival’s beginnings. “We had lunch at Amicale and decided to do this. Afterwards, I went to Afghanistan to research my book and John Robert Williams went off to fall in love. When I came back from Afghanistan there were 30 movies lined up.
After the first film festival, I wrote a business plan to take to the local business community, and others with the power to make the decision on whether or not we would get the State Theatre. I asked Deb Lake to research what a festival can do for the area and she came back with some great numbers and charts. We had to really quantify to people what had happened because some people said you got lucky, and you will probably never repeat it.
So the business plan went out and really got us the State Theatre. It provided credibility because all of us were behind the plan, and so we got it. With the State Theatre downtown, which is really the hood ornament of the festival, and the restaurants, we are bringing thousands of people downtown every week and businesses are staying open later. We used to roll up the sidewalks at nine on weekends and now they’re open until eleven. I said in that business plan in 2005-2006 that it would be the cultural and economic engine of downtown Traverse City and I think that’s what has happened.”
Doug has sold the movie rights to both of his bestselling books; In Harm’s Way to Warner Brothers and Horse Soldiers to Bruckenheim, Disney. Doug has also initiated the Traverse City National Writers Series and Book Festival which brings journalists, writers, poets and script writers to Traverse City in order to provide writing scholarships for local students. Doug told us he likes doing this “in a place where I live and grew up and can have a normal life.” At the conclusion of our discussion with Doug we were advised “enjoy the movies.”
Since this was our first TCFF we were not sure if “enjoy the movies” was an official or unofficial mantra for the event, but we heard the phrase so often we took the advice to heart. We enjoyed the movies and we especially enjoyed the host of film makers and enthusiasts we met from around the world. We thought we would share some of the films and film makers with whom we had the opportunity to speak.
Troubled Water
Michael Moore chose Troubled Water a Norwegian film to open up the 5th Annual Festival. Director Erik Poppe told Michigan Movie Magazine “the story is about a young man 25 years old that has been sitting inside prison for 10 years, sentenced for killing a small boy. We follow him on his way out of the prison. He is an extremely talented organ player and he has been practicing while in prison and now he has a job in a church.
We end up really liking this guy because he is positive, really working hard, and he makes beautiful music. Then one day a teacher with a class comes to the church. She soon recognizes that the organ player is the young man who killed her son 10 years ago.
It’s a strong story, but it is not a heavy or depressing story. It is really a story about forgiveness, redemption and about starting over again. It’s about finding the tools to start up again. “
The film features Paul Simon’s song Bridge Over Troubled Water. Erik requested, and thought he had permission to use the song and was editing the final track when he received bad news from New York that Mr. Simon did not want the song used after all. After viewing the clips from Erik’s movie Paul Simon changed his mind.
Erik told us “I brought my wife to this festival and she hardly wants to follow me on the festivals, but she did this time, and she is so in love with this place. Next time we will bring our kids.”
Saint Misbehavin’: The Wavy Gravy Movie
 Michelle Esrick’s Saint Misbehavin ‘: The Wavy Gravy Movie tells the story of a man who “is a Ben And Jerry’s ice cream flavor, was taken for walks by Albert Einstein when he was five, lived with Bob Dylan over The Gaslight and helped bring folk music and poetry in to The Gaslight. His message – he has lived his whole life committed to make the world better and he uses humor to do so. The fool in Shakespeare was the most courageous on e who would entertain king/community but really risk his life to transmit the truth through humor -- that’s who Wavy is to me. Wavy inspires people to help someone and make the world better with a smile on your face.”
Michelle is slowly rolling out her film through the film festival circuit because she believes “the communal theatrical experience is important in this movie. “ At the end of the movie Wavy’s song Basic Human Needs is performed by Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Weir, Steve Earle and Maria Muldaur. The audience starts clapping and singing the words: wouldn’t it be neat if the people that you meet had shoes upon their feet, and something to eat…. It is an incredible in Theatre experience.” At the end of our interview Michelle told us to “enjoy the movies.”
Waterlife
Kevin McMahon Director of Waterlife explained this film “is an autobiography of everyone around the Great Lakes because it’s about the water that makes us up and that 35 million people living around the lakes drink. It is about the ways we change the water and the water changes us.
The movie is both a celebration and a warning, maybe, about what’s going on out there. We made the film to reach people and get their attention.” It will show on The Sundance Channel this fall and you can find out more at http://www.ourwaterlife.com. This is a moving, must see film.
University of Michigan Film Shorts
The University of Michigan short film program at TCFF featured two short films by students. The first film When All is Lost (Directors: Ian Schwartz and Micah Vanderhof, Producers: Michael Butler and Mercedes Holguin, Writer: Jack Taylor Jr.) is the story of a university shooting that takes eight lives and the aftermath. The second film Worthy (Directors: Benjamin Friedman and Liam White, Producers: Amanda Adelson and Andrew Morse, Writer: Amanda Adelson) is the story of a figure skater who leaves skating for a self destructive path, and then gets a second chance at skating glory. She ultimately finds self worth to be the most important achievement. The films were outstanding and represented the culmination of just one semesters work from some of the most proficient students in the Film and Drama programs.
Jim Burnstein, who heads the Screen Arts and Cultures Program stated “as a young film maker it can be a long time before you ever see your words come alive. This experience, this class, with good actors, and really good production is the thrill of a lifetime. It may be a long time before these students get to see this again. We thought wouldn’t be cool if we could go beyond the University and show these films to the public? When Deb Lake and Michael Moore welcomed us to TCFF, we thought, what a great opportunity! What a great learning experience to see these movies in front of a real audience.”
Following the screening many of the students involved with the films took the stage for a question and answer session. It was an animated group of students excited about their films, and their futures.
From the Maya to the North Pole 
We had the opportunity to speak with Vida Amor Des Pas, a Guatemalan Film/TV celebrity who recently produced From the Maya to the North Pole. This film connects the Mayan 2012 prophecies with the thawing of the polar ice cap and the ice in Greenland. Vida told MMM she went to the North Pole in the film to “find out what the parallel was from the demise of the Maya civilization 2000 years ago to climate change of today and to see what relation it had to the year 2012, and if what the Maya are saying is correct. “
After waiting a week in Norway for the polar ice to strengthen enough for her twin ski plane to land, Vida finally found her way to the Schooner “Tara.” Vida said that “we were surrounded by Polar Bears, and they were starving because we smelled like food, and there was no bathroom on the ship so we had to go outside each time with rifles.”
The correlation between the Mayan 2012 predictions and the current hastened melting of the polar and Greenland ice is compelling. We applaud Vida for her adventurous spirit and dedication to the preservation of our planet.
Defamation
Director Yoav Shamir travelled from Israel to TCFF to screen his film Defamation. Yoav told MMM that his film “is a documentary that deals with anti-Semitism and what kind of political and social role anti-Semitism plays in the politics between Israel, the United States and the Middle East. It’s a controversial film. It polarizes audiences in most cases. The kind of film you love or hate. I like it when people love it or hate it – at least they respond to it.”
During the Sunday night award presentation Michael Moore presented the Stanley Kubrick award for bold and innovative film making to Defamation. Moore said “this is a very brave documentary about defamation, anti-Semitism and the Israeli experience of dealing with the issue. This is one of the better documentaries of the year.”
Enres Nos
 Entres Nos received the TCFF award for best narrative feature film. This film won honorable mention at the Tribecca Festival and the Audience Award at Newport Rhode Island Festival. Speaking on behalf of the judging panel, Tracey Brauer said “It was raw, realistic, gripping and we were on the edge of our seats the whole time. It was beautiful, it had so much integrity, it was powerful and had exceptional performances. It was motivating. When you get to the end, when they tell what everyone is doing now, Paola says she made this film for her mother, and I was a blubbering idiot. I was such a crybaby, and everyone was a crybaby even Rich (Brauer). Thank you for sharing that story with us.”
MMM was delighted with the opportunity to speak with Paola Mendoza (Lead actress, co-writer, co-director), her mother Liliana Legge and Gloria La Morte (co-writer, co-director) of Entres Nos. Paola Mendozza told us “it is a film inspired by my mother’s story - about a young woman that comes to the states from Columbia with her two children (ages 10 and 6) to be reunited with her husband. When she arrives she is abandoned by her husband and so it is the story of a young family surviving for the first time in the United States.” Paola’s mother Liliana told us that “I agreed to do the movie if Paola would play my part. They have been working really hard to make this movie. Liliana enjoyed TCFF very much saying” we have loved the experience of being here in Traverse City, they welcome us and they treat us like royalty. We are so pleased to be here and Paola said “we will be back!”
Winnebago Man
 Winnebago Man is the story of Jack Rebney, former Winnebago spokesman who had a melt down while producing a commercial, resulting in a potpourri of foul language and fits of blood pressure elevation. Director Ben Steinbauer told us he “had been a fan of the Winnebago man clip and had been doing some research on the effect of viral videos. “I hired a private investigator to find Jack Rebney and found he was living as a hermit on top of a mountain in California with his Pitbull Buddha.” Jack agreed to work with Ben and Winnebago Man became a reality. The story is about “what it is like to be known as something you are not pleased to be known as -- an unintended celebrity.”
Winnebago Man has been to 8 film festivals in 4 countries and won a host of festival awards. At TCFF the film was awarded the Founder’s Prize for Comedy Documentary. When Michael Moore and Doug Stanton presented the award to Ben on Sunday night he stated “we have been in Traverse City since Tuesday and I feel like we moved here. We leave tomorrow morning and we are actually trying to push our flight back – to next year – we love it here!
Traverse City residents have an endearing term for non-residents – Fudgies. This describes the hosts of tourists that have come to northern Michigan over the years to purchase homemade Fudge. Well Traverse City was stuffed full of Fudgies and residents alike for the TCFF this year. Fudgies descended on Traverse City from all over the world.Over 96,000 film tickets were purchased for TCFF up 16,000 from last year, in a state considered to be one of the worst impacted by the current economic recession.  Michael Moore stated that "all of the visiting filmmakers told us over and over that Traverse City is the greatest film festival they have ever been to.” MMM heard the same thing from just about every filmmaker we spoke to.In the Premier issue of Michigan Movie Magazine we asked “have you ever had the pleasure of visiting Traverse City? If you haven’t you have no idea what you are missing.” Come to TCFF next year and find out. You will “enjoy the movies” and the thousands of interesting people – Fudgies and locals. If you are a Fudgie, maybe a local will even tell you the coveted secret to avoiding parking tickets in Traverse City!
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Monday, February 06, 2012
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