REVIEW

Nantucket Film Festival Taken Into Account
by Paul Boghosian

Rex Weiner and Eva Gardos. AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY at the NBC Walter Bernstein Tribute. Imagine photo by Erika Hahn.

THEY GOT IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME...In the language of the Wampanoag Indians, it was called "the land far out to see," concentrated in the single word that sounded like what is subsequently spelled as Nantucket.

Nantucket may be only 14 miles long and 3 1/2 miles wide, but arriving there from over two-dozen states and from at least seven (7) countries, the tiny island was the culmination of a journey for several screenwriters, producers, directors, film and media investors who attended the Sixth Annual Nantucket Film Festival (NFF).

Nantucket was magnificent in its beauty this year. The weather was superb and especially in comparison to last year, the venues were more spacious and thus, more comfortable for the formal information/insight contributing sessions.

Certainly there were a few films that marked this year's festival: AMERICAN RHAPSODY (a retro-looking 50's style melodrama, featuring the only character's the audience cared about all week); Hedwig and The Angry Inch (an all singing, some dancing Richard Lester like film, focusing on a group of touring German transgems AKA transsexuals). The biggest disappointment for me of the showcased films was the shockingly unexpected tedium of Brad Anderson's horror film that wasn't, SESSION 9, that was shot in Danvers and was the closing night film.

As a participant for the past two years, I revel in the positioning in NFF in its niche of marking and celebrating the importance of the written word- and a celebration of screenwriters within the creative mix. For example, highlights of this year's film festival included panel discussions with Director Arthur Penn and Screenwriter Walter Bernstein. Their combined 100 years of experience in moviemaking, both in Hollywood and independent films, their willingness to speak in direct, and sometimes blunt terms in response to attendants' questions, and in their informal mixing with festival participants throughout the week, allowed for maximum exchange of viewpoints.

NFF needs more of the above savvy, old pros in sessions that will instruct, share experiences, and mix with the new blood of the industry.

I believe that with the competition from festivals in Newport and Provincetown that are sharing NFF's festival timeframe and general location, it is essential that NFF build upon its unique strengths. And, these do not only include attracting first time filmmakers who are showcasing their often under financed films strictly based on a narrow, if not self-absorbed vision, and therefore will not attract distribution. Emphasis should be on presenting models of filmmaking success and featuring those people and their products that have demonstrated their commercial viability.

The fact is, Hollywood is not in the business of making edgy movies for smart people. They're in the business of making big, easy to sell movies with worldwide appeal.

Based on my 20 years of experience in corporate sponsorship, conference development and management and as a past president of one of the nation's largest celebrity management lecture companies, here's what I'd like to see happen that will help strengthen the viability of the NFF:

Broaden the decision making circle so that those who want to contribute in time, expertise and resources will have the opportunity to do so. The present board and organizers of NFF could quickly begin using its customer base to express its intentions on next year's programming theme and budget parameters. They could seek out assistance. Organizers could also establish a working committee early on to attract corporate sponsors like Talk Magazine that would replace the role that Vanity Fair had in the festival during the first four (4) years. There is a number of hardware and software companies that even in these days of tightened promotional budgets would see a natural fit between their product usage patterns and the audience reach of NFF. Some of these companies can also provide logistic support vital to web development support, communications, ticket sales and other ancillary benefits.

Establish a two-tier pricing system in which those who simply want to attend the screenings and the morning coffee sessions can do so for a modest fee; and those attendees, who want a more demanding and rigorously educational/networking experience will pay a premium price to attend a concurrent choice of lectures and workshops on the current issues that face the aspiring and professional screenwriter in today's marketplace. These topics could include: Writing for today's teenage market; writing for the international animation market; finding an agent and selling your screenplay; identifying themes for the urban market; how to negotiate a deal.

Feature two panels during the course of the festival: Each panel would focus on a specific well recognized film (perhaps a past Oscar Winner) and invite the creative team - producer, screenwriter, director, cinematographer - to analyze and dissect their working relationship. One of these films could be a large budget studio film and the other a more modest-budgeted independent film. These panels, because of their star power, could be sold for corporate sponsorship.

Even though I have these comments, I eagerly look forward to next year's 7th Annual Nantucket Film Festival. I will do so, not because of the strength of the programming, either in films selected for showcasing or the information provided in the morning coffee seminars, or the quality of the screenplays that are read during the afternoon sessions. The best reason is simply due to the quality of people that one meets - it is simply marvelous to be in a community of people who so desperately care about film and revel in the creative process that produces an occasional good movie. And, it is always rejuvenating to get away from the usual mundane chatter associated with our lives in the hot cities of summer. Nantucket and its festival is a real treat.

Paul Boghosian (UNDERCURRENT) is a film and television producer residing in Boston. He heads up HarborSide Films and currently has several projects in various stages of development. Paul is also an avid Red Sox fan. He can be reached at ptb@gis.net.