From Bhutan to Sweden. From Scotland to the Philippines. Feature films and documentaries from all over the world. No matter the temperature, come March 18^th, the lines will be gathering outside the tiny Savoy Theater and across the road at City Hall.

To quote the local newspaper, The Montpelier Bridge, "there will be movies on both sides of Main Street.”

The Green Mountain Film Festival – now in its eighth year – will be about to begin.

Last year over 8,000 tickets were sold as film lovers descended on the nation’s smallest capital (pop 8,035) for a week and a half of cinematic delight. IMAGINE interviewed Rick Winston, a quiet-spoken man and one of the festival’s founders, in his bare brick office above the Savoy Theater, where he and his partner Andrea Serota have been showing films for over twenty years. It’s mid-morning. A black dog is fast asleep under the desk. The 2005 festival program has just been finalized and the phone is ringing. A long trestle table is neatly stacked with papers, letters, copies of IMAGINE, Variety, New Yorkers, and movie catalogues. The walls are posted with reviews and newspaper cuttings. "CHILDREN OF PARADISE is still enchanting," reads one. Next to it hangs a huge theatrical poster for BOB EL FLAMBEUR.

IMAGINE:  What’s the story?

RW – We’ve been showing films at the Savoy since 1981, the week before Reagan’s inauguration. In 1997, we were approached by two local people wanting to hire the theater for a week to put on a festival. They called it the Green Mountain Film Festival. Then they moved away from Montpelier. In 1999 we thought we’d revive the idea. We decided to keep the name. The first time was March 1999, and it just grew from there.

IMAGINE:  Who’s your audience?

RW – We design the program with a very particular audience in mind. The Savoy [Theater] audience is the core of it. An audience that’s educated engaged. Artistically inclined. They want to see movies that are in some way humanist and have a message. Even if it’s "quote" depressing then that’s OK. If it explores another part of the world then it’s part of their world. In the Savoy we’ll do much better with a film like, say, Control Room than if we were to show … well, …almost any Hollywood movie you care to mention.

IMAGINE:  What would be a classic GMFF film?

RW –  "In July – two years ago, THE GIRL FROM PARIS; last year, POSTMEN IN THE MOUNTAINS.”

IMAGINE:  Where do you find your films?

RW – We see a lot of films. We listen out for films. We keep a close eye on other festivals. For example, every year we go to Montreal. It’s in late August, early September. That gives us plenty time to track them down. We come back and immediately send out maybe 20 requests about films we either saw or heard about.

IMAGINE:  How easy is it to obtain films?

RW – Often we get no response at all. This year we had maybe ten films like that. Or they say, "Montpelier? Where’s that?" Or we’ve had, "you can have it but you’ll have to pay shipping to Pakistan. Both ways." Or they simply tell us that the film is "unavailable."

IMAGINE:  This year you’re showing films from Hungary – from Iran. In your experience what are the hardest films to get?

RW – Over the years I’ve found that the hardest films to get are independent American films. It always seems that independent American films are just about to sign a distribution deal and they can’t do any more festivals. Or else, the movie sounds great but when they send a screener – it just doesn’t grab anyone here. It may have worked at Sundance or in Toronto but it’s too cynical or too violent for our audience. No one wants to be the next Jean Renoir. Everyone wants to be Quentin Tarantino.

IMAGINE:  Still, you've shown some wonderful independent American films.

RW – Yes of course. David Riker’s film LA CIUDAD, for example. I read about it. It really got my antenna up. And I called people at the Toronto Festival. They put me in touch with production companies and at that point he had no distributor so I called David Riker up, asked him if he would bring it to Montpelier. He said "Oh I love Montpelier. Of course I’ll come" and he came and ended up hanging out for three days. LA CIUDAD was a gem that just had to be snapped up. After that everyone was looking for another LA CIUDAD.  If we can get independent US films that we like, then we’ll show them. This year we have Campbell Scott’s film OFF THE MAP.  

IMAGINE:  How’s the GMFF organized?

RW – We have two venues – in the Savoy we show 35mm films -- international films, and American independent films if we can get them. Our other venue, at City Hall, is mainly documentary. Often they do very well. They’re absolutely not a sidebar to the main festival. There are so many wonderful documentaries these days. This year we’re showing movies about jazz, classical, art, disability issues, Afghanistan. Half, literally half, the films we show now are documentaries.

IMAGINE:  What about the different formats for documentaries? Does that pose a problem?

RW – Five years ago it was all 16mm. Then, some video. This year it’s all video or DVD…maybe a few Mini DV. No 16mm this year. It’s just not a format that people are using that much anymore. And digital quality has improved so much. No one will complain about the quality of the picture

IMAGINE:  The phone seems to be ringing more frequently now. One more question. Do people do business at the Green Mountain Film Festival? Do they do deals? A look of quiet amusement spreads over Winston’s face.

RW – No one would come here to do scouting. For one thing most of the films we show already have a distribution deal, but for another…we are far enough off the beaten track…people really just come to see the films."  

---

Donald Rae is the Deputy Film Director for the Vermont Film Commission and will frequently cover industry events and happenings in that State for IMAGINE.