Scaled down but still offering cinematic sizzle, the 7th Annual Pacific Palisades’Film Festival’returns to town for two nights next week. On Thursday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m., Friends Of Film (FOF) kicks off the festival with’an ocean-view, backyard cocktail party/ screening at the Corona del Mar home of Nora and Harvey Lerer, where actress Frances Fisher (‘Titanic’) will be presented with the FOF Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to Fisher (a former Palisadian), Lifetime Achievement Award winners have included Dom DeLuise, Robert Guillaume, Seymour Cassel, and Stacy Keach in years past. The opening night film is the humorous documentary ‘Greenlit,’ directed by’Miranda Bailey, executive producer of ‘The Squid and the Whale.’ ‘Greenlit’ tests Hollywood’s commitment to the environment as Bailey follows the production of ‘The River Why’ as the movie’s crew attempts to keep an environmentally friendly set. On Saturday, May 15, a cocktail party at the Toyopa home of Paul and Irene Gigg begins at 6:30 p.m. with a screening of ‘The Chris Montez Story’ by local filmmakers Burt Kearns and Brett Hudson. The documentary, their follow-up to ‘The Seventh Python’ [last year’s festival opener], centers on the musician born Ezekiel Montanez, who, as a teen, recorded the international hit ‘Let’s Dance.’ His tunes, which include ‘Call Me’ and ‘The More I See You,’ were covered by Frank Sinatra and the Ramones, and Montez famously got into a fistfight with John Lennon. Last week, FOF founder Bob Sharka rapped with the Palisadian-Post about this year’s festival. POST: How did you decide on this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient? SHARKA: Frances Fisher is truly one of the classiest actresses working today. She has (and still enjoys) a wonderful career, having worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest names: Ben Kingsley, Tommy Lee Jones, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Haggis, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood [with whom Fisher was once romantically linked]. She’s also quite an activist, donating her time and resources to numerous local and national issues. She is the epitome of what our Lifetime Achievement Award represents. We’re so proud of her accomplishments, both on and off screen. POST: Any highlights or challenges particular to this year’s festival? SHARKA: It’s no secret that times are tough, particularly for nonprofits, so we had to scale back on the quantity of films this year, as we really couldn’t get the [Pierson Playhouse] other than Oscar weekend. So we had to get creative and reinvent ourselves, if you will. Just as I was about to put the festival on a year’s hiatus, I figured we’d try something different. We asked local families to offer their own private homes. Nora and Harvey Lerer and Irene and Paul Gigg stepped up. Most people enjoy a great party. We’re offering a couple of great films, too! POST: How do you feel about the myriad film festivals in California? SHARKA: It’s a mixed bag. On one hand, there’s more opportunities for filmmakers to get into festivals and show their work. On the other, the festival circuit is a victim of its own success. There’s just so many festivals competing for the same sponsors, sometimes the same films, and the festivals simply don’t last. That’s why local support is so important. It’s our lifeline. We are still working on bringing a screening room to the Palisades for year-round programming, to bring some more culture to this wonderful town. POST: How important are our local festivals to the health and survival of filmmaking as a craft, given the current climate in Hollywood (big-budget 3-D blockbusters, the shuttering of independent film distributors, etc.)? SHARKA: The small guy has always had a tough time. The festivals still remain one of the few avenues for an independent film to break out, to take the message to the masses. And they are still doing that. Any decent town with educated people knows the importance of the arts in general. The Palisades is no exception. People are looking to FOF”and its unique programming”to fill the void. We’re remaking progress. Tickets: $100 (includes both nights of outdoor screenings/parties). Visit FriendsOfFilm.com.
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