Thursday, June 11, 1998
Festival shows something for all
FILM: Screenings feature large variety of different viewpoints,
backgrounds
By Jessica Holt
Daily Bruin Contributor
Diversity is something that UCLA students cherish. Different
perspectives, views and sentiments challenge students to view the
world through new eyes. Now UCLA film students are showcasing their
unique perspectives at the UCLA Festival ’98.
UCLA Festival ’98 will be showcasing the best work by UCLA
School of Theater, Film and Television students, held on campus
June 12-20. Events will feature animators, screenwriters, actors,
digital artists, video producers, documentary makers, narrative
filmmakers and much more.
"Everybody came from a totally different perspective," marvels
Jason Moore about his first experiences at the UCLA film school.
"If there were 18 totally different perspectives in the world, we
represented one of each of those."
Indeed, when taking a look at the various films of the festival,
it is hard to draw comparisons between any of them. The variation,
however, is what makes the festival so exciting.
Moore, Vivian Nana Umino and Christopher O’Dea are just a few of
the filmmakers who will have their films screened at the festival.
Each film will broach new subjects, challenge old ideas and
stimulate new directions of thought.
The only common sentiment held by the filmmakers seems to be a
passion for film. While the subject-matter varies, each filmmaker
talks enthusiastically about their own work and for their love of
film.
"The essence of my film is very much about the power of
imagination," writer, director and producer Moore says about his
Spotlight Award-winning Best Experimental film, "Paradise,
Nebraska."
His film, about a farm boy on a hot dry day who dreams of
surfing in a far away ocean paradise, comes from Moore’s own
similar experiences.
"I think my film was born out of the concept of being stuck on
the 405 in the middle of a Friday afternoon on a hot summer day
just wishing I was anywhere but sitting in the car," Moore
says.
The experimental film has no narrative structure, no plot, no
conflict and no real climax, but captures a boy’s imagination
through images, sound and emotion. The surfing shots, filmed in
Fiji, follow the boy catching and riding waves, splashing and
swimming underwater, often in extreme slow motion.
"Film is a medium to express yourself," Moore reflects while
explaining the nature of an experimental film. "You can try a bunch
of labels but I feel like you got to go out and make your own movie
and whatever it ends up to be, that’s great."
What it ended up to be for writer and director Umino was a short
narrative film titled "Ill Repair." It is a story about a broken
watch and a friendship between two aging Nisei men. The cryptic
interactions between these second generation Japanese Americans
holds special meaning for Umino.
"I know these characters. They are sort of an amalgamation of
various Nisei I know," Umino says.
The story "Ill Repair" grew out of Umino’s own memories of her
father, his friends and the Japanese American community that she
grew up in.
"I began realizing that I was remembering little moments where
there was something going on but no one was saying what they really
meant," Umino muses. "And this idea of the watch shop came up.
"During one summer, I was helping my father with the business
and it seemed like every month we were going to this watch shop. It
would be a quick conversation and my father would jump in and say,
‘Hey, how’s everything going? Is the watch fixed yet?’" Umino
remembers with a laugh. "And the watch repairman would say, ‘Oh no,
I’m still working on it.’ Then they would chat a little bit and
then we would leave."
Umino still has no explanation for this ritual that went on for
years, but the story has stuck with her.
The film, which Umino describes as a "middle-aged tragicomedy
with rounded edges," could not be further away in structure, tone
and meaning from "Paradise, Nebraska." Yet each reflects a
different perspective of a UCLA film student.
Christopher O’Dea’s Spotlight Award-winning documentary "A New
Normal" shows yet another perspective. In it, O’Dea tracks the
struggles and preparations that one young couple faces in the last
few months of the woman’s pregnancy that culminate in a dramatic
and joyous birth.
"A lot of people question why anyone would let someone into
their lives for such a prolonged period of time, but I think they
were very interested in having a documentation of their first
child," O’Dea speculates.
The couple, who responded to O’Dea’s flyer posted in their
Lamaze class, let O’Dea document some of their most personal
moments.
"I made the documentary as a thank you to my own parents," O’Dea
says. "It definitely made me appreciate what they went through each
time they had one of us. I have five brothers."
These three perspective represent only a taste of the diverse
array of films.
From a hilariously wicked animated ode to smokers titled
"Smoking," to a black comedy about love, lust and sibling rivalry
(think toothbrush swirled in the toilet) called "Boy Next Door,"
the festival has something for everyone.
FILM: UCLA Festival ’98 will be on campus June 12-20. Most
events are free but reservations are required. For a complete
schedule and ticket information call (310) 825-5761.