An Interview with Michael Apted
As filmographies go, director Michael
Apted’s is among the more bewildering.
Year: 2007
To the Maxxx Films
Not quite the Mountain Dew-soaked ode to extreme that it has
been in the past, this year’s To the Maxxx category is a
treasure-filled grab-bag of thought-provoking surf films, mountain
bike documentaries, skateboard devastation tours, a mother’s look
at her son’s rise to water polo glory, and the obligatory
death-defying motocross debauchery.
A Preview of the Panels
Never mind the movie stars for a moment — the Tom Cruises, Will
Smiths, Sacha Baron Cohens, et al.
Reality Film-making
Humans love a good story, but we yearn for good and true stories
with a much greater hunger. In the world of filmmaking, it’s
documentaries that fill the truth niche, and for documentaries,
it’s the film festival circuit that acts as a stable serving tray.
A Look at Santa Barbara-based Filmmakers
We may not have Hollywood to attract the world’s top filmmakers
(thank god), but we do have the Santa Barbara International Film
Festival to help retain them.
The Twain Shall Meet
This year it’s got a new name: East × West. “It’s a good
cross-section,” explained Tim Matheson, who’s curating the big
blend of films coming from the Far East.
The Legacy of Spanish Film
It is nearly impossible to group together the vast collection of
Spanish films in a single category.
Films We’ll See for the First Time
People attend film festivals for a variety of selfish reasons. Celebrity watchers go to see the stars come to earth, party people show up for the Champagne.
A Conversation with Bill Condon, director of Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls, which is based on a
Tony-winning Broadway show by the great Michael Bennett of A Chorus
Line fame, fictionalizes the story of Motown’s Supremes, with Jamie
Foxx in the role of Curtis, the Berry Gordy-like producer who
controls everything and restructures the group around Deena, the
Diana Ross-like character played by pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles.
Reel Nature
This is Santa Barbara-based nature filmmaker Mike deGruy’s third
year curating the Reel Nature part of the fest.
