Over the last couple weeks, I’ve had the great opportunity to speak with many of you about our fantastic program this year, and I’m thrilled with how excited everyone seems to be. As the Festival approaches, I wanted to share a few additional thoughts with you.
One of the favorite perks of my job is the ability to travel around the world to the top film festivals, watching some of the most original, challenging, important films every year.
IT'S THE WEEKEND!!!
What movies are you going to check out? There's so much to choose from! The Avengers is still breaking records... The Dictator is finally invading theaters... 20th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival favorite Headhunters is still at the Ritz at the Bourse... And let's not forget that PFS MEMBER SNEAK PREVIEW FILM BATTLESHIP brings the Aliens vs. Navy summer movie popcorn insanity to a screen near you.
Having recently returned from my annual trip to the Sundance Film Festival, which marks the beginning of the programming season for the Philadelphia Film Festival (PFF), I wanted to share some of my favorite films.
All in all, over my roughly five days in Park City, Utah, I was able to check out 24 films, many of which I enjoyed. Coincidentally, I’m sure, a lot of my personal favorites had nice Philly or PFF ties.
Even before ever seeing the film, if I had been asked what I thought the most beloved movie of all time is, I would have said Casablanca. I may be ignorant for never having seen it, but I bet a lot of people would agree with my answer. Others might argue Citizen Kane. It is considered the greatest movie of all time by the American Film Institute, after all. However, I would argue that Casablanca’s themes of love and letting love go are what make the film timeless.
In high school, my 12th grade summer reading assignment was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I actually read the book instead of cheating by watching the movie, assuming that my English teacher would show us the film when we returned to school in the Fall. Apparently, I was hoping for too much there. Although I read the book over 5 years ago, I remember enjoying it more than I enjoyed the film this weekend. Yet, I also feel like the film was true to the book. Go figure.
I’m going to state the obvious and say that R.P. McMurphy was not crazy.
For being released in 1967, it’s pretty impressive how relevant The Graduate still is in 2011. I graduated in December 2009 with a degree in film and television media studies and soon discovered that my studies in school were very different from the jobs available in the “real world,” whatever that actually means. After nearly two years after graduation, I still have no idea what I really want to do. Fortunately, this is a feeling most recent college grads can relate to, including Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin Braddock!
I've always been sort of proud, in a strange way, that I've never seen Rocky. 1) It's a classic, and 2) it's set in Philadelphia. How could I have never seen it?! Frankly, I never cared if anyone found my ignorance of Rocky offensive, because I never actually had any interest in seeing it in the first place. However, since I've started this blog, I've committed myself to seeing everything that might be shown in a Film Appreciation class.
The 20th Anniversary Philadelphia Film Festival Short Film Competition is
supported by the Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge
The Philadelphia Film Society is seeking submissions from area filmmakers for the 20th Philadelphia Film Festival Short Film Competition.
