To the Future!

Director's Blog | Posted on January 27th, 2009 | Categorized as 2008, Director

As you may know, Richard Herskowitz has left us for fresh pastures and new challenges, but here at Festival Towers we are moving ahead with the planning stages for 2009’s Festival.

Firstly, UVa’s School of Arts and Sciences has launched its search for a new Festival Director. You can find out more from jobs@uva on the University of Virginia’s website. Submissions will be reviewed from 1 Feb, but applications will be accepted until the post is filled.

To get ourselves in readiness, we are also considering themes for the 2009 Festival. Your suggestions and input have always been a valued part of the decision-making process and this year is no exception. Previous Festivals have highlighted themes which respond to the climate of the times whilst showcasing a broad range of films old and new. If you fancy your chances of coming up with the next big idea, message us here.

Finally, we are putting the finishing touches to the Spring Season of the Virginia Film Society – details will be posted in the next few weeks, so keep checking in for updates.

We’d like to thank you all for your continuing support in these changing times and hope that you will join us for the next exciting phase in our 22 year history.

To the future!

  1. Randall Good says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    How about the gaze, or something about looking, or voyeurism? Very cinematic. Ebert can do a shot by shot analysis of Rear Window.

  2. Clay Bretz says:
    February 4th, 2009 at 10:51 am

    Hello,

    I would like to recommend a theme for the 2009 festival. Change. Political change, environmenta change, cultural change, spare change…

    Thanks,
    Clay

  3. Steve Ashby says:
    February 5th, 2009 at 1:29 am

    Theme suggestion: Tele Vision-quest: TV to Film. (I suppose this could mark the end of analog broadcasting.)

    Lots of possibilities——

    The first video recording (1928) still exists on a 78RPM disk. Edwin Newman used it in his history of television series, back in the 1980’s. As I recall it’s a narrow scan of a Felix the Cat doll. That would lead to a screening of Felix the Cat cartoons.

    The horror film “Murder by Television” (1935) starring Bela Lugosi.

    The kinescope to big screen release: “Ten From Your Show of Shows.” (released in 1973 and shown at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater!).

    Paramount Studio’s all-star “International House” (1933) featured the “Radioscope” televising everything from an 8-day bicycle race to Cab Calloway singing “Reefer Man.”

    “Network”

    “Good Night and Good Luck”

    This would also provide a rare opportunity to screen as many 1950’s kinescope recordings as can be had.

    I’m pretty sure that Mary Martin’s 1957 “Peter Pan” is a rare example of a color kinescope.

    There exists newsreel footage of Eddie Cantor (I’m a little fuzzy on this–could’ve been Jolson) performing on a closed-circuit TV demonstration.

    Flash Gordon serials often featured faked interstellar TV communication.

    TV series made into films:

    “Get Smart” (the first movie with the original TV cast)

    “Get Smart” (the new one)

    “Mission Impossible”

    “Lassie” (that went both ways)

    “Batman”

    “Superman”

    etc. etc.

    For local color (although it’s mostly black-and-white) I can provide a restoration of a Jefferson Cable Corporation video on the early 1970’s controversy about building the Downtown Mall. It’s called “Overview: Downtown Renewal” (1975).

    If you have a little money for copying an old video tape, the Cable’s Frank Capra interview by our own Ray Berry is in the Special Collections section of the Ivy Stacks. It’s on 1″ reel-to-reel video tape (single-head IVC helical scan). I believe it dates from 1973 and was recorded at Jefferson Cable’s 324 West Main studio. Ray is still living, as is the show’s producer, Denny Bly. I have a color slide of the set.

    This might allow for showing a Capra film, perhaps—”You Can’t Take it With You” (1938)

    You might also want to invite the “Bowman Body”, who hosted horror films in the early days of Channel 29. Perhaps he could appear at the screenings of “Murder by Television”.

    You might also want to honor local legend, the late Rod Collins, who ran the Radio-TV Center at UVa. Rod hosted a late-night film show on Channel 29 circa 1973. Harold Wright might have some footage of Rod sitting in his ridiculous orange chair, making comments on the films. This could lead to a screening of some “classic” film, perhaps from Rod’s list. His widow Sue still lives on Thomas Drive. I’ve got some radio airchecks of Rod, but no video.

    Good luck with the search. I’m looking forward to the Spring Society screenings.

    Yours,
    Steve Ashby