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Special Tributes, Filmmaker Sessions & a Tour Around the World Mark Successful Intl Film Fest

filminsyracuse.com

Film lovers and those who want to work in the business had many interesting choices this weekend as the Syracuse International Film Festival concluded.  The program included numerous screenings of films from many other countries, forums highlighting the craft, and other special features. 

Other tributes recognized Onondaga Chief Oren Lyons, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kirostami,  and Argentinian Pedro Cuperman – who created Syracuse’s Point of Contact visual gallery.  Novice filmmakers got their due as well.  Zachary Antell showed his award winning animated short “Player Two” and remembers it didn’t start out too glamorous.

“Well, it wasn’t very fun because I was in my room for many hours of the day for about two months.  But it was good hard work.  It’s a good payoff at the very end.”

The film was part of a showcase of works from 10 current and recent S-U film students.  

Credit Shradha Rao/WAER News
A panel at the film hub brought out people who aspire to work in teh industry to hear from filmmakers and technicians.

Another forum featured more than a dozen professionals in a panel at the Onondaga County Film Hub.  It was well attended by those working in the industry, or those who hope to. 

Film Producer Monica Levinson studied in Syracuse and returned for the panel.  She can see using the area to help make a movie.

I do look at people’s resumes and I see Syracuse on it and that makes me happy because I had an amazing experience in school here. It’s so incredible being back here.

"Finding a local crew that has the experience and being able to work with them, having an infrastructure here to bring your films too is an important factor. As Syracuse builds a film community and builds the people in the labor force that can do the work, that’s what gonna get you the business here."

Justin Pellingra owns The Vault in Syracuse which films live concerts.  He disagrees with recent criticism the film hub not giving a return on taxpayers’ investment.

“Filmmaking is a process that takes time; it’s not just something you snap your fingers and a movie’s made.  So they're like, ‘how come the film industry hasn’t just blossomed in the last there years?’ But it’s like, it has.  For one, movies have been coming here instead of going to Rochester or Buffalo.”

He and many others expressed optimism about the film business here in Syracuse.  They refer to films shot here, as well as a growing wealth of talent in film production. 

One of those was a tribute to Sophia Loren over three nights.  It included a screening of “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” which was attended by an audience made up of primarily, fans wanting to re-live their memories of the graceful actress, along with some young folks who came to experience the grace and magic of Sophia Loren.   Director Vittorio De Sica’s film, released in 1963, is a comedy anthology, starring Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The film follows the lead actors in three different stories, set in three different parts of Italy.

On is set in Naples of 1954 where Adelina (Loren) is supporting her husband and her brood of children by selling black market cigarettes. Then, it moves to Milan where wealthy Anna (also Loren), dressed in Christian Dior is having an affair with poor Renzo and must determine who is dearer to her- Renzo or the Rolls Royce? Finally, the movie heads to Rome, where prostitute Mara (Loran again) seeks the help of her client Augusto to snub the advances of her neighbor’s grandson, studying to be a priest.

Timothy Ferlito, a volunteer of the festival and the projectionist for the evening, grew up watching Sophia Loren movies with his dad but had not seen this Loren movie.

“I loved the different vignettes. You got to see how the actors can play different characters based around the central theme of fighting around love. Mara was the lady of the evening.”

Elizabeth Preston not only came for the movies, but has thoughts about Loren’s life after being discovered by a director at a young age.

“He swept her into early stardom, so her life was kind of transparent.  I know that she did a lot of growing up after.  She had the European sensibility where she really was he boss of her fate.” 

The tribute also included Loren films: “Marriage Italian Style,” “Sunflower” and “Special Day.”

The Syracuse Intentional Film Festival also included tributes to disability in film and to human rights.  It helped the industry by bringing the film world to fans and practitioners.  Films from Canada to Thailand, Cuba to Armenia were part of a schedule that covered more than 20 countries.   

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.