Editor

VISIONFEST 04: The Other Festival (VF04) has announced its partial line-up for this year’s film festival, which runs June 23-27, 2004, at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Film Center (36 East Eighth Street, in the heart of the NYU campus, in Manhattan).

The event will kick off its opening night with Able Edwards, which festival co-director Bruno Derlin described as “a truly groundbreaking sci-fi feature.” Created on an ultra low-budget and employing the use of green screens and desktop digital technology for the realization of its colossal, ‘virtual,’ sets, the film, directed by Graham Robertson, who also produced with Scott Bailey, and executive produced by Oscar-winner, Steven Soderbergh (ERIN BROCKOVICH, TRAFFIC, OCEAN’S 11), is innovative in its production design (which is all generated via computer imaging) and its use of a miniscule budget to tell a story of epic proportions. “Soderbergh’s support,” according to VF co-director, Mark Doyle, “will certainly help to bring the film a much deserved, mainstream awareness.” ABLE EDWARDS traces the story of a futuristic society, cloning a famous entertainment mogul, “in an effort to revive the glory days of the deceased predecessor’s corporation.”
The screening, which will be programmed within the June 23rd opening night block, beginning at 7:30 p.m., will be preceded by a short ‘opening ceremony and two short subject films.
The first, a visually spectacular, computer-animated adventure titled Rockfish, directed by Tim Miller, will start things off with a an explosive bang and some of the finest animation currently on the independent film festivals circuit. The second film, AutonomousLESs, directed by Mark Landry, is a live-action mini-thriller that begins our evening’s journey into the world of human cloning.

Juvies, a documentary feature, directed by Leslie Neale, dealing with the impact that adult sentencing has on young criminal offenders, is narrated by Mark Wahlberg (who also exec-produced). The actor’s own past draws him to identify closely with the project. JUVIES is currently being slated for a weekend slot, yet to be announced. Also on the roster of films vying for weekend slots, is The Ingrate, by Krystoff Przykucki, a short subject film, executive produced and starring Academy-Award winner, Kathy Bates (MISERY, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, ABOUT SCHMIDT), and a spine-tingling thriller entitled Sonata, directed by Boris Undorf. The latter will be celebrating its East Coast premiere at Visionfest, immediately following the film’s unveiling at this year’s LA-based film festival, Dances With Films. Another feature already confirmed and slated to close this year’s fest is Nyle Cavazos Garcia’s Clean, a sobering look at the Hollywood elite, as seen through the eyes of a limo driver. Beautifully photographed and incredibly acted by a solid, ensemble cast, CLEAN offers a stark and realistic look at the darker side of celebrity, recapturing the mood and structure that is evocative of the effect that MIDNIGHT COWBOY (a film one is compelled to draw comparisons to, thanks to the director’s deliberate homage near the end of the film) had on its audiences almost four decades ago. “This is truly our best year thus far. We have the most varied roster of films we’ve ever had since our inception,” stated Mark Doyle. Bruno Derlin added: “We’re having trouble trying to fit all the quality stuff we’ve received within a five-day program. I wish we could make all the filmmakers happy by giving every great film we’ve received a slot, but… I’m truly proud of this year’s line-up, and as the price of technology continues to come down and become more affordable to independent filmmakers, we’re definitely seeing a tremendous growth in the experiments and chances they are taking.”