I've been writing here for some time now, and by far my favorite assignments have been coverage of film festivals. Naturally, I love the art of the cinema – there is so much to be explored through this medium. Take a weekend and just inundate yourself into the world of film, and you emerge exhausted, but full of thoughts and ideas. Film is art and art is communal – you connect with the messages being sent by the creator (intentional or not [and I'm a big fan of picking apart a film to find hidden meanings unintended by the makers]) and you connect with everyone around you, who are forming their own opinions and meanings.
This weekend is the 5th annual Louisville International Festival of Film, featuring 137 movies, including features and shorts, fiction and documentary, animation and music video. In short, something for everyone.
The festival opens this Thursday, October 10, with The Wedding Pact, in which two college friends decide that if in ten years they are not married, they will marry each other. Ten years later, they are still bachelor and bachelorette, so Mitch sets out to make an honest woman out of Elizabeth, but since this is a romantic comedy, shenanigans ensue.
The festival continues through the weekend til the closing event on Sunday: the presentation of the “Stanley Kramer Pioneer Award,” Kramer being the director of classics such as High Noon and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. His widow and daughter will be in attendance for the presentation of the award to local producer Gill Holland, followed by a screening of Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
There's a lot to see and a lot to do. The festival takes place at various venues throughout the city. Details as far as place and time and ticket packages can be found at the LIFF website.
Image: LIFF website
