Home  |  Out & About  |  Dining  |  Events  |  Singles  |  Classifieds  |  Archive  |  Advertising

Riverside Saginaw Film Festival Rapidly Gaining International Attention

By Robert E. Martin 

Founded in 2007, the Riverside Saginaw Film Festival is an annual cinematic showcase making a definitive impact in the Mid-Michigan region. Held at five downtown Saginaw locations: Temple Theatre, Pit and Balcony Community Theatre, Castle Museum of Saginaw County History, Hoyt Library and the Court Theatre from August 20-23^rd, the festival will showcase 14 independent and foreign films, documentaries and children's' movies, as well as the entries it its second short film contest.

An engaging component of the overall complexion of the Riverside Festival, when the Committee issued a call for entries in its second short film contest they received one film from Romania and another from India - an amazing accomplishment for a Festival that is currently celebrating its third anniversary.

Other films entered range from two to 30 minutes in length and came from locations such as California, New Jersey, Arizona, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, as well as other parts of Michigan, proving the endeavors of Riverside has generated worldwide and certainly national interest.

According to board member Janet Martineau, “We're proud of the short film contest we started last year and continued this year, with a doubling of the number of people who entered. The word spread - and keep in mind some of the world's greatest filmmakers started out creating shorts.  We also enjoy the fact that we are able to book a movie before it goes into general release.”

One short film entry to keep an eye upon is from young filmmaker Melody C. Miller, a 17-year old high school junior from Oakland, California, whom has already won filmmaking awards. Her narrative The Date concerns a man trying to meet up with his girlfriend but obstacles keep getting in his way.

Other entries deal with a suspected terrorist harboring a surprise; a photo montage parody of a radio talk show, and a meditation on life and death told through the dream world of animals.

In terms of feature highlights, Martineau points to several films slated for the 2009 Festival. “We have "The Horse Boy," which has won numerous film festival awards and is due for general release this fall. It's a documentary about an autistic boy, his connection to a horse and his family's journey to Mongolia and is based on a book by the same name.”

“We've booked a sing-along version of the Oscar winning "Mary Poppins” for a fun family night at the movies.”

"Afghan Star" showcases Afghanistan's version of "American Idol" amid its wartime strife, while the Israeli film "Lemon Tree" is based on a true story about a friendship between a Palestinian widow and the wife of Israel's defense minister - two examples of the eye-opening foreign film fare that oozes with humanity.”

"Sita Sings the Blues," an animated film, had critic Roger Ebert in rapture. And for football fans, "Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29" is a 1968 nostalgia piece with team members including now-actor Tommy Lee Jones.”

"Moon" is a science-fiction film (directed by rock star David Bowie's son) that is a festival winner -- in fact a good many of the films this year have won at film festivals, or played at places like Sundance,” notes Janet.

“In the first two years we booked an impressive number of people involved in the films we showed -- stars, directors, producers -- who performed, or talked about their films, or who taught workshops, continues Martineau. “This year, because of the economic climate, we cut our budget severely because we knew raising money would be tough and we knew businesses and people were cutting back, so that component was reduced. Flights and rooms and speaking fees are high. We hope in subsequent years to return to that, as our audience seems to enjoy that connection.”

Martineau points out that the most challenging component involved with putting a festival of this nature together is booking the films. “Just because we want a film does not mean we will get it. We wanted to feature "The Wizard of Oz" sing-along, as this is the movie's 70^th anniversary year, but a theater in Detroit had booked it and we were considered too close of a market, so the movie's distributor said no.”

“In all three years of the festival, movies we really wanted we got no as an answer, often because we could not guarantee a certain number of tickets sold, or they didn't have enough prints available, or it was suddenly pulled from theatrical release because it went into DVD release.”

“We are amazed that in some cases a distributor or film company chose to keep a movie on its shelf rather than rent to us in the hopes a bigger client would ask for it at the same time. With many rentals you pay a flat fee and then a percentage of the ticket sales. We'll always wonder how that worked out for them!”

When asked how she would distinguish the Riverside Festival from other film festivals featured throughout the state, Martineau feels comparisons are unnecessary, “except that we are local so people don't have to drive very far. We do try to show Michigan-lined product or films with a Saginaw connection. We also want to expand the horizons of mid-Michigan people with foreign films that show we are all more alike on this planet than different.”

Given that Lansing, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Bay City all are committed to growing various film festivals in recent years, indicating a renewed focus about the creative potential of Michigan in the film industry, what nice does she feel the Riverside Festival occupies?

“We are not trying to fill a niche for Michigan film festivals. We were founded by a group of movie buffs who wanted to showcase the hundreds of wonderful Indie films, foreign films and documentaries out there that Saginaw never gets to see in the commercial theaters interested in blockbusters and big moneymakers.”

“In fact, over the three years we have done this festival, we have been astounded by the richness of what is out there. Films just filled with gratifying humanity, or quirky fun, or breathtaking creativity. We get raves from the people who attend. What we need is to convince more people to take a chance with us.”

With 26 films booked showing in four days at six venues, each only $5.00 or as many as you want for a $25.00 pass the value and caliber of the Riverside Film Festival is ready apparent. Or as Janet concludes, “How dare anyone say there is nothing to do in Saginaw. For the quality we offer we are one good bargain.”

Please refer to the Riverside Film Festival Supplement & Program Guide in this edition of The Review for more information. And for additional details visit their website at www.riversidesaginawfilmfestival.org. 

home  |  Out & About  |  Dining  |  Events  |   singles  |  classified   |   archives  |  advertising
© 2009 Review Magazine.  All rights reserved.