Starz Sneak Peek

CineManifest

Directed by Judy Irola

11/10/06 6:30 p.m. 11/12/06 1:15 p.m.

This documentary will take you back to a more radical point in history - the left-leaning, counterculture, antiestablishment setting of San Francisco in the 1970s. Cine Manifest was a group of seven young, idealistic rebels who decided filmmaking was the best route to revolution. Three decades later Judy Irola, Cine Manifest's sole female member, has captured the group's process and its combative nature on film.

The collective drew its ideology from Karl Marx, the socialist revolutionary who wrote extensively about class struggles. "When Cine Manifest started, we were all a little lost," recalls member Gene Corr. "We were looking for roots to connect us to something deeper and more historic. We were communists with a small c."

Criticism was a hallmark of the group. "We probably could have accomplished more if we'd been more positive. At the time that's what you did - you analyzed, you criticized, you talked things to death," says member John Hanson, who once responded to criticism of the script for his award-winning 1978 film Northern Lights in this way: "I admire your honesty. Your ideas are full of shit."

Eventually the collective collapsed under the weight of its own idealism and crushing self-criticism, and the members moved on to more traditional jobs in the film industry.

Go see this film to experience a different time; a time when young people were passionate and were willing to act on their ideals, a time when enthusiasm trumped experience. Pass the popcorn, comrade, and viva la cinema!

by Debra Goldyn

Santa Baby

Directed by David Widdicombe

11/10/06 9:15 p.m. 11/11/06 1:30 p.m.

One is never too young to begin their career as a stalker. Take it from 10-year-old Amelia who falls for Santa Clause. Inspired by his friendliness and frosted jelly candy scent, Amelia becomes smitten with the department store actor, visiting him and wishing it was Christmas everyday. When she discovers he isn't the genuine article and his real name is Bob, she doesn't care. Amelia continues to plead her unremitting love for him anyway.

This short film, written and directed by David Widdicombe, holds nothing back as it spoofs the whole evil seductress genre with its fifth-grade femme fatale. When Amelia catches Santa getting a little too friendly with another young girl, she demands, "Who is this little floozy." She then seizes Santa claiming he is hers in front of all the other kids waiting in line to unload their wish lists. Parents are appalled.

Jordan Todosey stars as Amelia, her sweet smile and innocent eyes betraying the troubled, unstable and lonely youth that lurks beneath the surface of her seemingly innocuous character. Even as a potential home-wrecker, her charm is hard to resist. Hardee Lineham compliments the ability of his co-star well as the poor dupe, Bob. He plays the straight man to Todosey's comically juvenile temptress. Overall, the short film delights as it steers clear of delivering any sort of serious message about love or growing up. It's all about getting the laughs.

Santa Baby screens Fri., Nov. 10 at 9:15 p.m. and Sat., Nov. 11 at 1:30 p.m. with five other mini-features. Their directors may not be famous yet, but this set of shorts, entitled "Short Circuits," is sure to offer a fair dose of absurdity and creativeness that longer films often lack. So come and check out these clever snapshots as they vie for the attention of movie lovers and producers.

by Jeffrey Woodruff

Chalk

Directed by Mike Akel

11/11/06 3:45 p.m. 11/12/06 4:00 p.m.

Real teaching leaves a mark.

That's the tagline from SomedaySoon's latest production, Chalk, a raw and uncensored mockumentory about pedagogical defloration and the trials of being a new teacher. Follow along as four virginal educators get their first rude taste of life on the inside of that special American hell we call high school.

Mr. Stroope is a guy-smiley, feel-your-pain friend who wants to connect with his kids through showmanship and a warm'n'fuzzy demeanor in order to secure the coveted "Teacher of the Year" title (an award he's going to have to crush the likes of a sweet, grandmother type to win). Then there's Coach Webb who is not gay, dammit, though her crew hair and draconian, hall-nazi demeanor do little to suggest otherwise. Mrs. Reddell, once a new and tentative teacher herself, is now thrust into the dubious position of assistant principle, a position of power that promises to consume her and destroy her once tender, but strictly platonic, dammit, relationship with Coach Webb. Finally, meet Mr. Lowrey whose prohibitively shy and awkward demeanor prevent him from socializing well with anything more assertive than your average cat.

And these are the protectors of America's future generations.

To suggest that these south Texas whacks are actually teachers is at best charitable; to watch them fumble through their paces is exactly what the painfully embarrassing hilarity of Chalk is all about.

To be sure, the film is more than just a poke-fun at four frustrated failures - Chalk examines through these four losers and their loser lives the fundamental reasons why teaching as a profession sucks your will to live. Between the food and the fights and the checking for hall-pass rights, these people are pushed well beyond their breaking points.

And even though the acting becomes stilted and overworn to a degree which occasionally gives the thing away, writer/director/producer and three-year veteran of the teaching wars himself, Mike Akel pulls off a clever comedy commentary with just the right mix of sneer and acid. Not my favorite of the festival, Chalk yet wins a nod and a chuckle from this critic; it's easy to see why this film won the L.A. Film Festival Jury Award for outstanding performance.