Putting a new spin on our Critic on the Spot series, this week we feature an ongoing exchange with festival co-directors Heidi Durrow and Fanshen Cox because, let's face it, the gatekeepers are critics at heart. Aren't they?
Let's see... Here's a question from Alan Carter.
Q:
What's the toughest thing about programming a festival? Worrying
about what you think people will want to see or what you think they will
like...not always the same thing.
A:
Our toughest problem in programming the Festival is creating balance. We
are very committed to showcasing the work of emerging filmmakers and
writers, but we also want to have a "draw" that appeals to a very large
demographic. There's the push and pull of getting enough of the known
quantity on the schedule and the up and comers. Last year, I don't think
many people had heard of Neil Aitkn. His book, The Lost Country of Sight,
wasn't out yet, but he's a phenomenal poet and his book which won the
prestigious Levine Prize for Poetry is out now. We're lucky to have him
back. We also screened part of a four-part documentary by Alex Frank
Larsen, one of Denmark's pre-eminent journalists, about the slave past of
many "native" Danes--"white" Danes whose ancestors were slaves on the Danish
West Indies and had immigrated once slavery was abolished. We know folks
weren't clamoring for that story, but they loved the documentary. I could
go on and on like about Octavio Warnock-Graham's documentary, Silences.
It's definitely cool to have the big names involved in the Festival. It's a
delight to have these emerging storytellers showcased.
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