Gen Art’s 13th Annual Film Festival
Reporting by Leah
With actors like Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Virginia Madsen, John Leguizamo, and Rosie Perez do I need to say anything more? These actors were part of a larger cast of notable actors in Gen Art’s 13th Annual Film Festival.
Gen Art’s 13th Annual Film Festival ran from April 2 to April 8 with seven premieres and seven parties. One of the things I liked most about Gen Art’s Film Festival, besides the films, was the accessibility the general public had to the directors and actors. After each screening the audience were able to ask questions directly to the actors and directors.
This film festival had the feeling of sitting in one’s very large livingroom (if you’re Bill Gates) and sharing that experience with several hundred people. The Festival’s sold out closing night screened the short film “A Day’s Work” and US premiere of the feature film “The Take.”
The final night of the Festival included an awards ceremony and closing night party, probably still going on as I type comfortably here in my apartment. Mind you I left the after-party close to midnight. There was the after-party and then there was the after after-party. The packed after-party took place at Spotlight Live located on Broadway at 49th and the after after-party took place at Marquee. Brad Furman, director of the feature film “The Take”, and star John Leguizamo were seen leaving the after-party some time near midnight and heading to the after after-party. As the band played on at the after-party and it was about half past eleven I wondered out loud if any of these people had day jobs. A friend remarked it was the final night and final after-party of the Gen Art Film Festival which only takes place once a year in the greatest city in the world. So I stayed a little longer.
I really enjoyed the short film “A Day’s Work” which is about the journey of the main character in the film named Enrique, who alone in Los Angeles, doesn’t speak a word of English and is forced to work as a day laborer to earn money for loved ones back home. His loyalties are put to the test when a simple job escalates into a matter of life and death. The filmmaker Rajeev Dassani decided to tackle the timely issue of injustice that exists in parts of our society. He did that in a moving and thoughtful way as two teenagers from different worlds end up communicating quite effectively despite the language and cultural differences between them. I recommend seeing this short.
The other film screened during the closing night was “The Take” with John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, Tyrese Gibson and Bobby Cannavale. John Leguizamo and Rosie Perez were both at the screening and after-party. It was a pleasure to see these two talented actors up there on the big screen. Brad Furman, the filmmaker, shot the film in an unbelievable 18 days with a budget of $800,000, but don’t let those numbers fool you as the film is worth seeing and had a brilliant score. Both films screened during the closing night made you think about the worlds we live and don’t live in and the prejudices and preconceived notions that very often accompany those worlds and aren’t valid.
Another successful Gen Art Film Festival came to a close lastnight.
