High Falls Film Festival

I attended some events this past week at the High Falls Film festival and am pleased to report that the festival is growing and doing well. I did see a couple of movies and intend to go to the audience award winners (Phoebe in Wonderland and Autism:the Musical) tonight. I also saw Fermat's Room, an intricately drawn, suspenseful drama about puzzles and murder. A surprise for me was the Iranian film, Bride of Fire which powerfully presented the cultural differences between rural tribes and the younger more educated generation living in Tehran when it comes to love and marriage. The festival had movie star wattage with guests Rita Moreno and Bill Pullman. Bill was there to promote his movie, Phoebe in Wonderland and he is from nearby Steuben County. He was warm and amusing in his presentation of the Susan B. Anthony award to Rita Moreno, one of a handful of people to win all four prestigious awards. (Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy) I was lucky enough to meet both at one of the casual parties after the screenings and I can report they are both charming and fun, especially Rita. Jack Garner, retired Gannett movie critic interviewed Ms Moreno on stage at the theater and she was delightful telling her stories about the movies she has been in and the people she has worked with. She continues to work in the movies and television (Oz).

All in all, the festival looks healthy and the hopes are high for the future. There were some glitches...the shuttle that never came, projection issues, standing in the rain when you have paid for an all access pass wondering again what the benefit was supposed to be, but these are small compared to the over-all feeling that this film festival is very special for Rochester and can only get bigger and better. (If I get better at this stuff, I will post a couple of pictures---probably with the help of my daughter when I visit her next week)