As we honor renowned director
Ang Lee, we look back 15 years to MVFF 1992, when we introduced Lee's first feature,
Pushing Hands, in its US premiere. At the same time we celebrate the present, proudly opening the Festival with his latest masterpiece,
Lust, Caution, which won the Golden Lion award at this year's Venice Film Festival.
We are also extremely fortunate to have 2004 MVFF Spotlight honoree Laura Linney with us on Opening night, to present her film,
The Savages, directed by Tamara Jenkins and co-starring Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Director
Terry George, whose
Some Mother's Son closed the Festival in 1996, follows his 2004 award-winning
Hotel Rwanda with the powerful and eloquent
Reservation Road. In addition to screening his new film, we are pleased to welcome George back to the Festival with a Spotlight program, where we will present him with the new
MVFF Award.
Jennifer Jason Leigh won a special Golden Globe¨ award as part of the ensemble cast of Robert Altman's
Shortcuts, which opened the 1993 Festival. And in 1994,
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, for which Leigh was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress, was the Festival's closing film. We are honored to have her here this year as a Spotlight honoree and recipient of the MVFF Award, and to screen her latest film,
Margot at the Wedding, directed by her husband Noah Baumbach (
The Squid and the Whale, MVFF 2005).
John Korty, Doris Dörrie, Rob Nilsson, John Sanborn, Marc Forster and dozens of other returning MVFF artists will be here as well, to help us celebrate our 30th and guide the Festival into the future.
Every year we show an abundance of extraordinary films, films that tell great stories, poignant films that have something important to say, films that resonate both personally and universally.
This year, after once again viewing hundreds of films, submitted through our call for entries and from sales agents and distributors, we discovered a distinct pattern: a compelling theme of courage and morality. In both documentaries and narrative films, we are seeing an array of eloquent stories about people faced with situations in which they are forced to take great risks or make personal sacrifices in order to stand by their beliefs.
The Price of Sugar,
Soldiers of Conscience,
Women of Tibet: A Quiet Revolution,
Reservation Road,
Rendition,
Gone Baby Gone and
Michael Clayton are just a few of the incredible films that fall into this category.
They all share difficult subject matter—the loss of a child, the harsh lives of immigrant field workers, soldiers who become conscientious objectors—not necessarily what one would consider big box-office material. Yet all of these filmmakers made a conscious choice to tell these stories. It would be easy to say that these are the annual Oscar¨ contenders and, thus, the so-called serious films of 2007; but I believe it is much more. Perhaps a consequence of 9/11 or the war in Iraq—or our current politics or a new self-awareness—today's filmmakers, actors, producers and financiers appear to be more interested in affecting change in positive and dramatic ways, through a personal vision. It gives me hope that they are indeed trying to change the world through their films, and the 30th MVFF honors and celebrates this change.
As I do each year, I want to remind our Festival attendees that approximately half of the income we need to produce this Festival comes from contributions. And again I thank everyone who has once more worked tirelessly to make the Festival possible: our generous donors, our dedicated staff, our board of directors and volunteers, our wonderful audiences and, most importantly, the artists whose creations we are so privileged and excited to share.
Mark Fishkin
