The New Mexico film scene was presented with the seventh annual Taos Talking Picture Festival and its array of cinematic innovation and celebration this weekend.
The festival, which took place Friday and Saturday, presented more than 28 feature-length films, 19 documentaries, 80 shorts and 9 forums.
Beginning with the feature-length films, some notable works included the Perrier “Bubbling Under” Award-winner “The Doe Boy,” written and directed by first-timer Randy Redroad. For her short film “The Other Days of Ruby Rae,” Vikki Blanche won the festival’s George MÇliäs Award. The big winner of the prestigious Taos Land Grant Award, who receives five acres of land on Cerro Montoso, outside of Taos, was Lukas Moodysson for his film “Together.”
One of the most startlingly original and surreal films of the festival was Jan Svankmajer’s “Orest†nek.” Svankmajer, who’s from the Czech Republic, weaves an ebullient, inventive and audacious adaptation of a classic Czech folk tale of a sterile couple who turn a tree stump into their own baby — resulting in an utterly engaging tale of humanity faced with the absurd.
On a similar note, but with a much more abstruse premise, was Ben Hopkins’ “The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz,” which follows the activities of Tomas Katz, an extraterrestrial operative whose sole mission is to destroy reality as we know it. Hopkins creates a truly mystical atmosphere with his narration and laces it with a seemingly palpable layer of dread as Tomas Katz completes his mission.
The documentary “Alcatraz is Not an Island,” a finalist in the Taos Land Grand contest, by James M. Fortier, retraces the occupation of Alcatraz by American Indian activists. Fortier, who made an appearance at the screening, uses a mixture of archival footage and interviews with scholars and former activists to unearth a relatively unknown part of history that was immeasurably integral to the American Indian land struggles.
“The Buffalo War,” by Matthew Testa, is a passionate picture of the struggle of environmentalists and American Indian groups with Montana state officials over the reckless slaughter of more than 3,000 heads of bisons and the effects of development.
The event gave consider a culturally diverse town an added flair of diversity and eclecticism — with Elizabeth Taylor accepting the Festival’s Maverick Award for her continued excellence in film and writer/director Luis Valdez accepting the Cineaste Award for his presence and influence in Latino theatre and film.
Valdez was also present at the screening of his film classic “Zoot Suit” and said the state of Latino films is improving.
“I think its course is straight up,” he said. “I think as far as growth and the engagement with this art form — there are people in film schools, independent filmmakers, that are making their way … but we want statements. We want life statements.”
Along with the many cinema artists present for their own movies, there were numerous events and receptions open to the public, which provided much insight into the filmmaking process. In the end, the Taos Talking Picture Festival has created a very promising, and much needed, gateway for fine cinema in New Mexico.
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