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Tri-Media Festival: Meet the Moviemakers |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Friday, 31 August 2007 |
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 Nothing has the potential for disaster like putting recent exes—especially after 35 years of marriage—together on movie set. But when independent film director Neal Miller approached Barbara Dana and Academy Award winner Alan Arkin with the script for “Raising Flagg,” the two couldn’t pass it up.
“We loved these characters,” Dana said. “Working with my very recent ex-husband was really a trip... It was a leap of faith, but we can’t give up on these characters.”
Dana’s split from Arkin, who won an Oscar this year for his supporting role in “Little Miss Sunshine,” is a few years gone by now, but it was fresh at the time of filming.
Such risks bring a sense of realness to the screen, something that the Tri-Media Film Festival will not be lacking. “Raising Flagg,” the opening film for the Tri-Media Film Festival, debuts Sept. 7 at the Lincoln Center. The three-day festival, in its second year, offers plenty of entertainment for all. From documentaries to TV pilots and dramas to comedies, the festival celebrates the arts on the big screen.
“Raising Flagg” is about a dysfunctional family in a small town, which includes Flagg Purdy (Arkin), Ada Purdy (Dana) and their six children.
Twenty years ago, Arkin and Dana starred in “A Matter of Principle” produced and co-written by Miller for PBS American Playhouse. “Raising Flagg” features the same quirky characters, only 15 years later. Both films are based on short stories by John D. Weaver.
Flagg Purdy is a cantankerous man entrenched in his principles. After a neighborhood dispute, the handyman retreats to his bed, claiming the end is near. His loving wife, Ada, convinces scattered family members to return home to the farmhouse, where the family schemes to raise Flagg from bed.
“Forgiveness is the big theme,” Dana said. “I like that it has a lot to say, but it’s not heavy handed or preachy.”
She said the film has a warmth and a sense of humor that is slightly off-centered and unusual.
Also joining Dana and Arkin is their son Matthew Arkin, who plays Eldon Purdy, one of Flagg’s sons.
“You don’t have to explain a lot or learn to understand a person,” Dana said. “It’s just kind of cozy. Playing the mother of your own son is so easy.”
And as far as playing Arkin’s wife, the role was easier than she expected.
“One reason is that I was aware it was going to be difficult and that I really thought a lot about it and prepared myself,” she said. “We’d been together so long and worked together so long, it was just there. There’s such familiarity playing these characters, you can’t help but identify with them.”
Dana, Matthew Arkin, Miller and his wife and co-writer/producer will attend the screening in Fort Collins.
“It gives us a chance to see how the project is received,” Matthew said.
Dana said it adds a richness to the experience for directors, actors and the audience. Those involved in the making of a film don’t always get to interact with the people they are communicating to.
Miller said interacting with film viewers during festivals is an invigorating experience.
“All we can do is put it out there and hope for the best,” he said. “It’s like releasing a bird. You don’t know how it’s going to fly.”
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 'RAISING FLAGG' OPENING NIGHT GALA
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7 at The Lincoln Center in Fort Collins.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the door and $15 at the door for students and seniors with ID.
Available at the Lincoln Center Box Office, 417 W. Magnolia St., 221.6730 or online at www.lctix.com; Lyric Cinema cafe, 300 E. Mountain St.; and the Rialto Theater at 228 E. 4th St., Loveland.
The Tri-Media Film Festival features more than 30 films from both professional and student filmmakers.
Films will show at the Lincoln Center, Everyday Joe’s Coffee House, Bas Bleu Theatre, and Lyric Cinema Cafe, all in Fort Collins. Ticket prices start at $10. For a complete schedule and for more information, visit www.trimediafestival.org.
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MEET THE FILMMAKERS
Here are films and TV specials where filmmakers are scheduled to attend and answer audience questions after the screenings:
- “American Meth” (documentary shorts) noon Sept. 9 at Lyric Cinema A, filmmaker Justin Hunt.
 “Last of the Romantics” (feature Film) 9:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A, producer/director/writer Vohn Regensburger and several members of the cast and crew.
- “Last Stop for Paul” (feature film) 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema B, filmmaker Neil Mandt.
- “Lost Souls in the Big Easy” (documentary short) noon Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A, producer Matt Jenkins.
- “National Sacrifice Zone: Colorado and the Cost of Energy Independence” (environmental film) noon Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema B, filmmaker Joe Brown.
- “Reggie McDaniel’s Everyday People’s Entertainment Guide” (TV pilots/specials) 12 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A, production staff
- “Spark” (TV pilots/ specials) 12 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A, the producer and host Justin Frumkes.
- “The Final Hour” (wild side shorts) 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A and 9:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema B, filmmaker Mark Crawford.
- “The Holes in the Door” (feature documentary) 2:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A, director Alan Dominguez and producer David Dominguez.
- “Ugly on the Inside” (wild side shorts) 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema A and 9:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at Lyric Cinema B, producer Steven Boe and writer/actor Whitney Boe.
- “When I Grow Up” (short film) noon Sept. 9 at Lyric Cinema B, filmmaker Michelle Meeker.
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ON THE COVER OF NEXTNC
Justin Hunt, a New Mexico filmmaker, is presenting his short documentary about the devastating effects of meth on people and towns in the American heartland. Hunt is planning on attending and answering audience questions after the screening of his film at noon, Sept. 9 at Lyric Cinema Cafe, 300 E. Mountain Ave in Fort Collins. Go to www.trimediafetival.org for more information. | Only registered users can write comments.
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