No run-of-the-mill festival
In Lowell, food and trade are part of focus
There's a film festival around here for almost every audience: Turkish, Irish, and Jewish, festivals themed around indie movies, science fiction flicks, underground films, Bugs Bunny cartoons, even one dedicated, vaguely, to "fantastic" films.
But where else except Lowell - an immigration city and epicenter of the industrial revolution - can you find a food, fair trade, and global economy-themed film festival?
Possibly nowhere. But Lowell, which hosts next weekend's second annual Lowell Film Festival, does not conform to tradition. The city doesn't even have an independent movie theater; venues for this year's 10 screenings include Mickey's Bar & Grill, a library at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and the New England Quilt Museum, fittingly the site of two short films about sweatshops.
It's an unusual hybrid for a film festival, part arts event, part bazaar, part social justice rally. Nonfilm events include a market featuring businesses embracing fair trade practices; and guest speakers on such topics as sustainable farming and garment production. Also, at the end of it all, a wrap-up brunch at Lowell's Caffe Paradiso so filmgoers can "continue the conversation," says Suzzanne Cromwell, project assistant for the Cultural Organization of Lowell, the city's arts advocacy group.
There will be 10 feature length films and documentaries, and a few shorts. The opening night film is "The Garden," nominated for an Oscar this year in the best documentary feature category. It follows the story of farmers who transformed a barren Los Angeles neighborhood into a huge community garden, only to have it bulldozed by the city. Another featured film is "Battle in Seattle," a dramatic look at the 1999 riots in downtown Seattle against the World Trade Organization. Oddly it's part of a rare WTO doubleheader, the other being "The Yes Men," about the antics of two anti-corporate activists who pass themselves off as members of the WTO.
Other films include "The Price of Sugar," a documentary about dispossessed Haitians forced to labor in Dominican Republic sugar cane plantations, and "Zoned for Slavery," about child labor and sweatshops in Honduran free trade zones.
For relief, there are also a few of what Cromwell refers to as "turn off your brain films," such as "Hamburger America," about eight burger joints across the country. One of them, in Memphis, boasts it cooks hamburgers in the same grease it's used for nearly a century. (The dinnertime showing will be at Mickey's Bar & Grill.)
The idea for the festival came from Robert Forrant, a history professor at UMass-Lowell, former metalworker and union official, and serious film buff: His office is filled with DVDs of films he uses in class to bring history to life for students he sees as being increasingly detached from the printed word.
Frustrated that Lowell had no venues to show documentary films and that a lot of documentaries he admired weren't always widely circulated, he applied for and received a small grant from the university two years ago to start an off-campus film festival in Lowell. It started small - eight films and a few shorts by UMass-Lowell students, and it was organized around the theme of "Immigration, Globalization, and the All-American City." (The topic happened to be on Forrant's mind at the time since he was doing a research study on immigration to Lowell.) More than 600 people showed up, packing venues around the city.
Organizers were pleased, and decided to make the festival an annual affair. They kicked around ideas for a theme for this year, and "wondering about what sorts of basic things were important to people today," said Forrant, author of a new book, "Metal Fatigue," about the demise of metalworking in the Connecticut River Valley. "We came up with food and clothing in a global economy."
He hopes the festival will eventually lead to something bigger, namely an independent movie house in Lowell, which once had a great cinematic history. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Lowell had dozens of movie theaters and was considered an entertainment mecca in the Merrimack Valley. Legendary theaters like the Strand on Central Street with its lavish lobby opened in 1917 to a 26-piece orchestra; it stopped showing films in 1968 and was torn down a few years later. The RKO Keith on Bridge Street was a regular stop on the vaudeville circuit, but was razed for parking in 1976. There were others - the Rialto, the Crown, the Royal, the State.
All that's left in Lowell now is a multiplex which means that a lot of folks in Lowell hoof it to Cambridge, Lexington, Newburyport, or even New Hampshire to catch independent films. "My vision is to find an old mill space [and convert it to a theater,]" said Forrant. In the meantime, he'd like to see the Lowell Film Festival eventually become a weeklong event. "I see ourselves as Sundance East in a few years," he said, without any irony.
He's not the only one with a bigger vision. "We want to put Lowell on the map as a place that's film friendly," concurs LZ Nunn, director of Lowell's Office of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. She said an increasing number of films are being shot in the city, including "This Side of the Truth," an upcoming comedy directed by Ricky Gervais. It stars Jennifer Garner, Christopher Guest, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, and - Suzzanne Cromwell emphasizes - her husband, Brett, who is an extra, in crowd scenes.
In the meantime, they'll settle for a film festival held in restaurants and libraries. The documentary "Tableland," for example, chronicles a two-year journey across Canada and the United States to visit small farms, wineries, and artisan producers. It will be screened at Life Alive Urban Oasis & Organic Cafe, an organic vegan/vegetarian restaurant in downtown Lowell.
"It's a guerrilla setup; we're bringing in a screen, DVD player, and projector," Cromwell said. "It may not be an ideal place for a movie experience, but it is an ideal place to show a film that honors food and food growers."
The 2nd Annual Lowell Film Festival, April 3-5, www.lowellfilms.org 978-674-1483
"Reel People: Fishermen of Plum Island," a documentary by director James Waldron, will screen at the Fishing Festival in Newburyport on April 4. The film about old timers' passion for fishing on Plum Island and the island's new generation of fishermen, will be followed by a wine and appetizer reception. The festival will also offer a photo gallery of local catches, tips for the upcoming season from Kay Moulton, who owns Surfland Bait and Tackle, and informational booths from local sport fishing businesses. Firehouse Center for the Arts, One Market Square. Tickets are $10; 978-499-9931, www.firehouse.org
Linda Matchan can be reached at l_matchan@globe.com 