Miami International Film Festival turns 21
First festival of the year looks to be the foremost.

"The Miami International Film Festival may promise to put our little corner of the country in a strategic position on the cinematic map, but it's only fair to say, Miami has been steadily climbing to that point for some time. "

The MIFF has the potential to make Miami an international cinematic landmark. With 21 years under its belt, and a hard-earned reputation for excellent programming, this event is presently stepping up to its place among the major league film festivals of the world—not just an occasion to see movies, but a place where deals are brokered and careers are made.

And what better geographic location than Miami to make a stage for the world's indie film business? And who better than Nicole Guillemet to make it happen—2004 marks the festival's second year under Guillemet, the former Sundance Festival co-director, whose very presence has focused the beam of that worldwide attention on Miami.

This year's films hail from a whopping 34 countries, and only around half of the films featured have distribution. Nearly all are at least regional or Florida premieres, and selections include a number of films shown at Cannes.

The documentary program is one of strongest to be seen in Florida (documentaries came to become Guillemet's focus at Sundance). Subjects range from epic workers' struggles ( The Iguazú Effect ), to stuntwomen ( Double Dare ), to one of the oddest spectacles touring the world: the Men's Choir Shouters ( Screaming Men ). Among some incredibly eye-opening works is the chilling And Along Came A Spider (Va Ankaboot Amad) , the story of a serial killer of women in Iran whose trial became a national sensation.

A big part of the festival's latest stage of positioning itself as the premiere cinematic gateway between the Americas is Miami Encuentros , a program of films from Spain and Latin America. Designed to be a meeting place for filmmakers and industry professionals, Encuentros serves as a specialized kind of a market within a festival that affords Iberoamerican (Spanish and Portuguese language) filmmakers a valid opportunity to gain distribution, funding, and recognition in the U.S. In its second year, Encuentros is one of Guillemet's major offerings to the MIFF . It's a savvy answer to the changing atmosphere of the independent and foreign film industry that looks to film festivals for its lifeblood.

The Miami International Film Festival may promise to put our little corner of the country in a strategic position on the cinematic map, but it's only fair to say, Miami has been steadily climbing to that point for some time.

The idyllic childhood: Up until a few years ago, everything I had ever read about this festival (which ironically only went "international" in name this year) raved about its favorite founder, whose maverick programming won succulent-sounding descriptions like "distinctive," "hand-picked," and "select." Nat Chediak , a former Miami art house theater impresario, launched the Miami Film Festival in 1983 and became celebrated for his intrepid, worldwide search for good movies. One did not enter a movie in this festival: it was not a juried competition, but rather the rare, personal mission of one really tasteful man to satisfy his longing for the best films to be found around the globe. The Miami Film Festival grew to become an elegantly simple affair, with a mere, almost two dozen films screening in only 10 days within the distinguished domain of one Gusman Theater . The local taste of Chediak's Film Society of Miami turned out to be a world class taste. For 18 years, Chediak ran the MIFF with an impressive audience turnout and a steadily revered reputation, and despite its modest dimensions, the festival captured international acclaim.

The stormy adolescence: In 2001, changes started taking place at a staccato pace. Florida International University joined forces with Chediak in late 1999, giving him full autonomy he was initially offered until two years later, when a new director was hired in his place. (An event eerily echoed micro-cosmically, super-locally in the old WPBIFF's loss of its founder, Kris Kemp. ) The formerly sumptuous accounts of the festival were replaced by the more plebeian descriptions of "bigger and better." Loyalists balked, and the 19 th annual festival reported a substantial drop in attendance. By May 2002, FIU was in search of another new director—and they did not mess around. By June, Nicole Guillemet was brought on board and led the MIFF in 2003. Prodigal audiences returned, sponsors flocked, and the festival's fine reputation was revitalized. And then, the festival changed hands again. This time, same director, new school. In August 2003, FIU withdrew its festival sponsorship, and in October, Miami-Dade College took over the reins. It promises to be a fine combination, especially since Guillemet is still the star.

Screenings will take place in five locations: the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami, Regal South Beach Cinema 18 on Lincoln Road (Miami Beach), Tower Theater in Little Havana, Sunrise Intracoastal Cinema in North Miami Beach, and Bill Cosford Cinema at the University of Miami in Coral Gables. In addition to screenings, festival events include a closing night party following the second U.S. screening of Dogville , by European academy award-winner Lars Von Trier , a Haiti celebration, Feb. 8, a V-day celebration on Feb. 1, a career achievement tribute to Brazilian director Hector Babenco , and, seminars presented by University of Miami and Miami Dade College . The festival runs from January 30 to February 8. For more info, go to www.miamifilmfestival.com, or call 305/237.3456.

The great thing about Mamet is that he's got his finger on the pulse of what underlies people's behavior

With 22 plays, 14 film scripts, six collections of essays, two novels and a children's book to his credit, you'd think David Mamet's name would become a household word. It's not just that he's prolific—his work has garnered him a Pulitzer Prize, an American Academy Award, and a Tony Award among numerous honors. In fact, Mamet has been credited with reinventing American theatrical language. Nevertheless, he remains relatively obscure to mainstream consumers, even if worshipped by theater and film buffs.

My literary love affair with David Mamet began in grad school. Reading his scripts, I became immersed in the macho world of business, politics, and the con game. His characters are the original badasses, wielding the language of the streets to fuck each other over and get what they want. Amid cigar smoking, card playing and sleaze balls, I became “one of the guys” even if only in my imagination.

For Mamet, I was an easy mark, falling in love with his characters' tough talk and staccato rhythms as much as I did with what they tried to hide in the language they used. Every script—whether for screen or stage—presents dialogue that would give any shrink a psychoanalytical orgasm. Violence and sex are hopelessly intertwined. And “the things we want, we can do them or not do them, but we can't hide them” (as the con man explains to the psychologist in Mamet's 1987 film House of Games ), is true for all his characters.

So enthusiastic was I about Mamet as the subject of my Master's thesis that I was baffled so many had never heard of the prolific playwright. Or, if they've seen his name, they were surprised that it rhymes with “Damn it!” rather than “ballet.”

Even if you don't know his name, you probably know his work. These movie titles should be familiar: The Edge (1997), Wag the Dog (1997), The Verdict (1982), The Untouchables (1987).

But Mamet started on the boards, first as an actor and director. Later, when he realized he wasn't much of an actor but wanted to stay involved in theater, he began writing for the stage. He still frequently dons the hat of director (in Mamet's case usually a ball cap does the job), but the movies he directs are more artistic successes than box office smashes. This is because Mamet's directing style asks that actors not act. Acting methods, such as those that require performers to find their motivation, are dispensed with under Mamet's direction because he believes this distracts from the play itself. Instead, he advises actors to “ Just say the line.” For audiences who want theater to be a suspension of reality and an immersion into another world, this style is discomforting.

Frequently, even those who love his writing aren't fans of his directing style. “Personally I wish he stuck to writing and left the direction alone,” Gordon McConnell says, who will be directing two Mamet plays at Theatre West this spring just as the political thriller, Spartan , written and directed by Mamet, hits the megaplex theaters (release is set for March 2004).

“The great thing about Mamet is that he's got his finger on the pulse of what underlies people's behavior—people don't say what they mean. Everyone talks around what they mean, but they do say what they have to get what they want,” Sol Theatre's artistic director Robert Hooker confirms, who is directing Sexual Perversity in Chicago this season.

If you like your drama edgy and you've got a taste for expletives, check out these three David Mamet plays in South Florida this spring—including two that got his career started.

Oleanna , the story of a power struggle between a college professor and his student who accuses him of sexual harassment , is perhaps the most controversial of Mamet's plays. Since it opened in 1994, Oleanna has spawned some post-show battles between the sexes because, when directed with the right subtlety, it is unclear who is really at fault.

TheatreWest 's executive director Gordon McConnell calls Oleanna “a nasty little play because your allegiance keeps shifting and you don't know who to side with.”

South Florida audiences will have an opportunity to compare two directorial interpretations of the audience-agitating gem: Both Lake Worth Playhouse and TheatreWest will be producing the play in February.

In American Buffalo , when a junk shop owner realizes that he sold a buffalo head nickel to a customer for a lot less than it's worth, he plots a heist to get even and clean the guy out. Buffalo is the play that began Mamet's trademark heist theme. But, in this case, plotting is about all the guy gets around to

“I find it very funny,” director McConnell explains of its ineffectual crooks. “It's about the local cowboy who really shows a certain degree of ignorance about the way the world really goes. Like our cowboy in the White House.”

The 1977 play became a 1996 movie by the same name and stars Dustin Hoffman ; however, like many of the plays-turned-movies, it didn't receive the same acclaim.

Sexual Perversity in Chicago begins with a title that is titillating and apt. One of Mamet's early plays, the 1976 drama opens with a bang, true to its title, replete with S&M.

“I love the way it starts—it's one of the most incredible opening scenes since Romeo & Juliet ,” director Robert Hooker of Sol Theatre says.

“ Mamet uses the sexual revolution to deal with universal issues of relationships. No matter how sexually open people are, relationships are still relationships,” Hooker comments.

It's the oldest of the Mamet plays produced this season, the one that kicked off his dynamic career, and Hooker means to have fun with it. “In terms of retro, I'm going straight there: the total look—fashion, music—but the play itself is not dated. It's only going to be ‘dated' in a fun way.”

Oleanna: Feb. 13-22
Lake Worth Playhouse's Stonzek Studio
713 Lake Avenue
Lake Worth
Tickets: $12-$15
Call 561/586.6410

Oleanna: Feb. 6-29
American Buffalo: March 19-April 11
Both at TheatreWest
D&D Centre annex
Downtown West Palm Beach.
Tickets: $15-$12
561/791.1950
www.theatrewestsite.com .

Sexual Perversity in Chicago: May 13-June 6
Sol Theatre
1140 NE Flagler Drive
Ft. Lauderdale
Tickets: $20 adults/$12 students
954/525.6555
www.soltheatre.com

Déjà Vu — Now that the American war on Iraq is over, the boycott of all things French is a distant memory. Good thing, too, otherwise we might have protests outside the Caldwell Theater during Déjà vu , whose title alone might inflame diehard U.S. patriots. As a comedy of manners replete with shifty politicians and scandals galore, Déjà vu certainly seems all-American despite its origins. Written by French playwrights, Jean-Jacques Bricaire and Maurice Lasaygues, it has been translated into English by John MacNicholas, but the double entendres (more French!) still abound in translation and become the source of comic misunderstandings.

Through Feb 15
Caldwell Theatre
7873 N. Federal Highway
Boca Raton
Tickets $31.50-$39.50/students $7
561/241.7432.

Beau Jest: The Musical! makes guinea pigs of South Florida theatergoers as writer James Sherman tests out a new form for his Off-Broadway comedy. Formerly a mere comedy, the musical version makes its debut at the Hollywood Playhouse. After an initial reading in New York last summer, some tweaking was done, and this first production of the play will let Sherman know if the variation appeals to audiences, presumably before it goes back north. The story is still the same: When Sarah, a “nice Jewish girl,” doesn't want to take her Goy boyfriend to meet her parents, she hires an actor to play the role of a nice Jewish boyfriend. As the family enjoys their Passover Seder, Sarah begins to realize that the only thing Jewish about her escort is that he toured with Fiddler on the Roof . The cast boasts some of South Florida's finest: Stacy Schwarz (Carbonell nominee and Curtain Up Award winner) and Carbonell Award winners Wayne LeGette and Steve Anthony.

Through February 8
Hollywood Playhouse
2640 Washington Street
Hollywood.
Tickets: $30-34.
954/922.0404
www.hollywoodplayhouse.com.