Diversity is what describes the films that are being shown this year at the 3rd Annual Malibu Film Festival. A few of the films slated for the seven-day event, which begins Aug. 16, are a documentary film about a Hollywood starlet falling into the gutter, then climbing out; a short about a mild-mannered columnist turning into “Dirty Harry;” a comedy about Elvis as a black man; a story about a serial killer and soul-searching films about the loss of a loved one.
Even the list of filmmakers sounds more like a synopsis for a Quentin Tarantino film than the entries of a film festival. They are the sons, grandsons and brothers of celebrities, a Hollywood actress with liaisons to famous jazz musicians and movie stars, ex-pizza delivery boys, surfers, ballet dancers, musicians, dot-com industry survivors and more.
Russell B. McKenzie’s short comedy film, “The King,” the film about Elvis being a black man, already has a buzz surrounding it. “The King” won Best Comedy Short this year at the Dances With Films Festival, which is held in Santa Monica and sponsored by Laemmle Theaters.
“I wanted something different as far as a film made by an African American,” said McKenzie. “I didn’t want to do a “Boyz in the Hood” type of thing. I wanted something very different.”
In the documentary category, a film that was showcased last year, “A Bittersweet Tale of a Hollywood Failure,” by Bara Byrnes is entered for the contest this year. Byrnes made a director’s cut, slightly different from last year’s showing.
“It is a cautionary tale,” Byrnes said, “of living in the fast lane. It is a story based on my life as a Hollywood actress. I came from a very affluent home and ended up a drug addict. It is a story from the art galleries to the shooting galleries, then finally sobriety.”
On the celeb side Tony Griffin, son of Merv Griffin, has entered his short comedy, “Squint.” The story is about a geekish obituary columnist who is obsessed with Clint Eastwood’s tough guy character in “Dirty Harry.” When the columnist becomes electrocuted, he becomes his idol. The film’s inspiration stemmed from Griffin’s obsession with Clint Eastwood films as a child. Griffin’s father and Eastwood were best friends in the 1970s; both celebrities had homes in Carmel at the time. When Eastwood’s film “Magnum Force” came out in 1974, he asked young Tony his opinion of the picture. When Tony began reciting lines from the movie, Eastwood was amazed. From that day forward, all of Eastwood’s films were put through the “Tony Test.”
Griffin has had “Squint” in his mind for 7 or 8 years. The title, “Squint,” is from Griffin’s adage for Eastwood’s serious expression, “The Clint Squint.”
On the more serious side, newcomer Lydia Green’s short film, “Mother’s Dance,” is a prelude to her screenplay, “Silver Ribbons,” which she is currently shopping. “Mother’s Dance” is a tribute to her mother’s death and a celebration of life. The way Green illustrates the love of life is through her passion of dance. It is a 12-minute short that goes through Green’s life as a child to an adult while she reads a poem by her mother.
“I wanted to create a movie where people take a look at themselves and make a choice,” Green explained.
The founder of the Malibu Film Festival, David Katz, is showcasing two of his films this year: “You Ain’t Nothing in This Town Without a Shopping Cart” and “VI.” The two are completely different.
“You ain’t nothing….” pays tribute to Katz’s grandfather, actor Israel Katz, who recently died. It is a love story about two people who were separated and then find each other again.
The darker film, “VI,” tells the story of a serial killer that stalks young girls in Hood River, Ore. The title is in reference to the Sixth Commandment; “Thou shall not kill.”
Katz is very pleased with the films that were chosen for the festival this year.
“We have a very diverse group of films this year,” he said. “We had to turn away over 430 films and it was very painful because I know how hard people work on them. Anyone can turn on a camera. Making a film is about putting all the elements together. It starts with a good script, and then you need to time everything just right.”
The contest entries are judged by an anonymous panel of six judges.The panel consists of a cinematographer, a member of the Director’s Guild and of the Writer’s Guild, a layman, a plumber and a housewife.
“I wanted a dissimilar group of people, people who make films and the people who watch them,” Katz explained.
Katz is confident about the future of the festival.
“The Malibu Film Festival is here to stay. It has been proven by its staying power.”