Spain, Iran, India, Hungary — and Syracuse.

Among the films spanning from locations around the globe for the seventh annual Syracuse International Film Festival, one of the marquee events was a Syracuse-bred production.

The psychological thriller ‘Session,’ which was shot entirely in Syracuse, had its premiere at the Palace Theatre Thursday night, a unique event that brought many of the film’s stars and creative talent together to discuss the picture afterward.

Produced in May 2007, the film couldn’t have been made without the work of Syracuse University film professor Owen Shapiro. The founder and artistic director of the festival, Shapiro produced ‘Session’ and adapted the script to English from the original Hebrew and French.

‘Session’ details the disturbing manner in which psychiatrist Jake Tellman (Steven Bauer) is captivated by one of his patients, the vulnerable Eden (Bar Refaeli). Tellman’s grip on reality becomes increasingly tenuous as his fascination with Eden deepens and threatens to ruin him.

The film could not have been shot anywhere else, Shapiro said. Syracuse was a major inspiration for the film’s aesthetic, chosen for its architectural depth and versatility, he said.

‘Syracuse is a unique place,’ Shapiro said. ‘There are absolutely gorgeous buildings of all kinds, and within Central New York, you’ve got almost any kind of landscape you could possibly want. You could even go to Lake Ontario and find sand dunes, so you could actually create a desert if you want to.

‘Within the Central New York area, you’ve got lots of locations that are fresh, that are new, that haven’t been seen by audiences, and you want to take advantage of that.’

Cinematographer Alan McIntyre Smith was similarly smitten with the city.

‘I enjoyed shooting the downtown area with the Niagara (Mohawk) Building — we used that as much as possible — and some other parts of the downtown area, such as the fountain area by City Hall,’ Smith said.

While the city’s landscape crafted the visual components of the film, Syracuse also crafted a very specific work environment for the cast. ‘Session’ star Bauer viewed some of the city’s least attractive qualities, including the weather, as a means of illuminating his character’s psyche.

‘It was so comfortable being here, as opposed to making believe it’s a location,’ Bauer said. ‘This was where I live and practice. I’m a psychotherapist living in Syracuse and going to the same restaurant for lunch every day and driving the same streets every day. It was very cold when we were shooting — by then it was getting very cold — but the character I play is very mundane. He’s so used to it, waiting for something to pop out of it.’

Now in its seventh year, the film festival stemmed from an idea between Shapiro and his wife, Christine. Seeing what other places had to offer, Christine thought Syracuse should be a part of film festivals as well.

‘We were touring film festivals, and she was really excited about how film festivals were helping the communities they were in,’ Owen said. ‘So she said, ‘Why not do one in Syracuse?”

Despite Christine’s vision for a Syracuse film festival, Owen warned her of the amount of work required to organize such an inherently large event. She remained undaunted.

‘She convinced me,’ Shapiro said. ‘We got the city and the university — the chancellor at the time was Melvin Eggers — to like the idea and agree to it, and that’s how it started.’

Now, seven years later, Christine’s efforts have paid off. During the festival’s development, Owen said the city has benefited from its economic and cultural impact.

‘All I can tell you is that the very first year, in 2004, we had about 2,500 people show up for it altogether,’ Owen said. ‘We’ve now doubled that audience size, so I would assume our economic impact is at least a couple million dollars, if not more.’

This year’s festival concluded Sunday night, with two screenings hosted by Academy Award nominee Ed Harris, capping off a whirlwind five days of star-studded premieres, screenings and workshops.

And while films from around the world visited from the weekend, there was still something special about the film shot in the festival’s backyard.

After his experience with ‘Session,’ the director, Haim Bouzaglo, is not talking about filming his next project in an exotic, foreign location, but in Syracuse. Once again collaborating with Shapiro, Bouzaglo will be working on ‘Hotel Syracuse,’ which was announced this spring.

‘I find it very interesting to shoot in Syracuse,’ Bouzaglo said. ‘In a way, it’s a strange city because it’s not New York City, it’s not The Village. The university, the people here, the kindness of them — all those things together, all of this was very inspiring for me.’

smlittma@syr.edu

Published on October 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm