Only in the midst of a film festival could a Syracuse resident walk around the outside of a theater to find four-time Academy Award-nominated actor Ed Harris leaned against the wall, introducing himself for a friendly conversation.

 

As the final end credits scrolled off-screen, the seventh annual Syracuse International Film Festival concluded Sunday night. Almost a week after the festival, the thrill of discovering and seeing films from all over the world still lingers. The Syracuse film festival should not be taken for granted, and not just because it injects some increased economic activity in the city across a five-day period.

Critics, such as Roger Ebert, have suggested that one should try to see three or four films a day when attending a film festival. In Syracuse, fulfilling that unofficial requirement can be an indelible pleasure, venturing from Watson Auditorium on the Syracuse University campus to the cozy Red House Arts Center to the somberly majestic Palace Theatre, where most of the marquee events were held.

This festival kicked off on a light note Oct. 13 with a screening of ‘Pizza with Bullets’ at the Palace Theatre, which actor Vincent Pastore (‘The Sopranos’) attended. On Friday night, the Palace Theatre hosted a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Lodger’ (1927), for which American saxophonist Javon Jackson performed a new score. Saturday night saw the premiere of the riveting Syracuse-shot thriller ‘Session,’ starring Israeli model Bar Refaeli and Cuban-American actor Steven Bauer.

 

The festival ended late Sunday night after Harris presented one of his most recent films, ‘Touching Home,’ and a new print of ‘Pollock’ (2000), the film that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Of the many great works shown at the festival, the finest was arguably Robert M. Young’s ‘Human Error,’ a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. Boasting a refreshingly theatrical script and a slew of great performances, ‘Human Error’ deserves a great deal more recognition than it has received. The film’s stars, Xander Berkeley, Robert Knott and Tom Bower, joined Young to discuss the film afterward in an engrossing Q-and-A session, asking members of the audience for suggestions as to how they could reach a wider audience.

 

Among the exciting events, Harris’ appearance on Sunday night was a true gem of the festival. One of the most respected and accomplished actors of today, Harris was very modest in presenting and discussing ‘Touching Home,’ often deferring to his much younger directors, twins Logan and Noah Miller. Harris is phenomenal in the true story film, owning the fairly challenging role of the Miller twins’ alcoholic, self-destructive father. A performer who takes his art quite seriously, there isn’t a better guy to speak to outside of a theater on a cold Syracuse night.

The excitement of screenings is amplified by the notion that the films the audience is watching may never screen for a large crowd again, because many films aren’t picked up by big-time distributors. Acclaimed filmmakers and performers gather to discuss their work and are generally very receptive to questions from members of the audience.

A film festival is arguably the most exciting cultural event in today’s art scene. Literary festivals have, unfortunately, lost a great deal of popularity, and music festivals function more or less as prolonged concerts. Film festivals are unique in their ability to attract large crowds that are eager to engage with and experience something new.

smlittma@syr.edu