AFI Fest 2006: A Vanguard’s Journey with Festivals Director Christian Gaines

20 Years On

Following five years as the American Film Institute's Festivals Director, Christian Gaines admits, "When I first arrived at AFI, I found it odd that the AFI, a gatekeeper of all things to do with American film, should host an international film festival. I get it now. As representatives to America's film community, we have the opportunity to host and celebrate the international film community right here in the center of the film world."

In celebrating 20 years, the AFI Fest is going back 35 years to honor the festival that preceded it, Filmex, founded in a world pre- video and cable television, where the filmic fare would have been almost impossible to see anywhere else. "The very first film at the very first Filmex was Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show, which screened at the [Grauman] Chinese Theatre on November 4, 1971. Peter is coming to the festival this year, not just to introduce that film as the very first film in our 24-hour movie marathon, but also to do his rarely-seen one-man show, Sacred Monsters, in which he recounts his life playing with, working with and interviewing some of the Hollywood greats like Orson Welles, Cary Grant and Howard Hawks."

To invigorate the inaugural AFI Fest movie marathon (a prior tradition of Filmex), the organizers have built a sponsorship program so that family and friends of festivalgoer can sponsor solid movie-watching efforts. The money raised goes to the Global Fund, a charity dedicated to fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries. Gaines relates, "We thought that appropriate for an international festival. Also, about seven of the ten original organizers of Filmex, including Gary Essert and Gary Abraham, are no longer around, because of the [AIDS] virus."

A Cohesive Cinematic Community

While Gaines notes the importance of festivals, for now, being "communal celebration of films," he feels a need to address the ability of new distribution platforms for delivering festival-type content. "I applaud the essential accessibility that new distribution platforms provide," Gaines proceeds, "but all of those conveniences invite a compromised experience in some way or another. One of the things that's great about movie-going is that you're creating a safe place for a film to be seen in the best possible circumstances without interruption - and that's a true compliment to the filmmaker."

"As a festival, we are trying to be a festival of record, to serve as a snapshot of what's going on in international cinema at this particular period of time. We've tended to always organize our showcases on a geographical basis: Latin Cinema, Asian Classics, European Showcase; and this year we're launching African Voices.

With the initiation of AFI PROJECT: 20/20, which is backed by several federal institutions - including the U.S. Department of State, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities - United States domestic filmmakers are introduced to their international counterparts at AFI and enabled to continue to encounter each other all over the world throughout 2007. "It's really a great opportunity for filmmakers to be able to learn from each other and foster cross-cultural understanding, to tackle issues of cultural awareness and then, most importantly, to challenge the stereotypes that separate us," marks Gaines. "Within the AFI PROJECT: 20/20 program, you'll see films that deal specifically with human rights, the plight of women (particularly in developing countries), immigration and assimilation, and other issues dealing with this crazy Diasporic world that we live in, where borders are melting away."

The American Film Market

"For our filmmakers to have a pass to a market that does $800 million in deals and hosts film execs from 80 different countries is incredible..." says Gaines. "And whether their sales agent is actively selling at the market or whether they're young filmmakers just going to check out what a market is, we provide them with not just the badge but with considerable orientation to really get them going."

"Take the Journey" - the motto of the 2006 AFI Fest

"There's nothing I like more than experiencing culture shock, and the world has become a place, unfortunately, where people are holed up more, where they're more isolated," shares Gaines. "The great thing about a film festival is that it allows you a window on other cultures, and that's what it's really about; it's about taking the journey to countries around the world, taking the journey back with us through 35 years of AFI Fest and Filmex, and, y'know, taking the journey between Santa Monica and Hollywood. It's really a state of mind that we're trying to convey."