Fest Coverage

In a Nutshell: Elizabeth Tashjian hijacked Don Bernier. "That was back in early 2001," recalls Bernier. "She just had this tremendous strength of personality. There was absolutely no question that you could do an entire film around her and the museum. It was really this incredible place and her own story was just as compelling."

The Caper Documentary: A Conversation with "Stolen" Director Rebecca Dreyfus: The director was only 19 when she first encountered "The Concert," one of Vermeer's best-loved paintings that had long been a jewel in the eclectic collection of the renowned Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. But on March 18, 1990, perhaps taking advantage of Beantown's post-St. Patrick's Day fog, two thieves disguised as police officers gained entrance to the museum, overpowered the guards, and made off with "The Concert" and 12 other works, including Rembrandt's "The Sea of Galilee." Vermeer, the $300 million robbery and the efforts to retrieve the Gardner's treasures form the subject of Dreyfus' engaging whodunit.

The Century Plaza: The sense of ambivalence is palpable as Eric Lahey grapples with questions about his non-fiction feature The Century Plaza. It's a portrait of a single room occupancy hotel in his native Portland that's closed down since he completed the film.

Cavite: "I don't know that we were thinking this was our stab at commercial filmmaking," says Ian Gamazon." "But I look at the picture now and think it has so many positive hooks. It's a thriller, it's exotic, there's violence and it's about a Muslim."

The Beat My Heart Skipped: When the idea of doing a remake was broached to French writer-director Jacques Audiard, virtually without thinking he blurted out the 1978 noir Fingers by James Toback. It was only later that he was able to stand back and consider why the selection seemed so obvious and immediate. He says that because the original was a genre piece and a latter day B-movie, he did not feel constrained by the story. In fact, there were only two scenes from Toback's movie that he felt compelled to replicate - a piano audition and a fight in a stairwell - and in the latter case he takes the struggle to a different conclusion.

The Grace Lee Project: "It was a little strange that people seemed to be describing the same person," she says. "But despite the fact that all these people were well liked, no one seemed to know what happened to them. It was as if they existed for a short period of time and then disappeared. I started to fantasize about them and spin these strange scenarios in my head. But it was more amusement than obsession. I was curious about what we shared and what made us different."

L.A. Fest, Le Fest, Les Fests: The Los Angeles Film Festival because of its history and current affiliation with Film Independent feels a certain obligation to promote alternative American movies. However, those who produce, market and represent films from outside the mainstream don't have the showcase on as high a priority level. An independent filmmaker looking to sell a movie on the heat of a festival screening wants to be selected by Sundance, Toronto or Cannes. Those events attract people that are looking for new films.