FILM PROFILE
BY LUCIA MAURO
"I think films are great cultural ambassadors," asserts Charles Coleman, film program director at Facets Multimedia. "These filmmakers are humanists. They de-mystify their culture and help audiences understand the faces behind the issues. So there’s no longer a fear quotient."
It’s easy to understand his tireless efforts at programming culturally diverse independent films. Coleman is standing in Facets’ expanded video store surrounded by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s The Cyclist; German filmmaker Helke Sander’s The All-Round Reduced Personality; and Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto’s documentary of Japanese auteur, Kurosawa: Film Studies and Japanese Cinema.
Film scholars and those who appreciate the intricate artistry and political motivations behind classic independent cinema can immerse themselves in Facets’ vast film terrain. Besides being exposed to rare, one-of-a-kind screenings, patrons can attend seminars and take courses in film aesthetics–along with the option to rent and purchase videotapes and DVDs.
Coleman, who joined Facets six years ago, works closely with Facets’ director Milos Stehlik. Coleman–who attends Cannes, the Toronto Film Festival and various "outlaw" festivals–watches the bulk of films on weekends and reads stacks of cinema-related publications.
"I’m responsible for the programming of films throughout Facets for the Cinematheque and the video theatre," he says. "I look for cultural diversity, certain trends, key filmmakers, restorations and revivals.
"My relationship has to do with my impressions of the significance of a film. I don’t have to worry so much about the commercial value. Every second Wednesday, we have sneak previews before a major release of a film, and the filmmaker is always here. A lot of people don’t know that the series we offer are singular events. These films won’t come back, and they may not go to video."
Since 1975, Facets in Lincoln Park has served as an important media-art exhibition venue where many independent film and video makers–as well as entire cinematic movements, like the new Brazilian or German cinema–are introduced to Chicago audiences. The Facets exhibition program is comprised of three key elements: daily screenings, the "Visiting Filmmakers Program" and classes.
A comprehensive series of daily screenings, totaling more than 1,400 public performances a year, take place in the Facets Film Theater including retrospectives by groundbreaking filmmakers like Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Altman, Eric Rohmer, Nicholas Roeg, Semyon Aronovich, Jean-Charles Tacchella and Martin Holly. The Facets Video Theater is a state-of-the-art facility presenting the work of pioneering videomakers like Michael Almereyda, Sadie Benning, Cheryl Dunye, David Blair, Shelly Silver and Marlon Riggs. And Facets has a long history of serving Illinois artists by providing a venue for filmmakers, including Stephen Roszell, Tom Palazzolo and Dierdre Heaslip.
The Visiting Filmmakers Program consists of seminars and lectures with filmmakers ranging from established artists like Louis Malle and Agnieszka Holland to emerging talent like Andrei Zagdansky and Andreas Schreitmuller.
Facets offers six-week courses in film aesthetics, which Coleman says are geared toward individuals who wish to learn about and discuss films in a user-friendly environment. A main goal is to help participants become more comfortable with the art-house style of filmmaking. Class themes range from examinations of the roles of women in Alfred Hitchcock’s films and film noir, to the emergence of the gay image through Hollywood and independent filmmaking, to the politics of French and Italian cinema.
In addition, Facets works with bringing media literacy to under-served communities through its outreach programs and collaborations with cultural institutions.
Coleman acknowledges that the term "independent film" has been diluted, with many indies now being backed by major Hollywood studios.
"The word 'independent’ grew out of filmmakers who would pursue their craft in arduous circumstances," explains Coleman. "They were committed as artists. But once these films were plundered by Hollywood studios, they started to be used as a launching pad for Hollywood. The definition became broader, especially with The English Patient. So what do we call the real independent filmmakers? Marginal or outsiders."
On this subject, Coleman also points out that Facets does not subscribe to commercial-based decision making. Therefore, he does not regard the latest mega art-house venues–like Landmark’s Century Centre in Lakeview or Evanston’s CineArts 6–as competitors. "They’re looking for films with a more popular edge," he says, "like if Catherine Deneuve is in it."
Coleman also does not see the overwhelming success of Ang Lee’s Academy Award-nominated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as spurring a more mainstream race to movies with sub-titles. "I don’t think it will create any trends," he says. "These kinds of films have been around for a very long time, and one hit commercial art film doesn’t translate to those audiences coming to Facets."
One trend that bothers Coleman is the frenetic attention paid to box office rather than to the value and quality of a film.
"The box office is the focus now," he stresses, "and the media endorses it. That’s the new currency–the whole water-cooler theory. People want to be able to talk with their co-workers about seeing the latest blockbuster film. How much money it makes determines its value, and people feel like they’re part of the 'in’ crowd if they’ve seen that film.
"Plus the media may feature one independent film from a bigger studio and just ignore all the other really great art films from around the world."
He sees France and the Pacific Rim as particularly fertile filmic areas right now–addressing issues of political turmoil and the modern world encroaching on traditional values. Facets serves a specific market and is more of a cinematic educational institution than a standard screening facility. So Coleman does not fear the growth of cineplexes that now replicate the living-room environment, complete with meals and Lazy Boys.
After all, most works shown at Facets aim to shake viewers out of their comfort zones and prompt them to experience a more raw and balanced portrait of the world.
Facets Multi-Media is located at 1517 W. Fullerton, Chicago, Ill. For more information, visit www.facets.org or call 773/281-9075.