LVHIFF Report: Politics, Identity and Otherwise

"Conventioneers" director Mora Stephens at a Q&A session last night

Saw two excellent films last night. The first, "Conventioneers," featured amazing real-life footage of the massive protests surrounding the 2004 Republican National Convention in NYC as well as footage inside the RNC itself at Madison Square Garden. This footage was deftly shot and seamlessly blended with the fictional part of the film, a bipartisan love affair. When asked how they managed to get inside Madison Square Garden to capture Bush's speech, Mora Stephens, the director, was coy in answering, saying only "that's a bit of a mystery." Producer Joel Viertel was also in attendance.

Next up was "The Grace Lee Project," directed by--you guessed it--Grace Lee. The film uses a single common Asian American name as a window through which to explore what it means to be an Asian woman in America. The subjects interviewed in the the film were all intriguing personalities, including former Black Panther and still-active Detroit community activist Grace Lee Boggs, former Hawaii KGMB news reporter Grace Lee, a Korean adoptee whose Jewish American parents abused her, and a high school girl who tried to burn down her school. The film was touching and funny. Grace Lee the director was present, along with producer In-Ah Lee. At the Q&A session, the director mentioned that the film will have a run at NYC's Film Forum soon.

>> 2005 LVHIFF Photo Album

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