From Torino to Brooklyn comes BIFF Director Marco Ursino

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Interviews

Published on Thursday, 03 June 2010 01:40

Written by Lise Millay Stevens

The Brooklyn International Film Festival (June 4 to 13, 2010) was established in 1998 as the first international competitive film festival in New York City. Ever since, its goal has been to connect filmmakers with distribution companies and to give first- or second-time filmmakers exposure to the public and the media. No films are accepted that already have a U.S. distributor.

As Executive Director Marco Ursino explained, year one was a three-day affair that only attracted 150 submissions. Recalling his path to BIFF, the Torino, Italy native talked about his early dreams of being a filmmaker, which were felled by industry nepotism; none of his family was involved.

In 1988 he came to New York on a supposed vacation, not speaking a word of English, and found himself living in the then-Williamsburg of cheap rents, warehouse artists and filmmakers. The film he ended up making “went nowhere,” he said, but he conceived of the Festival to promote it and the work of other Brooklyn filmmakers. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ursino spoke about about independent film, Brooklyn and the Festival, then and now.

Q: I must of course ask—why Stunt as the theme of this year's festival?

MU:  We live in the times of political, social and economic stunts. Filmmaking is a stunt. The festival itself is a stunt: a rehearsed, organized move with a percentage of risk. More and more we are moving towards films that are controlled by sponsors, by the people with the money. But independent film is one of the best checks on that trend. The works are...a collaboration between the filmmaker and community and friends, a labor of love.
 

Q: Which films were you particularly proud to include?

MU: Gabi on the Roof in July, The Prospects, Ten Stories Tall. Why? Because they are local films that can compete with our international lineup; they have a very specific and unique flavor.
  


Q: Iraqi filmmaker Jafar Panahi was supposed to be a Cannes jurist, but was detained prior to the festival for his film work and political views. Do you specifically seek films from filmmakers whose countries censure their art?

MU: Touching upon the most controversial issues of the year has always been our trademark and drive. We like very much to bring forward political topics, to give those filmmakers a voice in the festival.

Q: Obviously the economy has impacted many businesses, especially the arts, but what are the particular challenges for film festivals in 2010? How do you attract crowds?

MU: I don't know if I would start a film festival in 2010, but for a 13-year fest like ours, it has been a great year so far at all levels. Great movies, strong sponsors, competent staff, a truly reliable team of volunteers and more general interest than ever before.
 


Q: Although there has been a lot of gloom and doom about where the industry is going, box office sales are consistently higher than revenue from pay-per-view and DVD movies. Can anything replace sitting in the dark with strangers in the cavernous darkness, the big screen experience?

MU: I still believe in the magic of a dark room shared with friends or strangers. And I like the big screen (if the projection is at its best) together with a real sound system to enhance the experience.
 
Q: There is a paucity of celebrities at the festival. Is this deliberate or just a lack of involvement from locals such as Gabriel Byrne, Paul Giamatti, or Steve Buscemi?

MU: No, we welcome anyone and everyone to come to the Festival, but we don’t want it to be a Tribeca. We want the unknowns, the filmmakers, to speak and hold the discussions. Funny you mention though -- David Byrne was first celebrity who attended our Festival, in 1998.

Q: How do you compare the Festival and Williamsburg in their early days with the crazy boom that has gone on in Brooklyn over the past few years?

MU:  What we envisioned years ago was to draw attention to Brooklyn as a center for the arts, and through filmmaking, to create a clear stamp of what living in Brooklyn is. It has a real identity, a freshness. There was a moment when it came for cheap and was full of painters, sculptors, film people.

Q: Does that mean you’ll have to start looking in other non-hipster neighborhoods for the next wave of filmmakers?

MU: Yes, maybe we did too good of a job promoting the arts in Brooklyn. (Williamsburg's) Kent Avenue looks like Miami Beach now. But you can’t stop progress. And with the economy, some people have actually been crossing back over the river for cheaper rents, so who knows? Maybe we’ll be looking for the next wave in Bushwick.

Q: Speaking of Kent Avenue, why was indieScreen added as a Festival venue?

MU: indieScreen will eventually become the permanent home of BIFF; it was built with that intention. The Festival was originally held in Williamsburg and was the Williamsburg/Brooklyn Film Festival. We want to appeal to two distinct populations: the younger art crowd that hangs in the area and the more mixed crowd in Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens.

But as I said, BIFF was born in Williamsburg, and we had our first three years of the Festival here. I say here because our offices were and still are in Williamsburg. We love the crowd.


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