by Pete Petrisko
As executive director of No Festival Required, Steve Weiss has provided an outlet for feature-length documentaries and experimental shorts, shown at various venues (including Modified Arts and Phoenix Art Museum), since 2002.
When FilmBar, an art house cinema and bar, was slated to open in downtown Phoenix, Weiss contacted owner and founder Kelly Aubey about programming for the theater. He was brought aboard in that capacity in time for its February 2011 opening, a role he continued to fulfill until a few days ago.
In his first interview since departing the indie theater as programmer, Weiss reflects on his stint at FilmBar and looks to the future.
AzKaos: As programmer at FilmBar, what would you consider to be some of the highlights during your tenure?
Steve Weiss: It’s incredibly hard to select one versus another, but I think The Red Chapel documentary, which played in the first week, about a Dutch comedy troupe that “punks” the North Koreans in North Korea… Vincent: A Life in Color, the Jennifer Burns film on the flashy dresser and Chicago character Vincent Falk (with Jennifer AND Vincent attending the screenings)… the Takashi Miike samurai film 13 Assassins that I booked from the trailer, sight unseen, and turned out to be much more than I hoped… and at least two films suggested by friends; Marwencol, which might be in my personal Top Ten, and this week’s Some Days Are Better Than Others, which I think successfully redeems the indie narrative film genre from typical angst-ridden dreck.
These come to mind the fastest, but in general all of them were highlights. They certainly were Phoenix highlights, in that without coming across them and having the FilmBar platform for screening, they never would have been seen here. I dug that PBS screened two films I programmed after we’d ran them (Marwencol and Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo).
AzK: You parted company with FilmBar earlier this week. How was this decision reached?
SW: The owner told me he didn’t have the money to pay for a programmer any longer, and that he would save money by doing the programming himself.
AzK: No Festival Required has recently begun screening a free series of BUILDING COMMUNITY CINEMA presentations at various artspaces. What was the inspiration for this series and what do you hope to accomplish through these events?
SW: Reid Butler, the owner of Butler Housing Company and the Roosevelt Commons apartment complex, is a fellow Steering Committee Member of Downtown Voices Coalition, and a personal friend. Reid felt strongly that it would be good for me and my aspirations for No Festival Required to go mobile, so that instead of looking for places to show films, I could conceivably show films anywhere. He and his wife Shawna Leach sponsored the purchase of a HD video projector, PA sound system with mixing board and a large screen to make mobility with quality possible.
This actually occurred a very short time before I got my gig with FilmBar, so I’ve sort of put the project on hold until recently as I got FilmBar up and running.
Reid and Shawna are also sponsoring the Building Community Cinema series. The idea came from Reid and Shawna’s interest in architecture and city issues; affordable housing, gentrification, transportation and other issues are topics we hope to explore. It also is somewhat of a visual declaration of the things a group like Downtown Voices champions; historic preservation, thoughtful development and an interesting and sustainable community.
AzK: Where are upcoming BCC events scheduled?
SW: We have a film at The Clarendon, Tuesday August 28, 7pm, on the Phoenix-based architect Al Beadle, whose mid-century works dot the Phoenix landscape.
The film was made by local director Suzanne Johnson, and she’ll be attending the screening and do a Q and A following the film. She’ll also have the definitive book on Al Beadle’s work, “Constructions”, available for sale.
For the series, which will be six shows in all, the admission will be free because of Reid’s sponsorship, and we are working on other spots and films right now. I wanted to start with places that had a/c and eventually move to a larger space with “bring your own chairs”, like Bragg’s Pie Factory.
AzK: Starting in November, No Festival Required will also be hosting a film series at SMoCA. Can you give us some background on this upcoming series and a hint of what we might expect to see?
SW: SMoCA (Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts) contacted me about a new space they are building to form a “lounge” for lectures, meetings, events, music and the quotient they asked me about, film. The interior is being designed by Janis Leonard, whose local works include Hanny’s, AZ/88 and Six. The film line-up is being developed literally right now. I am finding it a very collaborative experience, which is a great thing.
With continued sponsorship from Woodesign, a company I’ve known for many years and who sponsored shows for me at Phoenix Art Museum and now SMoCA, we plan three screenings - one a month in November, January and February. There will be an effort at some point to seek other sponsors for both the SMoCA shows and the BCC series to continue, as this is how I pay myself and the filmmakers.
AzK: What’s your view of Arizona’s independent film industry - from the filmmakers to cinemas - and what role do you see yourself playing in the foreseeable future?
SW: The arthouse cinema world, and film in general, is undergoing rapid change. By 2013, major distributors and studios will not be shipping film to theaters. They will all have to go digital or only show classics, and even those will be held by the studios as it’s less profitable to print and ship cans of film across the country than to send a digital file. Most will retrofit by 2012, and with so many filmmakers shooting digital anyway, it’s somewhat silly to shoot digital and then get a film print made.
For me right now, having the ability to screen films in high-quality on my own equipment anywhere where there’s power and an audience is very appealing, as well as working with SMoCA and other ventures that support thoughtful provocative cinema. My role will be what it’s always been, to respect and honor the filmmaker’s work with great presentation and payment, and bring quality cinema without the trappings of the festival circuit to an appreciative audience. My own quirky way of programming has found a following everywhere I’ve screened, so I plan to continue as long as I find good films and an appreciative audience.
[ photo (of Steve Weiss) by Rachel Luptak ]
