Film festival readies its 2022 selections - Key West Florida Weekly

COOPER

The city’s busiest week for films, shorts, and dashes between panels and after-movie parties returns this November.

The Key West Film Festival, one of the few festivals to maintain a presence throughout the pandemic, runs Nov. 16-20 with spotlight features, Florida productions, LGBTQ+ offerings, and even student submissions. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s “Knives Out” murder mystery — “Glass Onion” — will headline the opening night of the festival. While Academy Award winner Frances McDormand produces and stars in the drama “Women Talking,” which closes things out.

This year’s Golden Key Award for Career Excellence goes to Chris Cooper, who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the seminal Florida film, “Adaptation.” To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of the film, Cooper will attend in person and participate in a conversation with David Fear, senior film editor of Rollingstone.com. Prior to the film, the festival also will present the world premiere of the short film “Nuts,” directed by Cooper and starring both him and his wife, Marianne Leone. Susan Orlean, author of the novel “The Wild Orchid,” on which the film was based, will present the award to Cooper via a pre-recorded speech at the Saturday night awards ceremony.

BRATTON

The Golden Key for Breakthrough Filmmaker, recognizing a director whose films will be seen widely in the future — will be given to Elegance Bratton, whose film “The Inspection” will be screened at the festival. “The Inspection,” which will be the closing night film at the New York Film Festival, will be released by A24 later this year. Last year’s inaugural recipient of this award was Clint Bentley, director of “Jockey.”

Michael Tuckman, who heads up the distribution firm mTuckman media, is the festival’s director of programming. In an interview that will appear in an upcoming issue, Tuckman addressed the lure of cinematic experiences and urged the public to see some of these titles in-person instead of waiting for at-home releases.

“Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but if given the choice between seeing a film in a theater or online, I’ll take the theater,” he said. “That’s not to say I won’t consume a lot of great films at home, but something like The Inspection, which we are showing as a spotlight title — that’s a film that derives its power from the tension and intensity it creates on screen. It’s based on the true story of a homeless young gay African American from New York who enlists in the Marines and commits to making it through boot camp. Think about the first 45 minutes of ‘Full Metal Jacket.’ And now think about how much more immersive that experience was in the theater than watching it at home.”

He added that there are the elements of special events and limited availability that are both present in a festival like this one. You technically have one chance to see these films throughout the week.

“That’s something special, as you know that everyone in the theater is experiencing this same film that is only playing this one time together,” he said.

The annual critics panel also returns, but this time in keeping with the subtropical setting, it will take place on a boat. Speakers will include members from Film Comment, Vox.com, Rolling Stone, Variety, IndieWire and the Keys Citizen. As Tuckman remarked in a 2019 interview, “Here’s the thing — you get some raw answers at these. The critics feel very safe and love getting things off their chest.”

There also will be poolside screenings, discussions with directors, and the tradition of making time for karaoke at Bobby’s Monkey Bar. As Tuckman observed, the community of filmmakers and audiences that emerge over the five days is something special.

KWFF takes place Nov. 16-20 at venues throughout Key West. Info: www.KeyWestFF.com. ¦

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