The Art of Commitment: Cinematic Portraits

MAN OF CINEMA: PIERRE RISSIENT (Todd McCarthy, USA) [pictured]

A man whose passionate support for the movies spans decades and continents, Pierre Rissient is someone I have admired from afar since I learned about his work in the early days of my own cinephilia. While flashbulbs pop and red carpets get flooded with famous faces at the Cannes, Rissient has always struck me as the heart and soul of the festival; The man simply adores the art of film and has spent his life nurturing artists and their works on the international stage. I have never met the man himself, but I am very much looking forward to seeing Todd McCarthy's film and uncovering some of the history (and the stories, which must be legion) about Mr. Rissient and his work.

GLASS: A PORTRAIT OF PHILIP IN TWELVE PARTS (Scott Hicks, Australia)
I have been a huge admirer of Philip Glass' music since I picked up a vinyl copy of his album Glassworks back in junior high school. That record opened up a lot of modern music for me, and since I have moved to Brooklyn, I have been fortunate enough to catch a few of Mr. Glass' live performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, including a live performance of his score for Tod Browning's Dracula and his 3D film-and-performance project with Robert Wilson Monsters Of Grace. I am very intrigued to see this portrait of the man himself and hopefully to discover more about the incredible diversity of Mr. Glass' work.

TERROR'S ADVOCATE (L'AVOCAT DE LA TERREUR) (Barbet Schroeder, France)
One of the most difficult important issues facing Western Civilization right now is the deep test that terrorism and globalization present to our commitment to our democratic values; It is a test we seem to be failing. In reading some of the advance press on Barbet Schroeder's TERROR'S ADVOCATE, what strikes me as bizarre is this notion that somehow Jacques Vergès, a lawyer dedicated to preserving due process for an unsavory assortment of dictators, criminals and terrorists, can be equated with his clients because he wants to uphold the rule of law, even for those who commit the most awful of crimes. The philosophical wrangle between our commitment to due process and our desire to see bad deeds punished seems to be at the heart of Mr. Schroeder's film and I am excited to see how the film handles this complicated issue.