From Bruce Lee to Gogol Bordello, Vermont International Film Festival has 50-plus movies

Now in its 38th year, the Vermont International Film Festival (VTIFF) that starts this week is the first with Steve MacQueen as executive director. The former artistic director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, who more recently served as executive artistic director of Circus Smirkus, takes over from longtime VTIFF leader Orly Yadin. She remains at VTIFF as program director.

The festival starts at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 with “Night of Noir.” The gala evening features a screening of the 1945 film noir “Hangover Square,” a catered reception and a musical performance by the trio Theremin Noir performing the works of film composer Bernard Herrmann, who wrote the score for “Hangover Square.” The event at the University of Vermont Recital Hall is a co-presentation with the UVM Lane Series.

VTIFF concludes at its primary home, the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, with a screening of “Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story” at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29. The documentary about the punk-fueled international group will be followed by a performance by Gogol Bordello’s front man, former Burlington resident Eugene Hutz, as well as band mates.

More than 50 films fill the slate between those opening and closing dates. The Burlington Free Press asked MacQueen by email to select five films (he admits he took some liberties with the number) that he thinks film fans should be sure to catch during the festival’s 10-day run.

“Picking just five films from a slate of 50-plus is agonizing because I am fully aware that I can never pick the right five,” according to MacQueen. “There is no ‘Right Five.’ Given the insane range of these films in everything from geography to subject matter, there’s really only 'This Particular Five That One Picks Almost Randomly at a Given Moment,' so here are mine:”

African films

We take the "international" part of it all pretty seriously, and this year’s festival features five wildly different films from the African continent, from Moroccan sci-fi to Sudanese domestic drama, from Kenyan eco-parable to Congolese witchcraft, but instead I’m highlighting the C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s Nigerian folk tale, “Mami Wata,” in which a water-based matriarchy defends itself against gun-toting patriarchy. This film features some of the most fabulous B&W cinematography I’ve seen, courtesy of Lilis Soares. (2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26)

Heavy documentaries

I love a heavy documentary that ends up being surprisingly inspiring, and we have two this year with Christine Yoo’s “26.2 To Life” and Claire Simon’s “Our Body.” The former is about the running club among inmates at San Quentin prison in California as the men train for the annual November marathon, 26.2 miles through a crowded prison courtyard (more than 100 laps!). These are men grappling with hard-to-imagine fates (life without parole?), and attempting to live a meaningful life in spite of it. Simon’s film looks at the daily operations of a French gynecological hospital and is astounding for its level of access. We witness the most personal, intimate moments of these women’s lives, and follow the path of women’s health from natal to geriatric. Riveting stuff. (“26.2 to Life,” 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24 and 4:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27; “Our Body,” 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25)

A celebration of Victor Nunez

As someone who’s actually from North Florida, I think Victor Nunez is something akin to a genius, a wildly underrated indie/maverick auteur who’s been financing, writing, shooting and editing his own movies (nearly all set in North Florida) for more than 40 years. We’re presenting him with the VTIFF Award for Outstanding Contribution to American Cinema and showing two of his films: the 1993 gem “Ruby in Paradise,” and his brand-new, nearly unseen (I think this will be its fourth showing) film, “Rachel Hendrix,” starring Lori Singer. Victor will be on hand for Q&As for both films, with Lori joining him for “Rachel.” As a smitten fanboy of Victor’s work, this is the stuff of dreams. (“Ruby in Paradise,” 2:45 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29; “Rachel Hendrix,” 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28)

Bruce Lee in the spotlight

While we focus on newer films, we love a cinematic history lesson. For instance, did you know that in 1973, eight different Hong Kong action films topped Variety’s weekly box-office totals, mingling with “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Way We Were”? And while “Deadly China Doll” and “Hammer of God” have their charms, the gold standard is “Enter the Dragon,” the masterpiece that made Bruce Lee a household name a half-century ago, and elevated the Hong Kong action movie to the realm of cultural sensation. Fifty years has done nothing to blunt Lee’s incredible presence – he’s just riveting, a born star. The action sequences (all choreographed by Lee) are still the benchmarks for all movie action, and the Hall of Mirrors finale has never been topped. If you only know Lee from that ridiculous scene in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” come see the real deal in action. (9:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27)

A mossy movie

On the other end of the spectrum – you might almost call it an inaction movie – “Here” moves at its own pace (i.e. slow … real slow), but it works miracles if you can attune yourself to its vibe. In Brussels, a Romanian laborer meets a Chinese doctoral student and, in the words of Manhola Dargis of The New York Times, “Not much happens, except everything does.” VTIFF guarantees that you will leave the theater knowing more about moss than when you entered. (4:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23)

If you go

WHAT: Vermont International Film Festival

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 20-Sunday, Oct. 29

WHERE: Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington

INFORMATION: $6-$12 per film (“Hangover Square”/catered reception/Theremin Noir performance is $61.50 and the official opening night film, "The Taste of Things" at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, is $10-$15); 10-pack of films, $95; single festival pass, $150; dual festival pass, $250. www.vtiff.org

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont International Film Festival offers film noir, Bruce Lee, more