[Love is All, starring Carice van Houten, will make its debut this week at Miami's Romance in a Can Film Festival]
By Terry Keefe
Every city seems to have a film festival, or two, these days. But the idea of a theme festival built around the concept of romance is a fresh one, particularly when it’s also a showcase for a great selection of new European films. And it’s also in Miami? Sign me up. We recently had a chance to speak with Isabelle Landman, producer and creator of the Romance in a Can Film Festival, which begins tomorrow, February 6th, and runs until the 15th , in and around the Miami area. Says Landman of her inspiration for creating the Festival, “For years, I had the idea of a film festival with films which didn’t contain violence, and I also wanted to bring European films to the United States…so I combined the two ideas.” And, as might be expected, the home port of the Festival was also a bit of a muse in the festival’s origins. Continues Landman, “We wanted to create this theme festival in Miami, because it’s such a romantic city, and I believe this is the perfect home for this festival. It’s a very diverse city.”
Anyone who has ever fallen in love with someone from another country can attest that many things about love are universal, and some…are a little more specific to a particular region. But the program of Romance in a Can covers some 14 countries, so there will likely be something for everyone. “Obviously, what love means can be different in each culture, so we have a very diverse program,” Landman explains. Approximately 20 first-run foreign features will make their American debuts at the Festival, including films from the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Poland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Russia, Estonia, and Finland. Some of the Festival highlights include the premiere of the film Love is All, from the Netherlands, which stars Carice van Houten (Black Book) and who will be in attendance; Forever, from Italy, which stars Giancarlo Giannini (Quantum of Solace); and a tribute to the late, legendary Polish film director Krzysztof Kieślowski, including screenings of his famed “Three Colors Trilogy” of Red, Blue, and White.
The 10-day Festival is being presented by Eurocinema, the only cable company in America specializing in Video-On-Demand for European films and a trailblazer in exploring the new distribution opportunities provided by VOD. (We actually spoke with Larry Namer, Eurocinema’s senior advisor and head of operations, last year and that interview can be found here.) Sebastien Perioche, chairman and CEO of Eurocinema, will also be in attendance at the Festival. Eurocinema is now available in some 20 million American and Canadian households.
Another goal of the Festival is to nurture young filmmakers, so that there will be a new crop of directors to make romance films in the future. Towards that end, the Festival is sponsoring the Mobile Short Film Competition, in which European film students, as well as those from local high schools, are encouraged to upload to the Festival short films about romance. (A link to the upload page and more information is here.) Eurocinema will also buy the winning short film for its TV channel. Filmmaker David Frankel will head up the jury for the Short Film Competition. Frankel himself has a filmmaking history which ties in well with the themes of the Festival, as he directed the romantic comedy feature film Miami Rhapsody, which starred Sara Jessica Parker and Carla Gugino, back in 1995.
The French-born Landman has a background as a screenwriter and came to Miami 8 years ago. “I became an American just in time to vote for Obama,” she says with a chuckle, but proudly. As for the future of the Festival, Landman sees it growing larger and anticipates a partnership with a major European film festival as well. She elaborates, “We would like to expand our film market. I would like more European films to come to the U.S. and I’m proud that my festival is a platform for European films. We hope to have 40-50 films in the future.” And the partnership with Eurocinema will also continue to play a major role, giving select films debuting at the Festival a much longer distribution life via the channel’s popular VOD service. Says Landman, “We truly welcome our partnership with Eurocinema because it offers a unique platform for these films. Not only will these films be making their U.S. premieres, but they will also have the potential of reaching a vastly expanded audience through wider release on the Eurocinema channel.”
The Romance in a Can Film Festival runs from February 6-15th. For the schedule of events, you can visit their website at http://www.romanceinacan.com/
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