Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
David Roach Digresses on Film by Doniphan Blair
David Roach, the director for Oakland's International Film Festival since its inception 16 years ago. photo: courtesy D. Blair
"THE OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM
Festival was bigger and better and more consolidated this year,” its director David Roach, told me by phone, one month after the 16th annual festival (April 4-8) and his catching up on some sleep.
“I would say the films this year were in alignment with what we are trying to do: show the power of collective action. We showed 'Acha Acha, Cucaracha’, a film by Mario Piazza.” Originally from New York, Piazza lives in Argentina and his film covers a rebellious artist collective there in the 1970s.
“We also showed ‘My People are Rising’, a biography of a Black Panther—Aaron Dixon, out of Seattle—by Rafael Flores." An Oakland resident and cineSOURCE contributor (see Towards a Rasquache Cinema), Flores's film is an insightful, artistic documentary about the defense captain of the first Panther chapter outside California.
“We did a free screening of ‘Acha Acha, Cucaracha’ for the city," Roach continued. "But there was so much rain—the first or second most rainy day in Oakland history—which prevented some turnout. We got some because we had a series of panel discussions, which started earlier.”
“It was very hazardous to drive that evening—you know, shit happens,” Roach said, laughing lightly, in his soft-touch style.
“We were screening a lot at Jack London,” the Regal Cinema Jack London 9 around the corner from the famous jazz club Yoshi’s. “That was part of our vision. We attempted to get this empty space across the street from the Jack London Theater. We got the insurance but it was affected by the rain so we moved everyone to Lungomare,” an Italian restaurant nearby.
“We are preparing to do even more there next year, since that is what brings the international appeal. People enjoy the scene there: the water, the restaurants, having meetings nearby.”
“One of the feature films this year that had a lot of buzz was ‘Lasso’ [directed by Evan Cecil], a horror film shot in Oakland. ‘Lasso’ had a pretty big budget.”
“’Pretty Ass White Girl’ [by John Eddins] was a short people really wanted to see again," Roach added. A button-pusher about interracial queer love, "It was a little like Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’. They even had a band, which showed up and played a screening.”
“’Kings’, about a black police officer in Oakland witnessing unethical things, was really well done—had a big name actress.”
“Filmmakers love to see their films on the big screens,” enthused Roach. “It is really about the filmmakers, to see them enjoy their film being seen, to hear their stories, to know them.”
“Some films were really powerful. Often times they may not attract an audience, as we saw in this film from Burkina Faso ['Burkinabe Rising', by Iara Lee], also about activist artists.”
Roach (cntr), receives a National Community Award from the Morehouse Alumni Association. photo: courtesy D. Roach
“We attempted to show ‘Sorry to Bother You’, with Boots [Riley, the director] coming from Oakland and all. “Boots is a very down-to-earth guy and has a diverse group of friends.”
"But it was funded through Sundance and, once it showed there, the next place would naturally be the San Francisco International Film Festival.” Indeed, that's where it premiered, simultaneously at Oakland's Grand Lake and San Francisco’s Castro Theater, a week after the Oakland International, with Roach in attendance.
“It was really fun to watch. My take: it was like a modern day ‘Which Way is Up’ ['72], which had a screenplay co-authored by Cecil Brown, who is from Berkeley, and who was at the screening. It starred Richard Pryor, who plays three different roles. The more white he becomes, the more success he gets but the more he loses his friends.”
“’Sorry to Bother’ had good character development in the first half. It looked really good; it moved well, the dialogue, the direction of the camera—everything! It was really well done.”
“It gives you this feeling that ‘Where you are is the best!’ because he ends up back in his old garage. It has been done before but it says what is valuable: Love is the key!”
“I went to the after party at the New Parrish [Club in Oakland]. I met some SFIFF volunteers who live in Oakland, people interested in being in or producing indies. I met quite a few actors. There is lot of energy that can go back and forth—we are also going to host [OIFF] events in San Francisco.”
And how about the emerging indie film scene in Oakland?
Roach plays with the dog in front of the hut once occupied by one of Oakland's first screen writers: Jack London. photo: D. Blair
“You know that picture of smaller fish being eaten by the bigger fish. [The film business] starts with the film buyers, then it goes to smaller distributors, then to producers and directors and some of the talent.”
“Typically, when you go to Sundance, there are different types of parties. The general film goers goes to regular parties: $20-30 to get in—great for people who like to party. Execs don’t do those parties—they go places where they have food and drink.”
“To really have an Oakland film scene, it would have to cater to those folks. And you have to let people know ahead of time because people gravitate to their needs. Filmmakers will come to our festival if they know there are distributors here. As of now, there is no ‘Black Hollywood’ here.”
And the gentrification of Oakland?
“It has had no effect on our festival. We are an international festival. We had submissions from 30-plus nations. And we are hoping the stories from Oakland can attract viewers elsewhere."
"Years ago we showed ‘Promises’ about Palestine and Israel. It was amazing to see an audience that was mostly Jewish and Palestinian have a civil Q&A after. This year [it was similar for the film about] Tully Lake, the concentration camps for Japanese—the audience was mostly Japanese-American."
“Oakland is an extremely multicultural place. We have always had a very mixed crowd. We've had films on Cambodians or Native Americans. You don’t know how diverse Oakland is until you have a film that touches those populations. We usually try to have that film next to a black film or a Russian-language film, so you see something different than your experience.”
“You have a film about a Black Panther but next to it a film about Argentina. When each group comes to see their movie, they are also learning about other cultures. We don’t want to just preach to the choir, we want people to experience something outside their circle.”
“When I think of gentrification I think not only of race but economy. I think that, for the most part, our festival is growing every year but not because richer people are coming to Oakland. Our tickets are very cheap: $15.”
And the other big Oakland films this season?
“Haven’t seen ‘Black Panther.’ I may be the only person in the world who hasn’t. After the festival, I headed out to the country for a couple a weeks. When you see all these films you don’t want to see movies for a minute.’
So it goes in the annual work cycle of David Roach and his dedicated team of supporters and volunteers in the brief lull after the storm and before they start prepping for 2019!
Doniphan Blair is a writer, film magazine publisher, designer, musician and filmmaker ('Our Holocaust Vacation'), who can be reached . Posted on May 11, 2018 - 12:59 AM