54 - Friday, June 14, 1985 - Nort Shore News Film festival Scheins AT LEAST 62,000 people would agrec that the Vancouver Film Festival has a bright future. By COLIN LAMONT That's the number of people who turned vut for the Fourth Annual Film Fes- tival from May 10 to June & It’s also the magic number for festival director Leonard Schein, who needed 60,000 people to break even this year. “We spent from $275,000 to $300,000 for film rentals and transportation this year, we will recoup that plus a possible profit,’’ said Schein. The festival director ap- pears relieved that Van- couver film buffs turned out in sufficient number, if only for the fact that next year, in conjunction with the Expo celebrations, he plans to take the fledgling festival from 180 films in 1985 into the big leagues in 1986 with an of- fering of 500 films. Schein, who has nursed the festival from its humble beginnings four yezrs ago with 17,000 people for 40 films to 30,000 people for 66 films to 44,000 people for 80 films last year, plans to jump from three theatres in 1985 up to 10 theatres for the 1986 show. Considering Vancouver has a population of [.4 million, does S00 films in 10 theatres for 1986 sound a tri- LEONARD SCHEIN .- director relieved fle on the well, grandscale? ‘‘Maybe, but you have to consider that the government expects 11 million people in five and a half months for Expo, that means we couid have an extra 2 million peo- ple for the festival,"* explain- A fun flic NOONE makes a flick about flics like the French. By COLIN LAMO Any number of French filmmakers have turned a camera on the venerable French cop (Le flic), por- traying him as a bungling buffoon or a_ hard-nosed narc, out to make a bust. It’s a pleasure to find a film that looks at the gen- darmerie with both wit and sympathy. My New Partner by French director Claude Zidi " has struck more than just the funny bone with its close-up look at the perils of a Paris police team out to make a buck on the beat. Director Zidi makes -it impossible to’ keep a straight face while watching his latest movie but never lets you forget that the characters are human beings, each with his own strengths and weaknesses. Winner of three French academy awards including best picture and best direc- tor, My New Partner played to rave reviews at the Van- couver Film Festival and is now making the rounds of the commercial theatres in Vancouver. It's the story of a mid- dle-aged, overweight cop called Rene (Philippe Noiret), and his battle to corrupt his new clean-shaven strictly-by-the-book partner Francois (Thierry Lher- NOW SERVING ‘sy « Breakfast” ¢ Lunch * Eat in, Take Out Try our homemade salads, * European cold cuts & 4 cheese to go or our owt pasta Sauces CATERING SERVICE { 319 Mountain Hwy, NV mitte). Rene is a cynical veteran of the force, content with his horse gambling, petty bribe-taking and not above a_ bit of larceny. When his old partner takes a rap for him and ends up in jail, Rene finds himself teamed up with a fresh-faced rookie right out of the academy who is aghast at the senior officer’s nor-halant manner of overlooking street punks who purse snatch for aliving, but never forget to pick up a free meal or ed Schein. “Tt is a lot of films and I know that this year some people felt frustrated because they felt that 180 films was a fot more than they could see but next year we may go from five to six weeks and will repeat more popular films.” This year’s film offerings included a category ranging from dramas to comedies to documentaries, with a good smattering of guest ap- pearances by directors and actors introducing their own features. Guest appearances by Scottish film director Bill Forsyth and English actor Michael York packed the Ridge Theatre’s 850 seats. Films like U.S. made Birdy and French made My Silent Partner proved so popular that they moved from the festival theatres into com- mercial! theatres where au- diences have given them a warm welcome. But the fes- tival had its share of disap- pointments for its director this year. A guest appearance by U.S. actress Marsha Mason drew cnly 275 persons to a screening of her latest film Surviving. Directors like An- thony Harvey, Martin Rosen and actors Harry Dean Stan- flick gamble ona hot pony tip. Rene’s new partner drives him crazy with his honesty and straight-laced manners. Francois insists on paying for cafe meals, arresting purse snatchers and general- ly making a nuisance of himself. The streetwise, older cop devises a plan to corrupt him, with the help of a beautiful blond hocker called Natasha. Natasha takes Francois out on the town and sucks every cent out of his savings See Partners Page 55 -RENT—MOTORHOME ‘e) $750 Adults O0O000ONDNCONOCOOO C00 00 Coo0O00000C0O0000 Take Dad to BRUNCH 1lam-3pm Scrambied Eggs & Hash Browns Bacon & Sausage Watfles & Toast Fresh Fruit & Juices Six Different Salads European Style Cold Cuts Croissants, Danish, Twists A Selection of Cheeses HIP OF BEEF “each week one additional item” Under 5 Free Reservations Accepted Coach House Inn 700 Lillooet Rd., N. Vancouver 9000000000000 $350 Children 5-12 985-3711 Fone memoneomememeomeneomoleolenemenene\® ton and Nick Mancuso cancelled planned ap- pearances. However, actress Renee Soutendijk, and directors Greta Schuller and Waris Hussein were added to the list of guests once the festi- val was underway. Political documentaries on Nicaragua were sot well received but the El Salvador film in The Name Of The Peaple was. “In each country catego- ty, we had films that were popular and films that were not,”’ said Schein. ‘‘The fes- tival was a mixed bag with films for everyone's taste, which is the idea.’ This year’s festival had funding of only $10,000 from Telefilm Canada. Schein himself put up $40,000 of his own money. in the form of Canada Savings Bonds for a security bond. Next year, the festival director is hoping for grants from the federal, provincial and city government bodies. He will begin writing grant applications next month. The 1986 budget is expected to climb from $300,000 to $500,000. 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