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A red carpet was rolled down the center walkway of Redhouse Arts Center on Friday for the 20th annual Syracuse International Film Festival. The venue’s theaters hosted a variety of short films, features, panel discussions and guest appearances. Notable titles like “Aurora’s Sunrise,” Armenia’s entry to this year’s Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, were featured, and a “Made in New York” showcase brought locally-made projects to big screens.

Derek Walter, a volunteer at the festival, said events like SIFF give the upstate New York arts community an opportunity to expand their networks, support local creators and have their work seen.

“It’s just important to bring everybody together, it’s important to share experiences,” Walter said. “And trying to make it a more welcoming environment in New York State.”

At the festival’s entrance, visitors were greeted with poster artwork designed by Laurence Gartel, one of the founding members of the digital art movement. Gartel’s work has been featured in advertising campaigns for brands like Absolut Vodka and Coca-Cola and in gallery exhibitions across the world.

Gartel attended the festival and said that his poster design, which features the looming face of a woman superimposed on a smaller face in a digital bricolage, reflected the tension between one’s inner and outer personas.

​​”It’s about film, art, music, fashion, it has all the different elements in it,” Gartel said. “And we all have a little alter-ego. That’s why there’s two people.”

The first full day of the festival ran from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. after a kickoff screening at The Tasting Room on Thursday night. This year’s ceremony honors Bob Herz of LaFayette, NY. Some screenings were followed by Q&A panels with members of the production team behind the projects, moderated by the festival’s director, Michelle DiBernardo.

Laurence Gartel (left), festival director Michelle DiBernardo and co-founder Owen Shapiro speak on the red carpet outside the screening rooms at the Syracuse International Film Festival. The three helped bring a really fun and creative atmosphere to the festival.
Maxine Brackbill | Photo Editor

On the panel following the “Made in New York” showcase, Albany-based filmmaker Chris Gaunt spoke about the value of having a tight-knit community of professionals in upstate New York to support one another’s projects.

“Once you develop a relationship with those folks, you want to work with them again, particularly if it goes really well,” Gaunt said. “If you gel on set, it’s good camaraderie. I believe in positivity on set, inclusiveness, collaboration, and all working toward the goal of bringing this idea to life on film.”

Gaunt represented three projects at the festival: the historical drama “Laurina,” a science-fiction film called “LifeQuest” and the first part of a planned television series called “The Fledgling.” All three were shot in Albany and the surrounding area. He said that being a filmmaker in Albany is possible because of initiatives like 518 Film Network, a collective of film professionals in the Albany region who collaborate and share resources with one another.

“It’s benefited my projects by me being able to have people that I can work with on a very regular basis, without having to search, going to New York City or going outside of the 518,” Gaunt said. “People I like and trust, that work hard and deliver.”

Filmmaker Lauren Bullock appeared on the panel alongside Gaunt. Her short film “Tough Love,” which she plans to eventually build out into a series, was screened at the festival. Bullock recently moved to central New York to work at the Rochester Institute of Technology after teaching at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut for 16 years.

Bullock said that, as both a filmmaker and teacher, it helps to have students who she can bounce creative ideas off of.

“One of my greatest rewards of teaching is what the students give to me, and every time I teach them something, I’ve learned something new about myself,” Bullock said.

Also in attendance was retired stand-up comedian Lisa Lampanelli, who gave an hour-long Q&A at the end of the night. Lampanelli, a Syracuse University alumna, spoke about her time as a student, the experience of playing a sold-out show at Radio City Music Hall and her favorite things about mentoring new stand-up comics.

The festival will continue on Saturday with a special event at Mohegan Manor in Baldwinsville, where actor Alec Baldwin will be presented with this year’s Sophia Award. His brother Daniel Baldwin is a past recipient of the award, which is given for achievement in independent cinema. Baldwin’s nephew Jonathan Baldwin starred in one of the films at this year’s festival, Bullock’s “Tough Love.” Festival events will continue next week from Oct. 4 to 7.

Paul Tracy, a Rochester-based filmmaker and friend of Bullock, attended the festival to support “Tough Love” and hopes to submit his own work next year. After doing corporate and commercial film work for over three decades, he decided to open a new venture, Westwood Studios, for narrative production. For upstate creatives like him and many others, SIFF is an important part of realizing that goal.

“Michelle puts together quite a great atmosphere,” Tracy said. “This was really entertaining. She’s involved. I enjoyed the environment. I enjoyed the different stages and theaters that we get to see things on and the Q&A sessions. Really, really great.”

Published on September 30, 2023 at 3:34 pm