Diversity was the name of the game when organizers went about choosing the films to screen at this weekend's Newburyport Documentary Film Festival.
And the eclectic ensemble of 16 full-length and short documentaries from filmmakers around the world will certainly deliver. From comedic, yodeling, lesbian twin sisters to a reporter's midlife crisis to reunite his favorite band The Kinks, this year's festival, which plays tomorrow through Sunday, seems to promise something for everyone.
"We want it to be as diverse as possible," festival coordinator Michelle Fino said. "There are just so many documentaries out there, and this is a chance for them to stand on their own."
Fino said Newburyport is the perfect place to hold the festival, which is now in its seventh year.
"We have a smart audience and great volunteers here," she said. "It's a great venue for almost any event."
Local film editor Alison Elwood, who rents a house on Plum Island, could not agree more. She said places like the Screening Room in downtown Newburyport, which showcases independent films, are great because they add to the unique atmosphere that made her fall in love with the area. The Screening Room, as well as the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Market Square, will serve as venues for the weekend festival hosted by the Newburyport Film Society.
"It's just a magical place," Elwood said of Newburyport. "There are a lot of artists in the area, and it's just such a great town."
Elwood, who has worked on documentaries like "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," will be hosting a screening of her recent documentary made for the Sundance Film Festival, "The Human Behavior Experiment," on Saturday. Following the screening, there will be a question-and-answer session and discussion on film and editing, led by filmmaker Susan Grey.
"It's thought-provoking and a bit disturbing," Elwood said of her film. "It will be interesting to see how people react."
"Do It Again," one man's frantic midlife crisis that has him obsessed with trying to reunite the 1960s British band The Kinks, will be the festival's featured presentation Saturday night at the Firehouse Center.
In the film, director Robert Patton-Spruill follows his old high school buddy, Geoff Edgers, now a reporter for The Boston Globe, on his quest.
"People will either love it or hate it," Patton-Spruill said. "But, if you love it, you really love it."
Patton-Spruill said many of the films on the Newburyport festival schedule have been garnering a lot of attention. He's especially excited to see Chico Colvard's personal film, "Family Affair." Thirty years after Colvard accidentally shot his sister in the leg, setting off a chain reaction that exposes what he calls unspeakable realities that shattered his family, the filmmaker visits his relatives, rupturing veils of secrecy and silence again that unfolds on film.
"It's obviously going to be fantastic," Patton-Spruill said of "Family Affair," which will play Sunday afternoon at the Firehouse.
Liz Canner's film "Orgasm Inc." kicks off the festival tomorrow night at the Firehouse. The film follows Canner's journey through the pharmaceutical world, documenting efforts by companies to develop the female equivalent to Viagra. However, as the film progresses, Canner begins to explore the broader world of designer drugs and the pharmaceutical industry's push to develop diseases around medications. The film follows Canner for more than nine years as she works from inside the pharmaceutical industry, editing erotic videos for drug trials.
"Orgasm, Inc." made Fino's must-see list after she attended a screening at a film festival in Boston.
"I was really just depressed about the human condition at the time and just wanted to make a film that was pleasurable" Canner said. "So, I made a film about pleasure itself."
Fino said the film festival continues to grow each year, with more people looking to be involved.
"We have more filmmakers, more repeat filmmakers, new sponsors and different collaborations," she said.
One new collaboration this year is with the community access television station Port Media, which has helped to launch a pilot program with local youth. Two Newburyport High School students will be interviewing the filmmakers and participants. At the end of the festival, the students will put together a short film about the event.
"If it goes well, our plan is to get more students involved next year," Fino said. "It could be a terrific program."
IF YOU GO
What: Seventh annual Newburyport Documentary Film Festival
When: Tomorrow through Sunday
Where: Downtown Newburyport, with screening venues at the Firehouse Center for the Arts in Market Square and Screening Room at 82 State St.
Tickets: Tomorrow and Saturday nights' featured films and receptions, $12; Sunday night closing film, $10; daytime screenings, $7; all-access pass, $50.
How: For complete schedule and ticket details, visit www.newburyportfilmfestival.org.
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