What kind of corporate-speak is this in today's Rake?
Framed as a tribute to U Film Society founder Al Milgrom on the eve of his Minneapolis - St. Paul International Film Festival, this Rake article by incoming Minnesota Film Arts executive director Jamie Hook tips its hand with the following:
Yet, for all the strength of its program, M-SPIFF as a civic event can, will, and must change. The world demands as much. It must grow up, and play the games that adults play. It is a bittersweet proposition. No one relishes practicing the machinations of festival power: attempting to sabotage the Tribeca Film Festival with secret premieres, or tricking some Polish film outfit into sending a filmmaker without telling them how far from Chicago Minneapolis truly is. But the festival world is increasingly driven by money, just like everything else, and money breeds distraction. It is sad to witness: the barnacles of industry are slowly encrusting all festivals, and whether for good or for bad, M-SPIFF is destined to join the fray, just like everyone else.
Excuse me, but what does this mean, exactly? Whatever Milgrom's problems, and I've suggested some in City Pages, getting bodies into seats at M-SPIFF doesn't seem to be one of them. (Go to any screening with a theater full of Eastern Europeans, and you'll see what I mean. Don't those tickets count as "money"?) In a piece that calls Milgrom "old" 20 different ways, it's not enough to equate the future with "industry," and imply that "industry" means something other than what the festival has been engaged with for 23 years. Whose industry?
The festival looks great, by the way.
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