LOCALadk Magazine

Fall 2018 LOCALadk Magazine 65 LOCALadk A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum—the 2018 Lake Placid Film Forum, that is. The event was started in 2000 by one of the most color- ful cast of characters you're ever likely to encounter on the streets of Lake Placid. It included novelist Russell Banks, for- mer New York Daily News movie critic Kathleen Carroll, North Countr y nonprofit organization mainstay John Huttlinger, New Jersey movie-house impresario Nelson Page, Lake Plac- id cultural affairs stalwart Naj Wikoff and one of the area's leading benefactors of arts and cultural groups, the late Rob- in Pell. In its early years (2000 -2004), the Film Forum—unlike many nascent arts events of its kind—succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of its producers, who also formed the core of the nonprofit organization, the Adirondack Film Society (AFS). The AFS presents year-round programming, and the festival as its main annual event. It drew large, appreciative audiences; attracted the finan- cial support of major corporate funders such as American Express, Chr ysler, and Ralph Lauren; and brought to the ru- ral and remote Adirondacks some of the top Hollywood and independent filmmakers of the young new millennium. The festival culminated in 2004 with an in-person appearance by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, whose presentation of a restored version of Visconti's Italian-lan- guage classic, The Leopard, is still talked about among Film Forum devotees with the kind of reverence one might expect to be paid to a visit by the Pope or the Dalai Lama. However, by the following year—with the North Countr y economy tanking and the legion of corporate sponsors de- ciding to look elsewhere to invest—mounting red ink led the Film Forum organizers to postpone the festival until 2006, when it reemerged as a smaller, less ambitious event. The years 2006 through 2013 still featured a wide-ranging selec- tion of cutting-edge films attendees were not likely to see in their local multiplex, as well as appearances by many first- rate filmmakers who filmgoers could see, hear, and even meet in intimate settings—two of the Film Forum's calling cards—but the festival, one could say, was "evolving." By the end of 2013, the festival organizers were expending much of their limited resources on activities related to the worthy and—with respect to the ver y existence of the re- gion's independently owned movie theaters—undoubtedly indispensable "Go Digital or Go Dark" campaign. The decision was made, albeit reluctantly, to forgo producing the Film Fo- rum in 2014. In 2015, the organizers regrouped. For the past three years the organizers have been in "rebuilding" mode, with each successive year marked by increased screenings and a more robust filmmaker guest list than the year before. That organizing model of small, incremental change and slow steady growth, is, however, out the window for 2018. After assessing the successes of the 2017 Film Forum, along with the aspects in need of improvement, members of the board and staff of the AFS realized the time was ripe for big, bold changes…and reels and reels of them. Many of the changes represent "firsts" for the 19-year histor y of the festival. For starters, the AFS board decid- ed the event needed a single Festival Director, rather than a committee, to oversee it, and named board member Gar y Festival of Lights … Camera … and Action! Academy Award-winning director Martin Scors- ese, right, was the main guest of honor at the 2004 Lake Placid Film Forum, where he presented a re- stored version of Visconti's Italian-language classic, "The Leopard," following which he was interviewed by actor Jon Favreau. Photo courtesy of the Adiron- dack Film Society. Rebranded as the "Lake Placid Film Festival," the Adirondack region's premier film event is undergoing a rebirth in 2018 via several significant changes and innovations—while at the same time drawing on the tradi- tions of its celebrated 19-year history. By Fred Balzac

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