DAY NINE  November 11, 2005
AFI FEST DAILY WRAP
compiled by Brent Simon
AFI FEST 2005 enjoyed another eventful day, chock full of special screenings and documentary competition films... Davin Anders Hutchins' THE ART OF FLIGHT enjoyed its World Premiere... Stars Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon showed up for TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY, Michael Winterbottom's twisty adaptation of Laurence Sterne's equally unruly novel... At the Q&A following the World Premiere of her documentary DESIRE--in which five young girls from New Orleans turn the cameras on themselves and one another--director Julie Gustafson gave updates on the subjects, and also admitted to lending counsel to her subjects when they asked for her advice. "Films aren't neutral, impersonal enterprises," she opined... DESIRE's presentation at AFI FEST--it also screens Saturday, November 12 at 12:45 p.m.--is a benefit for the New Orleans Film Festival, which was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Katrina... Turnout was good--including Bruce Dern--for Elia Kazan's underappreciated 1960 film WILD RIVER, introduced by Richard Schickel, who then repaired to The Loft at the Rooftop Village to sign copies of his Kazan biography... For SARAH SILVERMAN: JESUS IS MAGIC, comedienne Sarah Silverman arrived with her boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel, leading one to wonder--does an eponymous movie trump an eponymous late night television show?... GREY'S ANATOMY star Isaiah Washington was seen at Wednesday night's packed screening of THE REFUGEE ALL STARS, and--in what can only be viewed as a good sign for the film's theatrical prospects--so were representatives from Will Smith's production company and buyers from The Weinstein Company, Warner Independent and other studios... Friday evening brings AFI FEST's special Johnny Depp Tribute at 7:00 p.m., with the star of the forthcoming THE LIBERTINE--also World Premiering after the event--in attendance.
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