The prevalence of DVDs, on-demand movies and sophisticated home-theater systems might get the blame for a shrinking audience for movie theaters. But the explosion of movies available for home viewing just might be part of the reason that there is a more discerning audience for film festivals. The Three Rivers Film Festival runs Nov. 2 through 15, bringing about three dozen films and shorts to the Harris Theater, Downtown; Regent Square Theater, Edgewood; and the Melwood Screening Room, Oakland. It's a safe bet the audience that turns up for the festival's screening of a Polish drama, an Australian documentary or a selection of avant-garde films, for a few examples, has a very good idea what to expect. DVDs of niche or obscure films, coupled with the explosion of information available on specialty film Web sites, has helped to create a film audience of increasing sophistication. It's an audience that has read about an upcoming film from a promising young director and has tracked down his previous one or two films to watch. It's an audience that has followed the career of a well-established but not-famous-in-America actor. And it's an audience that appreciates what it means to see a film as it was intended -- on the big screen. And their research has whet their appetite for the experience. DVD companies such as Criterion and Kino dedicate themselves to creating editions of classic, contemporary and foreign films that include volumes of material that further explains the film and enlightens the viewer. Director commentaries, historical interviews, making-of featurettes and other extras are instructive, as well as entertaining. A collection of these DVDs is a virtual equivalent of a film -history course, and exposes the viewer to not only the film itself, but its context and meaning in a historic and artistic sense. Criterion and Kino are not alone -- there are other companies that painstakingly collect seldom-seen films and get them out to a niche market that otherwise would never get the opportunity to view them in any form. Take, for example, the avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger, who will accompany a selection of his older films and new videos at the Three Rivers Film Festival's closing night session His challenging work isn't the type of thing that ordinarily would be shown in a movie theater. But, anyone who has delved into his six-decade career by seeking out the DVD release "The Films of Kenneth Anger" -- the first volume released in the spring and the second just this month -- would seize upon the opportunity to see his strange, stylish and sometimes menacing work in a darkened theater, among like-minded fans. And to see it with the director himself in attendance• It's the reason film festivals retain a singular relevance. This year's festival also includes the opportunity to see some brand-new films that haven't opened in general release, and have only been seen on the festival circuit. Promising entries include the animated "Persepolis," based on the graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian living in Paris; "The Walker," starring Woody Harrelson, Lily Tomlin and Lauren Bacall; and the opening-night film "Grace Is Gone," starring the ever-reliable and charismatic John Cusack as the widower of an Iraq War soldier. The festival has also programmed a pair of horror films, "Murder Party" and "Blood Car," inspired by the "B" films of the '50s and '60s -- sure to attract an enthusiastic crowd that brings another element of fun to movie-watching that you can't get at home with a DVD player. A movie-lover who seeks out a film festival isn't the one that heads to the multiplex on a Friday night, gabbing on his cell phone or only vaguely paying attention to the movie because he has nothing better to do. He's a discerning fan primed to see intriguing, thought-provoking, odd or just plain fun films with a theater full of equally informed and enthusiastic fans. It makes for some of the best movie-watching experiences available today. And when it's over, the selection of film festival movies you've seen might be an inspiration to seek out a DVD, a Web site or even a well-researched film text that illuminates a director, an actor or a film style in even more detail -- until the cycle begins again, and it's time for another festival.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---