> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Finding drama at the L.A. Film Fest - URL: https://www.smdp.com/finding-drama-at-the-l-a-film-fest/ - Published: 2008-06-27T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T00:18:16.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Entertainment, Westwood, #archive-import *By TAYLOR VAN ARSDALE Special to the Daily Press* SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL DIRECTOR Sonja Heiss that ugly naked people need not be in films; and if they are, at the very least to please provide us with a cohesive story line so we’re not bored and nauseous. But “Hotel Very Welcome” is a foreign film, so it’s okay that it has no real plot and the actors are ugly as sin. After this travesty I find myself with a three-hour writing window between events. A volunteer directs me south on Westwood Boulevard to Borders where she says there are “sandwiches.” Expecting a real café, I instead discover a crowded, florescent lit, Seattle’s Best sporting a few moldy, plastic wrapped snacks. Maybe I am high maintenance after all … but I can’t stomach lousy food, especially after such a lousy film. I continue on down the road and come upon Soleil, a charming country French restaurant that is only too happy to accommodate my need to plug in my lap-top and feed me a scrumptious lunch. Owner Luc R. Alaire and his manager Martin wait on me as if I’m their only patron (they are filled to capacity with regulars) and after tasting the food it’s no wonder. Their prices are reasonable and their food exquisite. Tonight’s party of choice is at Target Red Room wherein we members of the press interview this year’s filmmakers one-on-one. Finding I still have over an hour to kill before doors open and it’s a swelter-box outside I duck into an air-conditioned exhibit on “The Vision and Art of Shinjo Ito.” It’s nice to know that in the midst of all the chaos of the festival there’s a great little haven of tranquility, a quiet, reflective area, one in which you can step back, take a deep breath, admire some art work, learn about Buddhism or just sit and meditate with your thoughts and get some perspective on your day. At last, it’s time for the big event... LAFF has numerous sponsors but imagine my surprise when I discover this evening’s soiree is hosted by my favorite: Tommy Bahama Rum. The bar also has cranberry juice so I am able to indulge in my favorite cocktail dark rum, cranberry and a slice of lime. They’re also serving dirty mojitos but I play it relatively safe … relatively. The filmmakers are an endearing bunch of characters. There’s Olaf de Fleur a sweet, round-faced Icelander (yes, he knows Bjork) whose film “The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela” tells the story of a Filipino transsexual’s journey who he says, “Wants a heterosexual male to marry … preferably someone from the West … so it’s a film about a “girl” who is looking for real love but cannot find it.” Originally shot as a documentary, it became a narrative as de Fleur ran into privacy issues with some of his subjects ultimately hiring actors for the key roles. I leave him, eager to view the screener he promises to send. Austrian born director Gunter Schwaiger delves into taboo territory with his anti-stereotypical documentary “Haffner’s Paradise” on hidden Nazis currently living in Spain “protected from the scrutiny of international justice.” Schwaiger, who grew up with a “conscience of guilt,” said, “It’s very important to know the history \[of the Holocaust\] through the victims but we must also analyze the perpetrators in order to learn how to avoid it in the future.” Also eager to chat is effervescent Eva Weber, director of “City of Cranes” a masterfully shot and insightful short on English crane drivers and “what becomes of the human spirit working hundreds of feet above the ground.” Her direction is superb and it’s easy to see why she’s already won two awards for this piece. The most interesting though is Darius Marder, director of “Loot,” not so much for his film, which I’ve yet to see, but for his doggedly, good-natured persistence by which he obliges me to see his film. Marder (who has a wife and two kids) quit his job to make films (she must have been thrilled at this prospect). He tells me she’s been extremely supportive. Marder’s story’s a bit bizarre. One day, he went into the park and met a guy (Dan Campbell) sitting next to him who told him this true story: During WWII, two American veterans looted and subsequently buried booty where they were fighting. An amateur “used car salesman” turned fortune hunter living in Utah was now endeavoring to help them in their quest to find their 60-year old treasures. Marder thought the story would make a great film and three days later he and Campbell (now acting as executive producer) flew to Utah and began the four-year process of filming the veteran’s “morally dubious journey.” And finally, I meet up with Emily Moss, a simply delightful volunteer who breaks the “bad volunteer” trend I’ve encountered by being incredibly helpful and on-top-of-her-game, making sure I’m set up to get all my interviews. The festival continues with the “Hellboy II” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth” premieres... until then happy movie going. TAYLOR VAN ARSDALE is a writer/producer and movie reviewer for the Daily Press. She *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 27, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/062708.pdf?ref=smdp.com)