Filmex

Filmex was an annual Los Angeles film festival held in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was the predecessor of the American Film Institute's Los Angeles International Film Festival. After the final Filmex festival in 1983, the founders/organizers of the festival devoted their attentions to developing a new nonprofit cultural organization, the American Cinematheque, which they created to be a permanent year-round film festival in Los Angeles.

Filmex Timeline

1971

• The First Los Angeles International Film Exposition, a.k.a. Filmex, debuts on November 4, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre with the premiere of The Last Picture Show.
• Gary Essert is Director, and Gary Abrahams, Associate Director, for the 11-day event.
• The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Harold Lloyd Foundation, USC, UCLA, CalArts and the AFI all lend their support to the Festival, which intends to broaden appreciation for the work of "filmmakers from around the world".

1972

• Young Winston opens Filmex '72 at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
• A 24-hour Billy Wilder Marathon is held.
• Myrna Loy appears for a tribute in her honor.
• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie closes Filmex '72, and Luis Buñuel attends his first-ever public screening of one of his films.
• Filmex announces it will move to the spring for 1974 in order to generate greater support.

1974

• Filmex produces The Movies, a four-hour movie scrapbook for ABC to benefit the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
• Filmex '74 is held March 28-April 9 at the Hollywood Paramount Theatre.
• The Three Musketeers is the Opening Night film.

1975

• Filmex '75 moves to the Plitt Theatres in Century City.
• The 14-day Festival opens with the premiere of Funny Lady and the Filmex Society Benefit Ball. Rosalind Russell and LA Mayor Tom Bradley opened the event. Those in attendance at the Plitt Century Plaza Theater premiere that evening included Roddy McDowall and Henry Winkler. Barbra Streisand did not attend the event. When Rosalind Russell exited the theater that night with her husband, she was heard to proclaim, "Well, that was fun, wasn't it!" She clearly disliked the movie, but was too much of a lady to say so. Peter Bonerz of The Bob Newhart Show was also present at the event. Yellow roses were in place on all tables during the post-screening dinner. Opening night attendees were given a copy of the "Funny Lady" soundtrack, which was the debut release from Arista Records. It was stamped with "For Promotion Only" in gold type.
• Twenty-five nations participate in the Festival, and all five nominees for Best Foreign Language Film are shown.
• A 50-hour Science Fiction movie marathon is held on March 15–17. The marathon includes the world premiere of A Boy and His Dog which is based on the Harlan Ellison short story. Other movies include: 2001: A Space Odyssey; 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea;^[1] The Bed-Sitting Room; Metropolis; The Mysterious Island; Things to Come; The Day the Earth Stood Still;^[2] The Thing from Another World; The War of the Worlds; This Island Earth; Forbidden Planet; La jetée; Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Solaris;^[3] 20 Million Miles to Earth; Fahrenheit 451; The Illustrated Man; Je t'aime, je t'aime; Silent Running; Dark Star; and many more.

1976

• A Bicentennial Extravaganza opens the spring Filmex '76.
• Alfred Hitchcock drives up in a Universal tour bus for the premiere of his Family Plot on Opening Night. At the gala ball at the Century Plaza Hotel following the screening, Hitchcock gives a speech in which he decries a line attributed to him that "actors are cattle." That evening, Hitchcock said, "What I probably said was, 'Actors should be treated like cattle.'";^[4] He was feted by several celebrities before his speech, including James Stewart. Those who attended were given a clear plastic paperweight with Hitchcock's famous caricature on one side and the Family Plot poster on the other.
• A Tribute to Cuban Cinema is held, which generates controversy.
• A Cowboy Film Marathon is held, screening 48 films. George Stevens, Jr. speaks after a showing of his father's film Shane.
• On December 18, 1976, Filmex holds the world premiere for Barbra Streisand's A Star Is Born at the Fox Village Theater in Westwood Village. The stars, including Streisand, are in attendance with a post-event party at Dillons, at the time a new disco in the Westwood area. Ryan O'Neal, Peter Bogdanovich, Marisa Berenson, Alan Carr, Chevy Chase and Funny Girl composer Jule Styne are among the guests. The theme was "A Night in White," with many of the guests garbed in white attire. Streisand, dressed in all black, entered the screening just before the lights went down protected by a "V" of guards who protected her path to her seat at the front of the theater. Gossip columnist Rona Barrett and her husband were in attendance in the back left of the theater. After the screening, guests walked several blocks in a roped off area to Dillons disco in Westwood. The top floor of Dillons was restricted to Streisand and her party. Tina Turner was turned away from gaining access, along with several other guests. Celebrity photographer Alan Light, then a teenager, took several photos of attendees in the lobby of the Westwood Village while standing on a table near the entrance. He and his mother were somehow able to gain access later in the evening to Streisand's upper level restricted area of Dillons.

1977

• Filmex '77 is dedicated to Rosalind Russell, who had died that year.
• A 50-hour Movie Musical Marathon is held.
• AFI debuts a special section called AFI Critics Choice.
• Annie Hall is the Closing Night film.

1978

• Filmex announces that in its first seven years, 48 films were acquired for distribution after Festival exposure.
• Lillian Gish appears at the screening of Broken Blossoms.^[5]
• In-person Tributes are held for Norman Jewison and Olivia de Havilland.
• Filmex '78 salutes Oscar's 50th anniversary with a 50-hour film marathon.

1979

• Laurence Olivier makes an emotional appearance on Closing Night with his film A Little Romance.
• Sterling Hayden makes an appearance during a retrospective of his films including Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

1980

• The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle plays at Filmex '80.
• A Tribute to Paul Robeson is presented.

1981

• Filmex '81, the 10th anniversary, is held at nine different locations around Hollywood in Los Angeles.
• A Special Section called "Treasures from AFI" is presented.
• The "Scared To Death" 50-hour Horror Film Marathon is held.
• Loretta Young is saluted with a Tribute.
• The founders/organizers of Filmex announce the creation of a new organization called The American Cinematheque with the declared aim that it will eventually build on the work of Filmex and provide year-round film programming of classic and new films from around the world.

1982

• Eating Raoul, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, Chan Is Missing, Cat People, Das Boot, Diva and Coup de Torchon top the list of films screened at Filmex '82.
• Natalie Wood is remembered with a Tribute, shortly after her death.
• Victor Victoria has a splashy premiere.

1983

• Several theaters along Wilshire Boulevard are used for Filmex '83.
• James Mason is honored with a Tribute.
• Around the World in 80 Days ^[6] is the final film shown at Filmex.
• Filmex founders/organizers Gary Essert and Gary Abrahams start the long haul to develop the American Cinematheque into a full-time organization that will maintain the Filmex spirit and philosophy and present films in the context of a year-round festival.

1986

• The American Cinematheque holds a major fund-raiser: the American Cinematheque Award honoring Eddie Murphy. The funds raised are applied to enabling the organization to start presenting public programs the following year.

1987

• The American Cinematheque presents its first program in Los Angeles with the declared aim that it will continue the work of Filmex in the context of year-round film programming of classic and new films from around the world.

References