Hardy souls braved freezing temperatures to attend a series of IFP/Midwest-sponsored screenings at Columbia College that presented films in 15 candidates vying for this year’s Independent Spirit Awards.
Awards will be made in three categories: Best Documentary, Best First Feature, and Best Film made for under $500,000. IFP members have until Feb. 17 to mail their ballots.
L.A. actors Elizabeth Moss and Sam Riley conducted a Q&A session after the Feb. 5 screening of “Virgin.” Written and directed by Deborah Kampmeier, “Virgin” is one of the five candidates for this year’s John Cassavetes Award (named for the late independent filmmaker).
Moss, best known as Zoe Barlett, President Barlett’s kidnapped daughter on NBC’s “The West Wing,” now finds her name placed alphabetically between Samantha Morton (for “In America”) and Charlize Theron (for “Monster”) on this year’s list of Spirit Award candidates for Best Female Lead.
Like the American classic, “The Scarlet Letter,” “Virgin” depicts an ostensibly conservative community dealing with the illegitimate pregnancy of one of its members. In “Virgin,” however, the young woman is a victim of drug-induced date rape. Because she has absolutely no memory of her assault, her religious upbringing leads her to believe that she has been impregnated by God.
Her parents, played by Robin Wright Penn (who is also one of the film’s executive producers) and Peter Gerety (best known as Detective Stuart Gharty in Barry Levinson’s TV series “Homicide: Life on the Streets”) urge her to confess her sins from the pulpit, but Jessie refuses. She has no sins to confess, and so, like Hester Prynne, she quietly goes about her daily business while the rage of her neighbors grows.
After the lights came back up in the screening room, Moss discussed the arduous audition process. She said that she was immediately drawn to the character of Jessie when her agent sent her the script.
When she auditioned, however, she had to convince herself that she could carry such a demanding lead role. Since there was only one week of rehearsal before the 21-day shoot began, the casting had to be perfect.
Riley plays Sam, the perpetrator’s buddy. When he can no longer bear his guilt alone, Shane (Charles Socarides) tells Sam that he is responsible for Jessie’s pregnancy. But Sam has hidden feelings of his own for Jessie, and so, like Roger Chillingworth counseling Arthur Dimmesdale, Sam urges Shane not to make a public confession.
Riley, who studied acting with Deborah Kampmeier for four years prior to filming, talked about the degree of trust required to play his intensely emotional scenes, one of which is particularly violent and disturbing.
The Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast live from Santa Monica Feb. 28 on the Independent Film Channel (IFC), and rebroadcast later that weekend on Bravo.?by Jan Lisa Huttner
Jan Lisa Huttner is the Managing Editor of Films for Two: The Online Guide for Busy Couples; www.films42.com.
