Acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese was recognized last night as the 2006 Guggenheim Honoree at the SILVERDOCS festival. The award, named after the late 4-time Academy Award winning (longtime D.C. resident) Charles Guggenheim, was presented in a ceremony highlighting Scorsese’s contributions to documentary film.
After a brief introduction by local filmmaker Grace Guggenheim (daughter of Charles), the packed AFI Silver Theatre audience was treated to a selection of scenes from Scorsese’s documentary work, followed by a highbrow directorial teta-a-tete with Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers). For those unaware of the fact, Scorsese has actually directed a number of documentaries, most notably 1978’s The Last Waltz, about the breakup of The Band, and the more recent No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. Also featured were scenes from two films about Scorsese’s Italian roots, Italian American, an early film that features the director’s own parents, and Il Mio Viaggio in Italia. After the brief screening Jarmusch and Scorsese proceeded to discuss music, narrative style and Luchino Visconti, among other things.
Highlights of the symposium included: Scorsese revealing he’s a big Radiohead fan, though he “doesn’t get” hip hop; Despite techcical difficulties, a recorded message from Peter Gabriel to the honoree included what was possibly the best joke of the night, when the musician carefully pronounced every syllable in the absurdly long name of the SILVERDOCS AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival; and Scorsese telling the story of directing his own mother in the late-night dinner scene in Goodfellas, when admitted to not telling her “there was a body in the trunk.”
Unfortunately, DCist missed out on keynote speaker Al Gore’s speech yesterday afternoon, which according to festival attendees who were there was lighter on pushing An Inconvenient Truth than you’d expect, though heavier on pushing Current TV. But check back in with DCist this weekend for reviews of Jesus Camp, Punk’s Not Dead, La Persona de Leo N., and more.
