Who Are The Stars Of The Festival?

THE ACTORS

Ann-Margret • Jane Asher • Stanley Baker • Jane Birkin • Dirk Bogarde • Eleanor Bron • Yul Brynner • Michael Caine • Graham Chapman • Julie Christie • John Cleese • Noel Coward • Michael Crawford • Diana Dors • Denholm Elliott • Susan George • Ruth Gordon • Laurence Harvey • Benny Hill • Wilfrid Hyde-White • Roy Kinnear • Harvey Korman • Christopher Lee • John Lennon • Karl Malden • Steve Martin • Roddy McDowall • Hayley Mills • John Mills • Jack Nicholson • Oliver Reed • Peter Sellers • Donald Sutherland • Raquel Welch • Shelley Winters

THE MUSIC-MAKERS (on & off screen)

Burt Bacharach • Badfinger • The Bee Gees • Cher • Eric Clapton • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young • Georgie Fame • George Harrison • Jimi Hendrix • Mick Jagger • Sir Elton John • Quincy Jones • The Kinks • Led Zeppelin • John Lennon • Sir George Martin • Sir Paul McCartney • Joni Mitchell • Keith Richards • Sonny Rollins • John Sebastian • Ringo Starr • Cat Stevens • The Troggs • Tina Turner • Sonny Boy Williamson • Ron Wood • Neil Young

WHAT

The festival is a major retrospective of movies that capture the fun essence of the Swingin' Sixties - including many of the films which helped inspire Mike Myers and director Jay Roach devise the look and content of their Austin Powers movies.

The 27 films in the festival were mainly produced between 1960 and 1970 (a couple are early 70's productions) - and were chosen because they reflect all the fun, style, fashion and music of the 1960's. And also because most of the film look like they could have starred Austin Powers! The majority of the films are British or European - with the balance being American classics.

Most of the films have not been seen theatrically in America since they premiered over 30 years ago. And a couple of the films have never been seen in America - not even on television or video - which makes them very appealing to movie buffs and 60's fans alike.

WHO #2

Who Are The Filmmakers?

THE FILMMAKERS

The directors, writers, producers and cinematographers whose work is featured in this festival include:

Roy Boulting • Graham Chapman • John Cleese • Len Deighton • Sidney J. Furie • Lewis Gilbert • Guy Hamilton • Murray Lerner • Richard Lester • Joseph McGrath • Ken Russell • Harry Saltzman • John Schlesinger • Douglas Slocombe • Jerzy Skolimowski • Terry Southern • Jeff Stein • Robert Stigwood

WHERE

The festival will be presented at the American Cinematheque's recently acquired permanent home - the gloriously restored 1920's landmark Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - which after a $15 million renovation features state-of-the-art technical facilities.

WHO #3

Who Will Enjoy The Films In This Festival?

This celebration will be fun not just for the nostalgia-seeking baby-boomers - but also for younger people who have discovered the camp fun of the 1960's through Austin Powers or other movies and music. Of course it helps if you can get to Los Angeles...

WHEN

The festival opens on Thursday June 27th - and runs till Wednesday July 10th 2002.

WHO #4

So Who's Behind This Groovy Festival?!

The festival is presented by The American Cinematheque - the non-profit organization dedicated to presenting festivals of the world's finest films to public audiences in Los Angeles.

The festival has been created and is being produced by the team responsible for some of the American Cinematheque's most successful film festivals of the past eleven years - humorist/producer Martin Lewis (a longtime member of the Cinematheque's Board of Trustees) and Dennis Bartok - the Cinematheque's Programming Manager.

Film festivals created and produced by Lewis & Bartok for the Cinematheque include tributes to comedic talents such as Monty Python, Richard Pryor, Peter Cook and Peter Sellers, film directors such as Ken Russell and Nicolas Roeg and the movies of Britain's Hammer Films and Channel Four. 1994's two-week Python retrospective - Monty Python: Lust For Glory! - was the comedy troupe's official 25th anniversary celebration - and was a major public and critical success. Their three previous Mods & Rockers Film Festivals - held in 1999, 2000 and 2001 - were also wildly successful.

WHY

Some reflections on the philosophy behind this film festival - according to one of its creators.

(Note: This editorial piece solely reflects the PERSONAL views of its author - humorist & commentator Martin Lewis - [the festival co-creator/producer/host] - and does not represent the views of the American Cinematheque or any other person or organization)

Every generation regards the decade in which it comes of age as golden - and for the baby-boomers it was the 60's. In recent years, Blue-Meanie revisionists have attempted to tarnish that decade's reputation. Now comes this fourth Mods & Rockers film festival to continue the restoration of that era's rightful luster.

The essence of the 60's that so terrorizes its sourpuss detractors is its exuberance - and that blazes bright in these films.

Of course many of the era's films were irredeemably silly and some of those are presented in the festival too - for they are no less valid and offer the guilty pleasures that only deliciously empty calories can provide!

What ALL of these films do is remind us of a decade that - at its best - engaged with the soaring Apollonian heart of the human spirit. And that even at its worst - still put us in the mood for a good shag! And as we struggle to come to terms with the Brave New World of this Third Millennium - that's not a bad thing!

Martin Lewis
Co-creator/producer/host of the Mods & Rockers 2002 Film Festival
May 2002