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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE February 20, 2004

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Gus Van Sant returns to his surrogate home

by Kaizaad Kotwal

Westerville, Ohio-Gus Van Sant may be the most underrated director working in cinema today. He certainly is underappreciated, and when cinema history is written about this time, he will go down as a seminal auteur of this generation of filmmakers.

Van Sant has been making films for nearly two decades. Not only are they on the cutting edge, but he has also managed to create works that stand the test of time.

Columbus has accidentally become Van Sant's surrogate home, where his aunt works in Otterbein College's administration. In the past few years his sister and parents also moved to the capital, so the entire Van Sant clan finds itself in Ohio now. The filmmaker himself calls Portland, Oregon, home, and even after the success of his Oscar-winning hit Good Will Hunting, Van Sant resisted the lure and excesses of Hollywood.

Van Sant comes to the Otterbein campus as part of the college's Signature Series on February 20-21, following a film festival of his work and an art exhibition of his black and white photography, being held through March. This is the second such homage to the filmmaker in as many years the Wexner Center hosted him last year.

The director's most recent claim to fame was receiving the top honors at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, where he took home the Palme d'Or, the prize for best film, for Elephant and also earned the prize for best director. Elephant is a chilling and haunting story that probes the issue of gun violence in schools. Van Sant's career took off instantly with his critically acclaimed film debut with Mala Noche in 1985. He self-financed it for $25,000 and this film tells the story of unrequited love of a gay liquor store clerk for a young Mexican immigrant. His first major film, 1989's Drugstore Cowboy, was one of the first and most daring looks at drug addiction seen on the big screen. This was followed up with the critically acclaimed My Own Private Idaho in 1991, a brave and poignant road film about two street hustlers (Keanu Reeves and the late River

Phoenix) who are searching for love, family and redemption. Idaho has become a cult film (as are many Van Sant works) and it is one of many where the filmmaker exhibits his powerful story-telling abilities, his avant-garde film techniques, and his independent spirit as one of cinema's most unique voices.

In 1994 he made an adaptation of Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues starring Uma Thurman and then directed Nicole Kidman and Matt Dillon in To Die For in 1995. Van Sant has also directed a frame-by-frame remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho in 1998, Finding Forrester (with Sean Connery) in 2000, and Gerry in 2002.

Van Sant has also directed a number of short films, music videos for David Bowie, Elton John, Tracy Chapman, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others, and he has also released two albums with his Portland, Oregon, band Destroy All Blondes, for which he played guitar and wrote songs.

As though that weren't enough, Van Sant published his first book of photography, 108 Portraits (Twelvetrees Press) in 1995, and his first novel, Pink, a satire on filmmaking, in 1997 for Doubleday.

Don't miss a chance to see him in person and get his insights about filmmaking, art and humanity in general. Reclusive and intelligent, Van Sant is a joy to chat with and. listen to as he opens up when talking about his passions.

Photography by Gus Van Sant will be displayed through March 12 in the Fisher Gallery in Roush Hall.

On Friday, February 20 at 1 p.m., Riley Auditorium is the spot to meet Gus Van Sant for an informal discussion. At 2 pm in Roush 330, Finding Forrester will be shown, followed by a 7:30 pm screening of Good. Will Hunting.

On Saturday, February 21, at 7:30 p.m., An Evening with Director Gus Van Sant will be the culmination of a monthlong retrospective.

A limited number of tickets for the February 21 event are available for $25. Call 614-823-1600 for availability.