Cinematic Sandpoint

by LUKE BAUMGARTEN & r & & r & & lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & W & lt;/span & e're still scratching our heads, two years later, over the renaming of Sandpoint's film festival to "Lakedance." When most of the hundreds of film festivals try desperately to set themselves apart, why was this one seeking to paint itself as a Sundance clone?





To be fair, "Idaho Panhandle International Film Festival," the name the event took in its first year, didn't inspire excitement either. Some of this year's films, though, will.





Capri, You Love? | Film Block 3 | Sept. 9, 8 pm


In a villa on Capri, one of Italy's more legendary (read: touristy) islands, four more or less aimless people find each other locked in rounds of irritation and attraction in this 2007 German film by Alexander Oppersdorff.





This American Gothic | Film Block 4 | Sept. 10, 5 pm


The documentary follows the residents of Eldon, Iowa -- site of the house that inspired Grant Wood's legendary portrait -- as they work to create the "Gothic House Visitor Center" to enshrine the house and also bring enough tourism to save the dying town.





War Eagle, Arkansas | Film Block 5 | Sept. 10, 8 pm


A high schooler with a hell of a pitching arm and an awful stutter struggles with the idea of leaving his hometown to pursue a baseball scholarship. Brian Dennehy, James McDaniel and newcomers Luke Grimes and Dan McCabe star.





The Flyboys | Film Block 12 | Sept. 13, 5:30 pm


Two kids skip school to check out an antique plane. Too bad mobsters own it. Mobsters like Steven Baldwin and Tom Sizemore, whose career tracks both suggest that the men have very little left to lose. The boys spend the rest of the film outrunning cars with bikes and whatnot.





Lakedance International Film Festival begins on Sunday, Sept. 7, and runs through Sunday, Sept. 14. Full listings and information can be found at www.lakedance.com.