Acting like adults

Nancy STEIN’s short film, “Stealing Innocence,” has won more than 20 awards at a variety of film festivals in the last two years. And no wonder. The L.A.-based director’s 15-minute film offers a moving portrayal of the tragic events in the Middle East as seen through the eyes of two girls, one an Israeli, the other a Palestinian, whose lifelong friendship is ruptured by the hatred between their separate cultures. Of all the awards Stein has won, the one that meant the most came from the Giffoni Film Festival, the long-running Italian-based gathering that is known as the Cannes of children’s film festivals.

Held in the hills above Naples, the festival attracts a variety of celebrity visitors, such as Ben Kingsley and Oliver Stone. But the festival’s special cachet comes from the fact that the jury that picks the winning films is made up entirely of children. At last year’s festival, Stein’s film won the prestigious Silver Gryphon Award, given to the best short film from the Y Generation, voted on by kids ages 12 to 18. At her home in Glendale, Stein has an imposing silver trophy in the shape of a griffin, a mythological animal with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle.

“This award really mattered to me because it was voted on by children who come from such a pure, nonpolitical place,” Stein told me the other day. “Kids invariably say to me that they’d never seen war and cultural conflict through the eyes of people their own age.”

After Italian festival officials told her about a new festival, the Giffoni Hollywood Film Festival, which launches here next week, she sent organizers a copy of her film. But when she heard back from Giffoni Hollywood, with its sponsorships from several major studios and the imprimatur of such top stars as Will Smith and Jon Voight, the news was not good. Festival executive Patrick Ewald told her that her film wouldn’t be shown. “He said he loved the film but that a couple of members of the [festival programming committee] were upset by it,” Stein explained. “He said that some of them thought it was too pro-Palestinian. He said it was too controversial to show at the festival.”

Ah, the infinite wisdom of adults. Having seen the film myself, I can assure you that if you were the parent of a bright, curious 12-year-old, you would much rather have your child see “Stealing Innocence” than, for example, many of the tawdry studio movies hitting the theaters this summer. Let’s just say that I’ve seen far more disturbing images on “Access Hollywood.” Scrupulously fair to both Israelis and Palestinians, the short avoids any on-screen bloodshed and, more important, avoids any facile stereotypes. You see both girls’ view of the world, as well as the emotions that fuel the bitterness and rage that has consumed the region.

Stein made the short for $7,000 here in Los Angeles, shooting much of it in Griffith Park and using Ivar Avenue in Hollywood to double for an Israeli market. The young actress who plays the Palestinian girl is actually from Israel. For authenticity, when the Palestinian girl’s parents are heard arguing, their Arabic dialect was done by Palestinians Stein met at a mosque in Hollywood.

“I made the movie so people would empathize with children who’ve had to bear the impact of war,” she says. “I’m not taking sides. Well, actually I did -- I took the side of the children. It makes me sad that some of the adults who watched it couldn’t help but let their own agenda and experiences influence their judgment.”

It’s especially depressing that Stein’s film won’t be shown next week, because Giffoni Hollywood appears to be a well-intentioned effort to motivate and inspire kids to learn more about film and its ability to shape our world. The festival is the brainchild of Voight and film producer Steven Paul, who took one of their films, “Tin Soldier,” to the Giffoni festival a decade ago. Impressed by the festival’s idealistic spirit, they vowed to start a Los Angeles version.

Thanks to assistance from real estate developer Larry Bond and his wife, Jennifer, who serve on the new festival’s board, Giffoni Hollywood is hosting a jury of 127 kids from 15 countries whose weeklong calendar of events includes a welcome dinner hosted by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, a trip to Disneyland, tours of Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures, screenings of films at the ArcLight theaters and an awards dinner hosted by Nickelodeon Movies. Festival sponsors include Paramount, Universal and Disney studios, while its board of advisors includes such luminaries as Meryl Streep, Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider, Marvel Studios chief Avi Arad and Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Frank Pierson.

None of the board members I contacted said they were involved with choosing the films or had any knowledge -- until I told them -- about Stein’s film being denied a screening. In fact, there was a high degree of murkiness involving why “Stealing Innocence” isn’t being shown. Everyone involved with Giffoni Hollywood insists politics didn’t play a part. However Ewald, who is the head production executive at Paul’s Crystal Sky production company, refused to explain why Stein’s film was excluded, saying, “All I can tell you is that we don’t respond or give the reasons why a film doesn’t get in. It’s more beneficial not to talk about it.”

When I spoke to Paul, who said he had not seen Stein’s film, he was slightly more forthcoming. “The actual reason [Stein’s film was excluded] was that there simply wasn’t room -- we’d already agreed on what movies we wanted to select. Her film had already won awards. We wanted to show films that hadn’t been seen.”

Perhaps so, but a cursory look at the festival’s website uncovered at least three films that, like “Stealing Innocence,” had won prizes at last year’s Giffoni fest in Italy and are screening at Giffoni Hollywood next week. If there was room for them in the festival, why not Stein’s film too?

Bond gave a different explanation, saying that since the festival didn’t have enough time to have a formal submission process, it asked the Giffoni festival to send 80 or so films it had already shown at its festival. He said Stein’s film was not included and by the time she submitted it, the bookings were already in place. However, Stein says that Giffoni asked her if the film could be shown at its affiliated festivals and sent copies of the short to both a Giffoni festival in Adelaide, Australia, and one in Miami that showed the film last weekend.

The ultimate irony here is this dispute pits a filmmaker against a festival when both parties say their ultimate aim is to do something that serves the interest of children. Clearly, the people behind Giffoni Hollywood have done something rarely seen in Hollywood: They’ve put their money where their mouth is, putting considerable time and financial resources into a festival devoted to an undeniably good cause.

But it’s a shame the kids who’ll be on hand can’t have the opportunity to see “Stealing Innocence,” which shows how friendships between different cultures can be tested by generations of enmity, a theme that, alas, is all too universal in today’s world. The kids would also be inspired by Stein’s own story. After working at Warner Bros. Records for 23 years, she quit her job, deciding she wanted to do more than one thing in her life. “Stealing Innocence” was her thesis film at Los Angeles Film School, where she went to learn a new trade. Stein got the idea for the film after reading a newspaper story about a 17-year-old Palestinian girl who went to a market and blew herself up -- the only other person killed was a 17-year-old Israeli girl.

“I thought, ‘What if they were friends? Would she still have done it?’ ” Stein recalls. Stein has also directed a documentary, “Joey,” which revolves around the gang-related killing of a 13-year-old boy who was gunned down leaving church one Sunday. Drawing on her music business background, she is now working on a feature film that she describes as an ode to the indie-rock scene involving a teen group that plays at all-ages clubs.

When she’s not working on film projects, she tutors kids at a homeless shelter in Pasadena. “Every movie I’ve made is about kids,” she says. “I’m an advocate for children. Kids come from a very pure, nonjudgmental place, which is a place where all sorts of great stories come from.”

Since the festival doesn’t start for another week, I bet they could find a way to squeeze one more film into their program. After all, the festival’s own mission statement boasts that it is “all about the power of children.” Stein’s film clearly has their vote. When it comes to honoring that vision, maybe it’s time for the adults to step aside. This is a film more kids should have a chance to see for themselves.