A tale of two festivals

As Bayou City Art Festival hits 40, Kim Stoilis seeks bigger challenges as iFestdirector

iFest has been a Houston institution since 1971

Photo via Houston International Festival/Facebook
Kim Stoilis is the new president and CEO of iFest

Photo by Anthony Rathbun
The theme for iFest 2011 was "The Silk Road: Journey Across Asia"

Photo by Shelby Hodge

When Kim Stoilis resigned as executive director of the Art Colony Association, which oversees the Bayou City Art Festival, with apparently little warning and much fanfare in late August, we were all left wondering where she would take her talents next.

But the answer came a few weeks later: Stoilis is the new president and CEO of The Houston Festival Foundation (organizers of iFest).

"iFest is bigger in scope and bigger in reach," Stoilis said. "This is a really great opportunity for me to, again, do what I consider a personal mission of mine, which is to promote Houston — within Houston and outside of Houston."

James Austin retired as director of iFest in November of 2010, after leading the organization for 24 years and molding the festival into the event it is today. Rick Mitchell has served as interim director since Austin's retirement, and will return to his position of director of performing arts and education programs with Stoilis on board.

CultureMap spoke with Stoilis about her new venture, and she seemed enthusiastic about the challenge.

"[My new position with the Houston International Festival] is a different direction, but both organizations produce large-scale public events," Stoilis said. "With the art festival, there is obviously a focus on the arts, and with iFest — well, it's a bigger canvas with more color on the palette."

Moving from one non-profit festival to another, Stoilis feels that the transition will be a natural one.

"There are a lot of moving parts [in each organization]," she said. "iFest is bigger in scope and bigger in reach. This is a really great opportunity for me to, again, do what I consider a personal mission of mine, which is to promote Houston — within Houston and outside of Houston. And bringing culture to a larger community is very compelling to me."

During her 4-1/2-year Art Colony tenure, Stoilis upped festival attendance and earned multiple awards, both for the Bayou City Arts Festival and for her own leadership. Was she worried about leaving the organization a few weeks before this weekend's 40th annual downtown event? Not one bit.

"They have a really amazing team that I was integral in putting together," Stoilis explained. "Planning doesn't start two or three weeks before the event, it's a year-long process. I'm really excited to attend as a patron, and I'm confident that it will be successful."

Bayou City Art Festival board member Joe Pogge, who is heading up the search for a new director, praised Stoilis for increasing the festival's profile. "Kim took us to a new level," Pogge said. "To have other festivals come to us to find their people is very complimentary. She has a huge challenge (as iFest director), but if anyone can do it, Kim can do it."

Until a new permanent director is hired, Pogge said the Bayou City Arts Festival is in good hands under interim director Kelly Kindred. The festival takes place this weekend in downtown Houston, celebrating its 40th anniversary.

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Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Photo courtesy of A24

Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

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The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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