Washington Life Magazine - March 2006 by Washington Life Magazine

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Robert Redford, Pat Mitchell, Glenn Close, Dan Glickman, Christiane Amanpour…

WA S H I N G TO N ’ S P R E M I E R L U X U R Y L I F E S T Y L E M AG A Z I N E S I N C E 1 9 9 1

FASHIONABLE MASTERPIECES SPRING’S HOTTEST LOOKS DOCK AT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION GOING, GOING, GONE! YOUR GUIDE TO ART, ANTIQUES AND AUCTIONS M A R C H 2 0 0 6 • $ 3. 5 0

WASHINGTON LIFE

PLUS! PLÁCIDO DOMINGO ON THE OPERA’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY AND

PARTIES, PARTIES, PARTIES!

LEFT TO RIGHT RICHARD RUTLEDGE CAROLINE CUNNINGHAM PEGGY HUNTER GEORGE VRADENBURG TRISH VRADENBURG BRIAN DAILEY TOAST THE RETURN OF RENOIR’S LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY

WASHINGTON LIFE

CONTENTS M

EVE NT S P EC IAL

PLACIDO DOMINGO SPEAKS ON THE WNO’S GOLDEN GALA

S U N DA N C E S P EC I A L

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SUNDANCE’S TH YEAR

S P R I N G FA S H I O N

ARTFUL DRESSING AT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

A RT AT AU C TI O N

PROVENANCE COUNTS

FEATURES

WL SPONSORED EVENTS

EVENT SPOTLIGHT UNICEF and International Women’s Day gala dinner by Ann Veneman . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WL YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST PARTY . . . WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA Midwinter Gala & Upcoming Golden Gala . . . . . . .

POLLYWOOD “The Message” by MPAA’s Dan Glickman . . . . . . . .

Discovery Network’s Billy Campbell. . . . . . . . . . . .

LIFE OF THE PARTY

CHARITY Elayne Bennett on Best Friends Foundation . . ARTS & CULTURE Loc Phillips and the Phillips legacy . FINE ARTS Touring the U Street art scene . . . . . . .

Tiffany’s Opening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Anne Bujon Educational Initiative Benefit Dinner . . .

62nd Annual Washington Press Club Dinner

COLUMNS Q & A CAFÉ David Levy & The Corcoran. . . . . . . .

HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC with Janet Donovan: Mark Russell plays it up . . . . . . . . AROUND TOWN with Donna Shor . . . . . . . .

Cézanne in Provence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DEPARTMENTS

L’Esprit de la Louisiane Mardi Gras Ball . . . . . . . . Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Gala . . . . . . . . “Don Juan,” Opening Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Women Really Want . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dittus Communications Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . Atlantic Media State of the Union Reception

EDITOR’S LETTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CALENDAR OF EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FYIDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHAT’S HOT Resort to yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . TREND REPORT Spring’s hottest looks . . . . . . . . .

TRAVEL Bermuda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HOTEL WATCH The Athenaeum and Cadogan hotels

TEN TO DO Get out and have fun! . . . . . . . . . .

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Party for Keith Lippert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A Sugar and Champagne Affair . . . . . . . . . . . . Christina DePaul’s Birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Luncheon for Letitia Baldridge . . . . . . . . . . . . .

REAL ESTATE & HOME DESIGN

DESIGN Kitchen remodeling . . . . . . . . . OPEN HOUSE Dream properties ready for buyers . . . . . . . . . REAL ESTATE ROUNDTABLE Mark McFadden, Penny Yerks and Bill Moody . . REAL ESTATE NEWS with Mary Mewborn . INTERIOR DESIGN who’s designing for whom

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§ SNAPS FROM TOP Our own Alex Misci, Michael Clements and Charlo e Grassi at WL’s Young and the Guest List Party, Diane Brown at the Tiﬀany’s Opening, Joe Scarborough and 62nd Annual Washington Press Club Dinner. Above Lamborghini’s Murcielago

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MANAGING EDITOR

Michael Clements EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Katie Tarbox COPY EDITOR

Claudia Krieger FASHION EDITOR

Barbara McConaghy STYLE EDITOR

Alison Lukes COLUMNISTS

Janet Donovan, Mary Mewborn and Donna Shor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & EDITORS

Mark Bisnow, Kevin Chaffee, Donna Evers, Carol Joynt and Michael Wharton EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Clay Gaynor PRODUCTION ARTIST

Susan M. Dickey GRAPHIC ARTISTS

Elizabeth Demers and Barton Kelecava CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lucien Capehart, Roy Cox, Zaid Hamid, Immanuel Jayachandran, Robert Millman, Jonah Koch,Vickey Pombo, Kyle Samperton and Douglas Sonders DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING

Audrey Weppler ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Tara deNicolas and Alexandra Misci ACCOUNT ASSOCIATE

Robyn Weinstein MARKETING & CIRCULATION ASSOCIATE

Charlotte Grassi EVENTS COORDINATOR

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PUBLISHER

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Soroush Richard Shehabi

CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Gerry Byrne

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Washington Life magazine: Celebrating Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Social Scene and Power Elite, publishes ten times a year. Issues are distributed in February, March, April, May, June, July/ August, September, October, November and December and are hand-delivered on a rotating basis to over 150,000 homes throughout D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland. Additional copies are available at various upscale retailers, hotels, select newstands and Whole Foods stores in the area. For a complete listing, please-consult our website at www.washingtonlife.com. You can also subscribe online at www.washingtonlife.com or send a check for $35.99 (one year) to: Washington Life Magazine, 2301 Tracy Place, NW, Washington D.C., 20008 To post or view events on our interactive online social calendar, visit www.washingtonlife.com and click on â&#x20AC;&#x153;social calendar.â&#x20AC;? To contribute ideas or provide feedback Email us at info@washingtonlife. com with press releases, tips and editorial comments. Copyright ÂŠ2005 by Washington Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content or photos in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the United States. We will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Magazine format by Wayne DeSelle Design / www.deselle.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

Marching to a Creative Beat

e’re feeling “artsy” this month. And why not? With The Phillips Collection, The Corcoran, The Washington National Opera, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Smithsonian’s numerous offerings, and countless private galleries from The Ralls Collection and Govinda Gallery in Georgetown to conceptual art spaces near Dupont, we live in one of the country’s most arts-friendly cities. But we’re also a town that loves to shop. Face it, sometimes a stroll down luxury lane at The Collection at Chevy Chase trumps Picasso. Best, however, is when you can combine your art and shopping.

Art and film themes continue through our Pollywood, Fine Arts and Collectibles sections. MPAA President Dan Glickman provides his thoughts on a recent VIP film screening of the late Moustapha Akkad’s “The Message”, which led to a riveting open discussion of America, faith and Islam. In antiques and art section, contributor Deborah Gore Dean explores our obsession with auctions and Kevin Chaffee reveals the intriguing back story behind European auctions of royal objects once owned by the Windsor and Hanover clans. Closer to home, Christina Wilkie takes us on a tour of contemporary art galleries on the U Street corridor.

Which is exactly what we did for the spring fashion feature we shot at The Phillips Alas, one can not live on art alone…mainly because there are too many parties to Collection. Big thanks to museum’s deputy director, Rich Rutledge and patron’s go to! In March alone, Washington Life will be the exclusive magazine sponsor of the nation’s oldest museum of modern art as well as Neiman Marcus, Saks for The Capitol Hill Spotlight Awards with The Creative Coalition on March Jandel, Muleh, Blink, Urban Chic and Gucci. 8; The 50th Anniversary of the Washington National Opera on March 19; Together we proved The March of Dimes Gourmet Gala on March 28; and The Saks Fifth Avenue that spring 2006 is White Party and Contemporary Fashion Shows and Events from March 30not only the “year April 2.And former Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman previews the Kuwait of the dress,” it’s also Embassy’s upcoming dinner honoring First Lady Laura the year of “dressing Bush, one artfully.” We just of the most hope Renoir doesn’t prestigious mind that members events of of The Phillips Gala year, and WL Committee joined will be there his “Luncheon of the to bring you Boating Party” for exclusive local our cover. Washington magazine Life is proud to be the coverage. It’s exclusive magazine all enough to Soroush and I at his birthday at Sundance sponsor of the museum’s make us want to Glenn Close, Pat Mitchell April 7th spring 2006 take a relaxing , Sally Field and I at Pat’s Birthday at Sundance black-tie gala celebrating the return of the painting after four years break to Elbow overseas. Beach in Bermuda or to A strong artistic streak also runs through our extensive coverage of the 2006 London’s Athenaeum and Cadogan hotels, which we cover in this issue’s Travel Sundance Film Festival. My husband and I had a fascinating time in Park City, and Hotel Watch sections. Utah, in January at the 25th anniversary of Robert Redford’s independent film festival. It’s grown into one of the foremost film events in the world. We were Finally, in real estate and home design we get things cooking with kitchen joined by many Washingtonians who jetted to Utah to view, promote and discuss makeovers featuring Poggenpohl, Viking, Miele, Subzero and Gaggenau. If some of the festival’s 193 features, shorts, documentaries and panels. Notables you’re wondering whether there is any sizzle left in the local property market, included former PBS President and Sundance Trustee Pat Mitchell (she and turn to our Real Estate Roundtable and hear what top agents Penny Yerks, my husband share a birthday so we hosted a celebration to kick-off our festival William Moody and Mark McFadden have to say. experience); Representative’s Rahm Emmanuel, Harold Ford and Cynthia McKinney; Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA) President Dan In the meantime, we’ll see you at the Opera, the art galleries, the theatre…or and Rhoda Glickman; Center for American Progress founder John Podesta; shopping! Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, Philanthropists Catherine and Wayne Reynolds, Gabriela Moreno, Sarah Ingersoll, Kimball Stroud,Time magazine’s Matt Cooper, Discovery’s David Leavy, SilverDocs director Patricia Finneran and Jody Arlington who managed press for the 25th anniversary of Sundance.

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CONTRIBUTORS

CHISTIANE AMANPOUR

RENEE AND MAX DRAKE

Chr istiane Amanpour is 1 CNN’s chief international correspondent, based in London, Amanpour has reported on crises from many of the world’s hotspots, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda and the Balkans, to name just a few. Her assignments have ranged from exclusive interviews with numerous world leaders to reporting from the heart of war zones. She has received wide acclaim, particularly for her extensive coverage of the conflict in the Balkans.

Max and Renee Drake have had a diverse career in the arts. After eight years at Sotheby’s, Renee left to make the documentary film “The Way Back,” executive produced by her husband Max. A freelance writer and independent curator, she writes a regular column “Art at Auction” for WL. Max is a partner in the law firm of Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP where he practices corporate and transactional law in both Chicago and New York.

JANET DONOVAN Janet Donovan is the founder and president of Creative Enterprises International, a Washington, D.C. publicity firm whose clients include celebrities, authors, politicians and publications. She created and hosted “Beltway Broads” radio show and writes the column “Hollywood on the Potomac.”

CHRISTOPHER BARSON Chr istopher Bar son is proprietor of Christopher Barson Interior Associates. His work has been featured in Washington Spaces and The New York Times.

ELAYNE BENNETT

PATRICIA FINNERAN

Elayne Bennett is the president and founder of the Best Fr iends Foundation. She has been honored with the prestigious Jefferson Award for National Public Service and the John Carroll Society Award.

Patricia Finneran is festival director of the SILVERDOCS: A F I / D i s c ove r y Channel Documentary Festival, hailed as “non-fiction nirvana” by Variety. The Festival presents nearly 100 films from all over the world to over 15,000 attendees at the AFI Silver Theatre. She is a graduate of Barnard College.

GLENN CLOSE Glenn Close is a five-time Academy Award nominee and a trustee of The Sundance Institute, a position she has held for sixteen years. She is on the Board of Advisors for Wildlife Conservation International, and actively supports the Riverkeeper Alliance.

DAN GLICKMAN Former Secretary of Agriculture and a former Congressman from Kansas, Dan Glickman became President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) on September 1, 2004. The MPAA serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries.

DEBORAH GORE DEAN Deborah Gore Dean is the owner of Gore Dean, a Georgetown store that offers a surprising assortment of antiques, gifts and art, along with made to order furniture.

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RHODA GLICKMAN Rhoda Glickman, wife of MPAA president, Dan Glickman serves on the board of many philanthropic organizations and is a film expert extraordinaire.

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CONTRIBUTORS

DAN GLICKMAN Former Sec. of Agriculture and former 11 Congressman from Kansas Dan Glickman became President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) on September 1, 2004. The MPAA serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries.

RHODA GLICKMAN Rhoda Glickman, wife of MPAA president, Dan Glickman serves on the board of many philanthropic organizations and is a film expert extraordinaire.

CAROL JOYNT A former producer for Larry King, Charlie Rose and Chris Matthews, Joynt is the owner of the popular Georgetown restaurant, Nathans. After 9/11, she began hosting monthly neighborhood power lunches called Q & A Cafe. With such guests as Tom Brokaw, Dan Snyder and Tim Russert, the lunches feature well known personalities speaking candidly in an intimate atmosphere.

PAT MITCHELL

Pat Michell was named the first woman president and chief operating officer of the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) in March 2000 after a long and respected career in commercial broadcasting and cable. In her three-decade career in media, Mitchell has worked for NBC, CBS and ABC. Her work has been recognized with 37 Emmys, five Peabody Awards and two Academy Award nominations.

JOHN PODESTA John Podesta is the president and chief executive officer of the center for american progress. Podesta served as chief of staff to President William J. Clinton from October 1998 until January 2001, where he was responsible for directing, managing, and overseeing all policy development, daily operations, Congressional relations and staff activities of the White House.

ROBERT REDFORD A strong advocate of independent filmmaking, Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1980 as an organization “dedicated to the support and development of emerging screenwriters and directors of vision and

to the national and international exhibition of new American independent cinema.” The Institute also sponsors the annual Sundance Film Festival, which is held every winter in Park City, Utah. From its modest beginnings, the Festival is now the most important venue for the presentation of independent film in the United States.

DONNA SHOR Donna Shor is an internationalist who has lived in five countries on three continents, climbed the Great Wall of China, tracked tigers in Bangladesh, raised twins in a Provencal mas and a Bordeaux wine chateau, and hobnobbed with greats from Peck (Gregory) to Picasso (Pablo). She has written widely, from the National Geographic to the Paris-based International Herald Tribune.

ANNA SOELLNER Anna Soellner is the director of outreach and special events for the Center for American Progress. Anna joined CAP after serving at the Hong Kong office of the public affairs firm Golin/Harris Forrest. She has also worked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She has a bachelor’s degree with high honors from Smith College.

MICHAEL WHARTON Michael Wharton left the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health to become an editor at America Online CityGuide where he covers D.C. and Baltimore nightlife.The former editorin-chief of UC Berkeley’s Daily Californian, he has successfully climbed Monday Morning Leap in Yosemite National Park. He can be heard Friday mornings at 9:10 a.m. on WTOP radio.

CHRISTINA WILKIE Christina Wilkie moved to Washington in July of 2001 after graduating from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., with a degree in philosophy. Currently working for the Aspen Institute, she is based out of the Institute’s Washington D.C. headquarters, and spends the majority of the summer in Aspen. Christina is an avid musician.

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SOCIAL CALENDAR

Visit Washingtonlife.com’s online calendar to view hundreds of galas and events, or post your own event, which will then be considered for our print edition and our annual Balls and Galas Directory.

CREATIVE COALITION’S CAPITOL HILL SPOTLIGHT AWARDS The Creative Coalition,

2004 March of Dimes Gourmet Gala

a non-profit social and public advocacy organization dedicated to educating SPONSORED its members on First Amendment rights, arts advocacy and public education, will host a star-studded shopping spree fundraiser. The event honors members of Congress for their social and public advocacy work;

contact Robin Bronk (212) 614-2121.

SECOND GENESIS GALA Rock with Aaron

Neville at the Second Genesis Gala celebrating “A New Beginning,” which benefits the area’s premier substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation organization; 6:oo

p.m.; JW Marriott Hotel; contact Patti Caruthers Hight at (202) 437-7199.

MARCH

BEST F R I E N D S FOUNDATION A fun-

filled rock ’n’ roll-themed eve n i n g w i t h t o p - n o t c h entertainment and prominent Washingtonians decked out in leather jackets, denim and poodle skirts. Three Dog Night and Sister Sledge will SPONSORED perform their hits; 6:30

p.m. reception, 7:15 p.m. dinner, 8:00 p.m. entertainment and dancing; Marriott Wardman Park; $400/person ; contact Roberta (202) 478-9686 or www. bestfriendsfoundation.org.

OSCARS AT AFI Join the AFI as it hosts Washington’s only official Oscar Night event! Cocktail reception, silent auction, special guests and the Oscars on the big screen in AFI Silver’s beautiful historic theatre; 7:00 p.m.; AFI Silver

light-hearted bi-partisan spoof; 6:30 p.m. Pre-show dinner, 8:30 p.m. performance; Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth Street, SW; tickets from $200; contact: Denise Garrity at (202) 554-9066 ext. 227.

LEUKEMIA BALL Lionel

Richie and Dennis Miller take the stage at the 2005 Leukemia Society Ball, which raises funds for research, patient services, educational prog ramming, and advocacy effor ts to help cure bloodrelated cancer s. Reception,

Theatre; $100 per person; contact (202) 293-3703 or info@firststar. org.

SAV E T H E DAT E

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION “BOATING PARTY” GALA APRIL 7, 2006

ARENA STAGE Arena

Stage will be hosting its 14th annual gala performance and dinner with local politicians and Washington personalities showing off their talents in a

Save the Date for these Washington Life sponsored events:

CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART SPRING GALA APRIL 21, 2006

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for individuals who, due to limited means and inadequate insurance, would be otherwise unable to receive treatment.The event includes a dinner, silent auction, and headline entertainment with Vanessa Williams. Hosted by Larry King and Shawn Southwick-King; 6:30 p.m.; The RitzCarlton Washington; $1,000/person; contact Lori Isaac at (703) 522-0703/ lori@lindarothpr.com. Tickets and tables may be purchased online at www.lkcf.org.

MARCH OF DIMES GOURMET GALA Join the

Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta with his wife Deni at 2004 March of Dimes Gourmet Gala

March of Dimes for its annual Gour met Gala, a fundraising dinner with a SPONSORED unique Capitol Hill flavor. Celebrity guest chefs, including members of Congress and other Washington notables, participate in a competitive cook-off prior to a seated gourmet dinner. Prizes for Best Chefs and dancing complete the evening. Reception at 7:00 p.m.,

Dinner at 8:00 p.m.; National Building Museum, 401 G. St, NW; $750; contact Nate Brown (703) 8240111 ext. 16

Greg Connors, Katia Griffi ns and Jill Robert at The Phillips Collection, 2005 silent auction, dinner, raffle, perfor mances and dancing;

Opera performance followed by a special anniversary dinner; 6:00 p.m.

6:30 p.m.; The New Washington Convention Center; tickets from $1,000; contact (703) 960-1100.

performance with dinner to follow; Performance at the Opera House of the Kennedy Center, Dinner on the Roof Terrace; Tickets start at $500; Contact (202) 295-2486.

THE NATIONAL OPERA’S GOLDEN GALA The

Washington Opera will be celebrating its 50th anniversary season with its SPONSORED Golden Gala Concert.

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LARRY KING CARDIAC FOUNDATION GALA

The Foundation provides funding for life-saving cardiac procedures

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CAPITAL AWARDS GALA

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE CONTEMPORARY

EVENTS Get ready to rock some

new spring looks at Saks Fifth Avenue with a host of events including a White SPONSORED Party featuring the latest trends, a fashion show and a denim bar with personal denim doctors to customize, alter and embellish your favorite denim; contact

Andrew Blecher (240) 497-5342.

APRIL

B AC H E LO R S A N D SPINSTERS Since the

1930’s the city’s 400 most eligible “bachelors and spinsters” have gathered for this exclusive event at the City Tavern Club. 8:00 P.M

cocktails, chairs Christopher Larsin and Christopher van Roijen; by invitation only.

NATIONAL ALZHEIMER’S GALA Join George and

Trish Vradenburg as they honor Pat Dixson, with likely appearances by present and former first ladies, at the Grand Hyatt to help raise funds for the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Research Institute. Contact (202)

The International Special Events Society (ISES) will celebrate its 11th annual Capital Awards Gala with a “Classical Overtures: Celebrating the Arts, Celebrating You,” theme inspired by the new music center at Strathmore. The ISES community will honor the best of the special events industry in the most spectacular concert hall in the area. After the Awards Ceremony, the party begins, giving guests an opportunity to network with others in the industry. Black Tie optional; 5:00 p.m. Registration

973-8731 or visit www.alz.org.

& Cocktails; The Music Center at Strathmore; $175 non-members; contact Laura Metro (301) 493-9585.

Patricia Sagon at The Phillips Collection, 2005

F .Y. I . D.C . SKIN CARE

ALCHIMIE FOREVER WINTERIZED T

reat winter skin with an assortment of products from the locally-based Alchimie Forever brand. Its anti-aging skin care line includes Diode 1+2 Age Defying Serums, which are ideal for fading brown spots; Kantic+ which is blended for dehydrated, stressed-out winter skin; Afterlase Soothing Milk, which cools and relieves itchiness caused by cool temperatures; and Nd:YAG Antioxidant After-shave Gel for men. www.alchimie-forever.com

FASHION

THE LATEST MUST-HAVE C

odename Luxury is a new collection of handbags as faithful as ever to the Chanel name. Yet, there’s a twist, literally—interwoven metal links seamlessly blend jewelry and couture creating a new look for the brand. Three different sizes of bowling bags are available, along with four shopping bags and a flap-fronted model with a shoulder strap. In eight different designs and colors, from red to gold to coral pink. Available at Saks Fifth Avenue

THE ARTS

THE RALLS COLLECTION TH ANNIVERSARY

ashington Life congratulates owner and curator Marsha Ralls as The Ralls Collection marks its 15th anniversary. Her gallery, which specializes in contemporary painting, photography, prints and sculpture, opened in 1991 and has hosted over 150 exhibitions. To celebrate, the Ralls Collection will present the landscape photographs of Michael Kenna through April 29, 2006. In this exhibition, Kenna’s delicate and intimate black and white prints are inspired by his time in Japan. 1516 31st Street, N.W. Georgetown.

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FASHION

VALISE OPENS ITS DOORS

alise, in Georgetown, will offer stylephiles something different when it opens on April 4th. From t-shirts to high-end evening wear, this boutique will carry lines not often available in D.C. such as Pink Tartan, Ruth, and Salt Denim, as well as fashion staples like Vera Wang. Featuring suits that are as appropriate during happy hour as they are at the office, Valise will be a great place to look for everyday fashion or a little something that is sure to stand out at your next big event. 1624 Wisconsin Avenue NW.

BEAUTY

LIGHTEN UP FOR SPRING

ivenchy wants you to look radiant and protect your skin with its Subli’mine Sculpt Light SPF 20, a feather-weight foundation that emphasizes pastel colors and palettes. Also try the Baby Lips Palette. Inside the clever holographic box, you’ll find great tools for supple, soft lips, including an exfoliating balm, moisturizing balm and two glosses that react with the ph in your lips. Available at select Saks Fifth Avenue stores and Sephora.com.

EPICUREAN

WINE MADE EASY

ew to Fairfax, WineStyles promises to take the “guesswork” out of wine buying. The store organizes products by color and style instead of variety and region. Each bottle is accompanied by a description listing the wine’s characteristics, flavors and suggested food pairings. The store features up to 150 wines from labels around the globe. Best of all, most are priced under $25 per bottle, which is perfect for all those “non-special” wine occasions (of which we tend to have a lot). www.winestyles.net

1213 connecticut ave washington, d.c. 202.628.6305

mazza gallerie washington, d.c. 202.363.6305

the homestead hotel hot springs, va

shop our entire collection on-line at: www.pampillonia.com.

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CELEBRATING THE THE YOUNG & THE February 2 • Dumbarton House

PHOTOS BY JONAH KOCH

aybe it was the splits of Moet & Chandon White Star. Maybe it was the sophisticated Dumbarton House décor. Maybe it was the soulful sounds of the Midnight Movers. Or maybe it was the chance to rub elbows with young society as Washington Life debuted The Young & The Guest List at a swanky cocktail party that had Georgetown buzzing. Tempting chocolate covered strawberries, brie and papaya quesadillas and other tasty canapes, a Belvedere Vodka martini bar, Patrón cocktails, and hot beats provided all the right ingredients for a successful party. The revelry continued until 2 a.m. at a WL sponsored a er party at Smith Point. Capital Club President Mat Lapinski shared, “This is one of the best parties I have been to in a very long time.”

Dumbarton House

Piper Fogg-Gould and Jonthan Gould

Temple Moore, Cart Rixey, Alana Harrington and Leslie Green

Laura Finkelstein and Tom Snedeker

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Christina Wilkie and Bridge Colby

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RELEASE GUEST LIST of

Kathryn Key and Andrew Blecher

Emily Williams and Sharon Warren

Jason Norris and Katherine Kennedy

Nicole Eshaghian and Elena Minuto

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was the best party

I have ever been to in D.C.â&#x20AC;? - Ray Regan Maxine McBean, William Batts and Meghan Cosby

Wesley Fricks, John Cecchi, Ray Regan and Dr Richard Ferraro

Natalie and Francis de Wolf

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Paul Holder and Jeremy Carman

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Nellie Boone and Seth Benhard

Lauren Annicelli and Laura Clark

John Olympitis, Charlie Fox and Nick Mele

Dr. Rinat Akhmeian and Sam Patten Entrance to tent T H E G I F T B A G S ( S WA G ) Guerlain, Estee Lauder and Clinique cosmetics from Saks Fi h Avenue Marc Jacobs perfume Kiehlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s travel pack Alchimie discount card Dr. Seaman - $50 oďŹ&#x20AC; micro dermabrasion Urban Chic discount card Zap Caps from the Container Store Vera Bradley luggage tags Chanel perfume Ann Hand discount card Sports Club/LA Passes

Joe Reblando and friend reading Washington Life

Ann Haynie, Rodrigo Vivanco and Sergio Vivanco

Grooving to the Midinght Movers Eleanore Richards De Sole

Bo Blair, Michelle Haney Maddux and Lindsay Stroud

Alston Frazier and Brooke Roseberry

Joe Toce

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Josh Thomas, Sean Peterson and Blake McDonald

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Brent Lowder and Harriotte Heinzen

Sabine Jourdon and Blase Mills

Leigh Nisonson

Sarah Bontempo and Jessica Ferguson

Erica Fredericks, Heather White and Mary Beth Metrry

DJ Artie K

Flowers by Volanni

W. Charlie Phelps and Lindsey Jones

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I never realized

Washington was this a ractive!â&#x20AC;? - Ashley Taylor Auburyn Thompson and Omar Popal

Ward Williams, Jr., Lauren Annicelli, Chas Boisky

Nunu Deng and Paul Wharton

Amy Argetsinger

Emily Lenzner, Eric Mullen, Sarah Ingersoll Cesar Devoto and Marne Levine

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Brian Baney, Mary Moffett and Justin Lesher and Jocelyn Moore

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Diane Brown, Toni Lombardo and Shannon Bradley

Maria Felice Mekouar and Christiana Deroover

John and Leigh Hays

Mandy Delk

O F T H E PA R T Y

OPERA

WL SPONSORED

February 11 • The Andrew W. Mellon Auditorum PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Rep. Mike Oxley and wife Pat and Joyce and Bruce Gates

Jessica Vickery and David Karisrober

THE EVENT The Washington National Opera treated guests to a Japanese-themed midwinter gala as the fiercest snowstorm of the year blanketed the area, prompting gala chairwoman Frances Norris to joke, “No one can say you’re fair-weather friends,” as she addressed the crowd. Proceeds from the benefit went to the opera’s Center for Education and Training. THE SCENE Guests dined on sushi and tempura in an ancient Japanese dining room, transformed by designer Jack Lucky using orchids, bamboo and cherry blossoms. Following dinner, Bon dancers taught patrons a few moves before the floor was turned over to rock band Free Spirit. Also ge ing down to the tunes were two Sony robots that did a traditional Japanese dance before le ing loose with some techno moves. THE GUESTS Rep. Mike Oxley and wife Pat, Jill Mitchell, Antonia and John Gore, Colle e Bruce, Joyce Gates, Linda Tarplin, Virginia Boggs and Julie Eddy.

Linda Sonnenreich and Michael Sonnenreich

Morrocan Amb. Aziz Mekouar, Brazilian Amb. Roberto Abdenur and Japanese Amb. Ryozo Kato

Afghan Amb. Said Jawad and wife Shamin and Hanayo Kato

Grace Koho

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Photo by Antoine Schneca k

Monica Bardon, Nohra Pastrana and Isabel Ernst

Nina Boggs and Conchita Sarnoff

Pascaline Steiner, Michael Sonnenreich and Corinne Bensahel

S AV E T H E D AT E :

Washington Life: Why did you choose the Washington National Opera (WNO) when it is well known that La Scala, the MET and many more wanted you? Placido Domingo: I was very thrilled to be asked to lead the Washington National Opera. It was already an important company, very well developed by Martin Feinstein, who sadly just died. It was the nation’s capital and there was a big possibility to go further. Washington is a very important city with very important people. Culture here is so important, all the museums, all the beauty of the city, opera has to be important here as well.

On March 19, the Washington National Opera will celebrate it’s 50th Anniversary Season with a Golden Gala Celebration chaired by Lucky Roosevelt. Maestro Plácido Domingo will be joined by some of opera’s biggest stars including Elizabeth Futral, Denyce Graves, Anja Kampe and Anna Netreboko for a memorable performance at the Kennedy Center followed by a dinner on the Roof Terrace. Tickets begin at $1,000 and can be purchased by calling (202)295-2400.

We are privileged to have Placido Domingo, one of the most important musical personalities of our time, leading the Washington National Opera. This is not just because of his beautiful tenor voice but also because of the enormous creative talent he brings as a conductor and leader of two major opera companies. His influence truly permeates our musical and cultural realm… Here’s what he had to say in an exclusive WL interview.

Patricia Sagon, Judy Cox and Susie Eisinger

WL: What have you enjoyed most about leading the WNO to new creative heights? PD: The challenge of things: to do the new “Ring,” to contribute to American opera, to bring the greatest artists, conductors, and directors here, to be able to pave the way for the new generation, both young artists and the new young public. There is a magic thing happening here -the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program where we are finding and training the great artists of tomorrow. It is my dream to extend the program and have these very talented young performers seen in more and more venues. WL: How do you envision the future of the WNO? PD:The future of Washington National Opera is bright and I want to be a part of it. I’m so proud of the company. But there are always ways to grow. I’m very satisfied artistically; on the economic level I want to have more and more patrons who can help us grow. I’d like to able to do everything in the repertoire, to start the season with every ticket sold.

Japanese Amb. Ryozo Kato, Frances Norris and Judith Terra

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WL: Why is the upcoming March 19, 2006 Golden Gala something not to be missed? PD: First of all, 50 years is a hallmark, a very special anniversary. We want to have everyone celebrate with us, [including] those who were with the company in the beginning [as well as] those who have just joined us. The program will be very exciting with all the best singers in opera. We will remember and recognize people, though it will not be an endless night of recognition, don’t worry. It will be wonderful.

Ali Stephanopoulos and Melissa Moss

Bernard Shaw

Iraklis and Yasmine Karabassis

Jillian Carroll and Jackie Watson

O F T H E PA R T Y

T I F FA N Y ’ S O P E N I N G February 3 Tiﬀany and Co. in The Collection at Chevy Chase PHOTOS BY ZAID HAMID

Tim Greenan, Bruce Bradley and Leonard Brown

Oscie Thomas, Mary Adams, Patricia Johnson and Emily Johnson

THE EVENT Tiffany and Co. hosted a cocktail reception to celebrate the opening of its new store in The Collection at Chevy Chase. The event had a glamorous old-Hollywood feel that would have made Audrey Hepburn feel right at home. THE SCENE Guests enjoyed cocktails and champagne while perusing the latest lines from Tiffany’s. With its curved facade, polished marble and two-storied arch, the new 7,400-square-foot store anchors the southern end of The Collection. On their way out, guests received Tiffany Blue Boxes, wrapped in white bows, which contained beautiful crystal bowls. THE GUEST Ed Asher, Iraklis and Jasmine Karabassis and Bruce and Sharon Bradley

Boyko Dossev and Tom Domenici

Neil Rodgers

Diane Brown

Rebecca McCabe

Ed Asher

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Nina Straight

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Buffy Cafritz, William N. Cafritz and Anne Jordan

John J. O’Connor III and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor with Paul Cézanne’s House with the Red Roof (Jas de Bouffan)

Mark D. Ein and Sarah Rosenwinkel

O F T H E PA R T Y C É Z A N N E I N P R OV E N C E January 25 • National Gallery of Art, West Building PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Philippe Cézanne and Aline J. Cézanne with Paul Cézanne’s Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory

Thomas Sidlik and Sen. Richard G. Luger

THE EVENT The museum’s black-tie preview of its blockbuster Cezanne exhibition highlighted the painter’s lifelong ties to Provence. The National Gallery is the ﬁrst and only U.S. venue for the show, which runs until May 7th before moving to Aix-en-Provence. THE SCENE Some 300 art supporters viewed 117 of Cézanne’s greatest oil paintings and watercolors. Both French Ambassador Jean-David Levi e and gallery president Vicki Sant praised the artist’s contribution to expressionism before a French-inspired dinner in the East Sculpture Hall. “Am I in France or the U.S.?” Amb. Levi e joked, alluding to the number of visiting guests from Aix-en-Provence, where many of Cézanne’s works are exhibited. THE GUESTS Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, Rep. John Dingell, Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov, Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Cézanne’s great-grandchildren Philippe and Aline Cézanne and the Mayor and leading citizens of Aix-en-Provence.

Rep. Michael G. Oxley and Pat Oxley with Paul Cézanne’s The Large Pine

Robert G. Liberatore, Thomas Sidlik, Philip Conisbee in front of Paul Cézanne’s Peasant in a Blue Smock

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Dr. LeSalle D.Leffall, Jr. and Chris Matthews

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EVENT SPOTLIGHT

A Partnership for Hope

CELEBRATING the 60th anniversary of UNICEF and International WOMEN’S DAY

First Lady Laura Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and actor Michael Douglas will be honored at a private gala dinner at the Kuwaiti residence on March 8th.

fghans are not strangers to violence. Theirs is a country that has suffered decades of war and depredation at the brutal hands of the Taliban. Afghan girls—fully half of the country’s children—had been prohibited from getting an education, while a few courageous teachers conducted lessons in secret. This enforced ignorance and conflict have resulted in poverty, illiteracy and poor health. But while Afghans have known a violent past, there is a crucial difference today: The people of Afghanistan are fighting back, and the battleground they have chosen is education. Raihana, a 9-year-old Afghan girl whose school was hit by rockets, symbolizes the determination of her country. When asked if the attack would deter her from going to school, she emphatically replied, “I am afraid, but I will continue. When I was appointed the fifth executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) last year, my fr iend Rima Al-Sabah, the wife of Kuwait’s ambassador to

the United States, and I talked about how we could work together to help children. We decided then that we should partner to help the children in war-torn Afghanistan. Our discussions led, in part, to a gala dinner on March 8, which will be hosted by Ambassador Salem Al-Sabah and Rima at their residence in Washington. The event, “Bridges of Hope: Educating Children for a Better Future,” will honor International Women’s Day and UNICEF’s 60th anniversary, while recognizing several extraordinary people and achievements related to girls’ education in Afghanistan. The evening is sponsored by the Kuwait-America Foundation, of which Rima is the benefit chairman and which, last year, partnered with USA for UNHCR to assist Iraqi women and children refugees. The Foundation has now helped raise more than $1 million for the rehabilitation of schools in Afghanistan. At the Bridges of Hope gala dinner, First Lady Laura Bush will be honored for her deep personal commitment to this cause, along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas. Entertainment will be provided by legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch and singer Roberta Flack; George Stephanopoulos of ABC News will serve as

master of ceremonies. As we celebrate UNICEF’s 60th anniversary, our work to promote education in Afghanistan hearkens back to the organization’s very beginnings of providing relief in the wake of conflict. UNICEF’s efforts in Afghanistan have included providing thousands of tents for temporary classrooms; repairs to hundreds of schools; distribution of thousands of tons of school supplies; repairing or constructing key infrastructure systems such as water and sanitation; helping develop curricula; and ensuring access for girls. But there is still much to do, and the needs remain pressing. UNICEF and our partners will continue to rely on the generosity of individuals and organizations, such as the Kuwait-America Foundation, to do that work. As we gather on March 8 at the Kuwaiti Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., children 7,000 miles away on the other end of those “Bridges of Hope” will be prepar ing for another school year in Afghanistan.

Rima Al-Sabah

Ann Veneman

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Q & A C A F É AT N AT H A N S

Artful Dodging

DAVID LEVY built the Parsons School of Design from scratch, but fell short at the CORCORAN. What went wrong? n May 2005, David Levy’s resignation as director and president of the Corcoran Gallery of Art came as a surprise (for most). During his fifteenyear tenure, the longtime art institution builder helped develop the Washington-based gallery and art school into a major center of American culture, while overseeing impressive fundraising efforts. The final straw was a proposed state-ofthe-art wing designed by Frank Gehry, which got sidetracked after funding stopped well short of its $160 million price tag. Was the Corcoran’s effort to expand slowed by its own devices? Or is the larger issue simply an endemic consequence of endeavoring to build a private art institution in a publiclyfunded art town?

The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Photo courtesy of the Corcoran Gallery of Art

Carol Joynt: Let’s start from the beginning. David Levy: I came to the gallery in 1991. I had been head of the Parsons School of Design prior to that and Chancellor of the New School for Social Research–or New School University as it came to be called. CJ: When you were offered the Corcoran position, what did you know about the institution? DL: Not enough. [laughs from the audience] The truth of the matter was that the Corcoran board of trustees . . . had gone through the great convulsion with the controversy over the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit in the late 1980’s and I don’t think they understood how deep the fundamental problems of the institution were, and they didn’t really communicate that to me. I pretty much knew what I read in the newspaper and from the financial statements. CJ: What did you see as your mandate? DL: You can’t really hold a grudge against bricks and mortar, so we started from the beginning. People in Washington need to understand how unique this city is and what problems it poses for cultural institutions. This is a city that is not only dominated by public institutions, but dominated

CJ: Can you cite an arts institution in D.C. where you think it does work? DL: Probably not. It’s a different kind of city. The Phillips Collection might get close. This is a city that defines itself principally in terms of politics, however, politics is all-consuming intellectually and emotionally; it can become your life. New York is defined principally in terms of business. It is hard to make business your life. So New Yorkers look for other ways to define themselves–like culture. There are major businessmen in New York, and if you ask them what they do, they say, “I’m an art collector,” because their principle self-definition is about this other thing they do. And they put their money where their mouth is. In Washington there is much, much less of that. CJ: When did you start talking about the addition to the Corcoran? DL: It was clear from the very beginning that the place had to expand. It goes back to this historical issue–how do you support an institution that has to compete with the Smithsonian, the most heavily supported public institution in the world. You’re out-gunned on every side.There’s just no way you can compete with an institution that, in addition to its endowment, its collection, and its fundraising, gets a line item out of the federal budget for $100 million.

David Lev y and Ca rol Joy nt The Corcoran Gallery of Art, founded in 1869, still stands as a leading center of historical and contemporary art. After fifteen years, Levy resigned as the institution’s director in the midst of financial concerns, which forced the board to put aside plans to expand the museum. by public institutions that define their public pretty much as “everybody that doesn’t live here,” i.e., the 25 million tourists who come into this city. The federal government is not giving $100 million a year to the Smithsonian to serve the 470,000 residents of the District of Columbia.

CJ: Was Frank Gehry always the first choice to design the expansion? DL: No, not at all. First of all we set up a selection committee. It is very common when people go out looking for architects to bring in a number of consultants, who tell you how to do architectural selection; and they are very boring [laughs among the audience]. I asked a very old friend of mine, who actually took my old job now, Paul Goldberger, who is the architecture critic for the NewYork Times and the New Yorker—if he would come down and be the consultant for this selection process. Paul came and worked with group of trustees and staff

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“I think people in Washington need to understand, from a cultural point of view, how unique this city is and what problems it poses for cultural institutions.” a period of almost two years. We started out with about 250 that quickly narrowed down to 60. Then after a request for qualifications we narrowed it down to ten, and invited them to come and make presentations. We then narrowed it to three and then asked them to make a whole presentation of their ideas, which we held as an open forum in our auditorium, and our in-close constituency were all invited to come see. The committee met for about three days and chose Frank Gehry.

the architectural plans for this building are complete.

CJ: And it was launched. And that was a good relationship for you, working with him? DL: Frank Gehry is an extremely interesting guy to work with–not just because he is a very creative architect, but he has such confidence in his ability. I said to Frank, ‘The entrance to this building is in the wrong place; we need to make this a much more important entrance.’ He says, ‘Sure. Okay. We’ll fix that.’ Just like that, because he has that confidence. I never worked with a designer who is easier to work with in terms of design issues than Frank Gerhy. Now, you want to talk to him about money, that’s another story. [laughter among the lunching audience]

CJ: It was very interesting what Mr. Gehry said after the “blank” hit the fan–that the board didn’t understand that most museums don’t run on a profit.

CJ: Tell me, do you think there is any scenario in which the addition can be revived? DL: They [the Corcoran Board] don’t want to do it. Keep in mind that we got $40 million dollars from the District of Columbia. CJ: Can that money be touched for anything else? DL: No. And that is twice as much money as the District has ever committed to any cultural institution in its history. There was a tremendous act of faith in this building by every conceivable constituency here. In their defense, the price had escalated–we had 110 million bucks and we needed $160 or $170 million and they thought it was a bridge too far, I did not. I completely disagreed with that. Here’s what people need to know:

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CJ: And paid for? They belong to the Corcoran? DL: They belong to the Corcoran. The construction drawings are finished. You turn this over to a contractor, and they can build that building tomorrow. If there is a change in leadership or if somebody emerges, who wants to see that building built it can be built… and it may happen.

DL: Well that’s true, and no one really expects them to. In Washington, there is nothing you can do that can’t be done better–or at least better funded–by the public institutions that are surrounding you on all sides. CJ: Well, what’s up with you now? Let’s put the Corcoran behind us. I’m sure you have, right? DL: Sure…[laughter]. I have become the senior educational consultant to Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Institute, which is their educational program that most people don’t know about. They offer masters degrees in London and New York and a series of other programs. The corporate headquarters is actually here in Bethesda. CJ: But wouldn’t you like to run an institution again? DL: No. [laughter] CJ: No? Why not? Where you pick the board of trustees? DL: I have been running institutions pretty much since I was 30 years old. It’s certainly a very comfortable thing for me, in the sense that I understand it, I know how to do it. But institutions have no memory. You can build an institution–I built Parsons School of Design from 500 students to 12,000. I made it the most

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important institution of its kind in the world. Do you know what it feels like to call a place like that up and give them your name and they don’t know who you are? CJ: We’re talking about education and one thing we didn’t discuss was the Corcoran College of Art & Design. Was that a source of pleasure? DL: Running a school is always a mixed blessing because you have to deal with the faculty. The faculty has its own idea of what it wants to do. The Corcoran really deals principally with photography, painting and sculpture, and graphic design. We’ve now developed a number of other graduate programs, but I still wouldn’t call it a comprehensive art school. I think that the principal problem with that school is the facility. If you are in the school business you are in a competitive business like anybody else then you are trying to recruit the most talented students you can find, but when they walk into your building and discover that they are going to spend four years in your basement… CJ: What do you think your legacy at the Corcoran will be? DL: No one has ever asked me that before. I think that my principal legacy is that I stabilized the place and gave it a foundation and a set of principles that it can build a future on. We built the college–it’s the only art school in Washington. If you wanted to be in art school, short of going to New York, this is the best city you could study in. So if the college could just get its act together in terms of offering the students a decent facility, it would be one of the greatest art colleges in America. The museum is in a much more difficult position. For more information about to the Q & A Café at Nathan’s, visit www.nathansgeorgetown. com. Nanthan’s is located in the heart of Georgetown at the corner of Wisconsin and M Streets; 202.338.2000

P O L L Y W O O D

Film as Facilitator

The SCREENING of the late Moustapha Akkad’s THE MESSAGE lead to an open discussion of AMERICA , faith and ISLAM

Dan and Rhoda Glickman BY DAN GLICKMAN

s President of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) I’m always asked ‘What’s the greatest thing about movies?’ and my stock answer is always ‘They’re a much cheaper way to explore issues than going to a therapist.’ (It gets a bigger laugh in California than here on the East Coast). The reality is the greatest thing about film is clearly its ability to bring people together to discuss the important issues of the day. I believe film is arguably the most powerful medium in the world. I write this because I’ve witnessed first hand its power to provoke, inspire, educate and entertain. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, an Austrian native, says that he first learned about America through the movies. But as Americans, it’s just as imperative for us to remember that we too can learn about and begin to understand other cultures through film. That desire to understand is why so many prominent Washingtonians and guests, including the wives of numerous cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, senators and

congressmen, gathered in the MPAA’s newly renovated theater on February 7 for a screening and discussion of the late director Moustapha Akkad’s 1976 historical epic on the birth of the Islamic faith,“The Message.”We were also honored to have the director’s widow, Sooha Akkad, along with family friends Hala Koutsi and Lana Hamdam, in from California for the event. The screening, organized by Luma Kawar, Rev. Kathleene Card, Debbie Dingell, Samia Farouki and my wife, Rhoda Glickman, was held in memory of the 2005 bombings at three hotels in Amman, Jordan, that killed 60 people.Tragically, Moustapha Akkad was one of those killed.“The Message” is a discourse on the origin and meanings of the Moslem faith. It features Anthony Quinn as the lead. It’s also poignant to note

“Film is arguabley the most powerful medium in the world” that not once in the film is the Prophet Mohammad portrayed-an interesting fact given the current backdrop of controversy across the Moslem world with regard to cartoon depictions of the Prophet. After the film, a discussion was moderated by Rev. Card, wife ofWhite House Chief of Staff Andrew Card. It was then that the power of the medium of film was evident.Viewers talked passionately and openly about what they had seen and what it had taught them. For example, Mrs. Farouki, a notedWashington philanthropist, told the crowd the film was “a call for each of us to overcome hatred.” Strong words indeed. Rev. Card added that,“Every text,” whether Koran,

Becky Gonzalez, Meryl Chertoff, Diane Bodman and TaylorEnsenat

Sooha Akkad and Luma Kawar

Bible or Torah,“has a context,” and open conversations, like the one we were having over the post-screening lunch, were the best routes to understanding this. Mrs. Dingell and my wife echoed her sentiments immediately. Mrs. Kawar, wife of the Jordanian Ambassador, further stressed the idea of acceptance.“We are all people of the book,” she said.“Whether Moslem, Jewish or Christian, we should focus on similarities instead of dwelling on our differences.” Many other guests commented on what they learned about Islam, including that religion’s opposition to slavery, the significance of charitable giving, the importance of not harming women and children during times of war, and the thin line that separates this faith from others. Many of the women noted how drastically different the portrayal of women was in the film compared to images they had seen of the lives of women under Taliban rule. But it was Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf who surprised the audience when he expressed his sincere wish that this occasion could have been broadcast across the Moslem world as a way to more accurately portray America abroad. “It’s wonderful that Rebecca Turner Gonzales, wife of the attorney general, and Alma Powell, General Colin Powell’s wife, joined so many other prominent Washingtonians to watch a three-hour film about the prophet and then participate in a two-hour luncheon discussion about Islam and faith,” he said. In closing, I would like to thank all of the guests who attended the screening.They helped to remember the tragedy of the Amman hotel bombings, as well as celebrate the life and work of the distinguished American filmmaker of Syrian descent, Moustapha Akkad.

Samia Farouki, Rev. Kathi Card and Debbie Dingell

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Closer to Home

DISCOVERY NETWORK President BILLY CAMPBELL is transitioning back to life on the EAST COAST

Billy Campbell with author Page Evans enjoying some very un-L.A. like weather in Georgetown BY PAG E E VA N S

e has biked in France with Lance Armstrong, hiked in Tanzania with Jane Goodall, successfully navigated the Holly wood entertainment jungle, and now, as president of Discovery Networks U.S., oversees 14 channels from the company’s headquarters in Silver Spring. Throughout his experiences, Billy Campbell has maintained his down-to-earth South Carolinian upbringing. Talk to Billy Campbell for just a few minutes and you realize he hasn’t lost his southern accent or sensibilities. “I don’t think I’ve really changed much from the way I grew up,” says the 46-year-old native of Greenville, S.C., who does not fit the mold of a Hollywood mogul despite 14 years in L.A. “I think there were times in Los Angeles where I felt a little different because I don’t actually wear black,” he jokes. Campbell moved to Washington from L.A. in 2002 to become one of Discovery’s top dogs. Until recently, his hectic schedule kept him from buying his own place. But last fall he moved into a 19th century house in Georgetown. “What I’ve loved is that you can walk five minutes and you have a choice of great restaurants,” Campbell says. (A personal favorite is Old Glory for its sweet tea, biscuits and southern-style veggies.) Campbell’s career in entertainment started

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as a fluke. While finishing his second year at Harvard Business School, he met the CEO of ABC (then ABC/Capital Cities) who offered him a job in programming. “I thought it would be a great adventure and I had never read a script before,” he says. The “adventure” at ABC paid off. Campbell moved on to become the executive vice president at CBS Entertainment, and, in 1998, became president of Miramax Television. “I just fell in love with the business. And what I found—and it’s probably at the core of why I love Discovery, too—is that what we have in common is we just tell great stories in a different way,” Campbell says. “At Discovery, it’s much more focused on knowledgebased programming—real life, science—and very little scripted programming. Whereas everything I did out in L.A.was scripted. I like both, but I think I like this better.” There’s a lot to like. “Grizzly Man,” a Discovery documentary, received critical acclaim last year, including best picture at Sundance. And, in the last three years, Campbell landed Armstrong, who joined Discovery’s cycling team; signed Goodall to Animal Planet; and lured in newsman Ted Koppel, who will be doing at least six documentaries a year for Discovery. But Campbell’s character is more grateful than gloating about his recent coups. “I’ve been pretty fortunate to be a part of the partnership we have with all three of them. I think all three of them are the greatest in their field.” Rick Rickertsen, a business school classmate and managing partner at Pine Creek Partners, says the same about Campbell. “The amazing thing about Billy is that in a world of huge egos—Hollywood—he seems to have no ego at all despite being at the top of his field.”

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Indecency Proposal Screen Actors Guild (SAG) President

ALAN ROSENBERG

talks decency, FCC fines and lobbying Washington Life: You’re here in Washington on behalf of SAG testifying before Congress about “decency”. What’s your position? Alan Rosenberg: The House passed a bill to raise the fines for individuals who say something indecent over broadcast or network airways from $11,000 to $500,000 for individual performers. WL: Where does SAG come into this? AR: I have an obligation to protect my members. If we say something in the course of doing our job that is considered indecent, we are liable. WL: Is there criteria detailing what’s decent or not? AR: There are no criteria. The standards are vague. Most actors don’t know those standards. WL: Are you trying to lobby for better criteria? AR: No. I’m against fines altogether. Rarely are there live shows on the air now without a seven-second delay. Plus, the average actor makes $25,000 dollars a year—levying a $500,000 fine is unthinkable. WL: Do decency laws affect creativity? AR: I think so. Just having these hearings puts a chilling effect on artists. WL: Could these measures cause more shows or performers, like Howard Stern, to leave the jurisdiction of the FCC for outlets that aren’t covered under these guidelines? AR: It could. That is another thing that occurred to me–it’s absurd that on a major network you can say a word that gets you a $500,000 fine, but if you’re a little further up the dial you are fine. WL: What’s the next step? AR: To wait and see what the Senate does. They’re going to have hearings for the next couple months. Just hope they act wisely. If not, I’ll come back to Washington and lobby again.

Hollywood on the Potomac BY JANET DONOVAN

One man’s FOLLY is another man’s FODDER

ark Russell has been making audiences laugh, and squirm, for more than three decades. As he prepares for a run of shows at Ford’s Theatre, he talks about the news, his pre-show routine and the fine line between being funny and bad taste.

It’s Monday morning and Mark Russell, master of political satire and musical mischief, Mark Russell knows he is opening at Ford’s Theatre that up to some musical mischief evening for a three-night engagement. What he doesn’t know is what and who will be lampooned. In a city where a political scandal moves faster than the Acela, yesterday’s news is just that—and he knows it. So, what’s left for the performances if everything is old news? “Lately the mother load has been Jack Abramoff,” Russell says. “He’s wonderful. My lobbyist friends are very upset though because everyone’s calling him a superlobbyist. If he were, he wouldn’t have gotten caught.” Like many writers Russell works better on deadline. Five minutes before he goes on the adrenaline is pumping.“When I was doing public television shows, I would write stuff right up to the last minute and would have the words scotch taped to the bottom of the camera lens–PBS couldn’t afford Teleprompters then. So yeah, the imminence really helps.” Russell has been doing the Mark Russell Comedy Series–the vehicle that made him a household name–for PBS since 1975. But it was the sultry and smoked-filled rooms of Washington’s lounges and bars that launched him into the world of political fodder. Now he spends most of his time on the road, improving his material by reading local headlines and picking up on the town’s latest funny business–like a mayor seen coming out of a Motel 6 at four in the morning. “It shows the audience that I’ve done my homework. A lot of performers have no idea what town they are in but with me that’s very important.” How does a satirist who draws on controversial material separate passable from bad taste? “Every satirist takes that risk. If you’re not going over the line a little bit from time to time, you’re going to run into the reverse situation where people criticize you because you’re not being tough enough. It’s a balancing act.”

Save the Date When: March 16 to 26 What: 2006 Environmental Film Festival Where: 100 documentary, feature, animated, archival, experimental and children’s films will be screened at nearly 40 venues throughout the city Details: The 14th annual festival features work from 23 countries, offering differing perspectives on environmental issues facing our planet. The festival has become the leading showcase for environmental films in the U.S. Highlights include “Grizzly Man”; director Werner Herzog’s new film “The White Diamond”; screenings of local films “Brood X: Year of the Cicada” and “On the Edge: The Potomac River’s Dyke Marsh”; and a Terrence Malick retrospective at the AFI Silver Theatre. Tickets: www.environmentalfilmfest.org 38

Venetian Dinner in Honor of John Berendt

The “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” author celebrates his latest book Somewhere between the crispy potato with tuna tartare and the black ink with cuttlefish, John Berendt, author of “The City of Falling Angels,” made 29 new friends at a Venetian dinner at Teatro Goldoni on February 15. Prepared by Chef Fabrizio Aielli, a Venetian himself, the five-course extravaganza was a tribute to Berendt, whose latest book takes readers inside Chef Fabrizio Aielli the mystifying and guarded traditions of and author John Berendt Venice–no easy task. With a guest list that included Italian Amb. Giovanni Castellaneta and his wife, Lucky Roosevelt, Rep. Mark Foley, Polly Kraft, Rita Braver, Septime Webre, Roxanne Roberts, Kevin Chaffee, Bill and Dorothy McSweeny, and best-selling authors David Baldacci and Sally Bedell Smith.

First Looks

Creative Coalition and Washington Life screen the “The Amateurs” at MPAA “The Amateurs,” starring Jeff Bridges, Ted Danson, Tim Blake Nelson and Jeanne Tripplehorn opens to limited audiences on May 12th, but the private showing at the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on February 9th co-sponsored by Washington Life was an opportunity to see a work in progress. “It’s a really funny, hysterical, lighthearted comedy;” said Joey “Pants” Pantoliano, co-president of The Creative Coalition. “It’s a wonderful movie that deals with moral issues about life and how misfits come up with these preposterous ideas. We made it about a year and a half ago. We didn’t have any rehearsal space, so Jeff’s [Bridges] mom lent us the Malibu house that he grew up in.” The showing was preceded by a dinner that included Bolivian Ambassador Jaime and Pamela Aparicio, Rep. John and Debbie Dingell, MPAA President Dan Glickman and Rep. Linda Sanchez. Award-winning producer and writer of “The West Wing” Lawrence O’Donnella, Jr. moderated a fireside chat with Joey “Pants” following the premiere, asking: “I know these things are made with five bucks, it’s hard to get people like Jeff Bridges and you into these movies, but without you, know one would ever see them. How did you get everyone involved?” “I worked Jeff at a pre-Oscar pool party”, quipped Pants. As for the film, there’s a “Full Monty” quality to it, and the end definitely justifies the means… WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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Let’s Be Friends

LOVE, SELF-RESPECT, DECISION MAKING and PEER COUNSELING have become the cornerstones for success with teens B Y E L A Y N E B E N N E T T P R E S I D E N T A N D F O U N D E R O F T H E B E S T F R I E N D S F O U N DAT I O N

uring the “You go girl!” era of the 80’s, women became to become aware of how much they could benefit from participating in positive, female peer groups guided and encouraged by female mentors. Around that same time, it also became apparent to me how much troubled women were seriously lacking in these same areas—no one, it appeared, had ever talked to them about life and love, and no one was talking to them about self-respect, or self-control.

It’s working… According to a recent study published in Adolescent & Family Health, girls who have attended the Best Friends program are substantially less likely to smoke, drink, take drugs, and have sex than atrisk girls who have not participated in the program. These surveys are modeled after the national YRBS conducted by the Center for Disease Control every other year.

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It’s hard to believe that it was nearly 20 years ago when the Best Friends program began at the Georgetown University Child Development Center. At that time I was an educator beginning to observe how little was being done in the area of adolescent development, especially for pre-teen and teenage girls. Dr. Phyllis Magrab, the head of the Child Development Center, encouraged me to test the beginnings of my curriculum on friendship, love and dating, self-respect, and decision making, which was to become the basis for the Best Friends Foundation. After field testing in a series of high schools and middle schools, I was asked to present my findings and the Best Friends model to a group of educators at the U.S. Department of Education—I happened to know the guy who was the Secretary (my husband, Bill). When I found out that the Department’s adopted school was Amidon Elementary in Southwest Washington, I knew immediately that I wanted to volunteer in the classroom. There was doubt at first among some participants whether the students would listen, but the principal stood up and stated, “That’s not true. Children will listen if they know you really care about them.”

Rock’n with Friends The Best Friends girls are so enthusiastic about helping our boys succeed that they performed a song and dance routine to the 80’s hit “Let’s Hear it for the Boy!” at our recent donor event “Do You Remember When Rock Was Young?” at the Marriott Wardman Park on March 4th. Also, Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge will sing “We Are Family” with the girls, and we all relived the 70’s listening to Three Dog Night. Thanks to everyone who came out! Today, we have more than 750 girls in 22 schools throughout Washington, D.C. and nearly 5,000 girls in the urban areas of Newark, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Houston, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, and in rural areas near Amarillo, Texas, Martinsville, Virginia, and Clay County, Kentucky. After completing the curriculum— which includes group discussions on critical life choices regarding alcohol, drugs, and sex along with mentor meetings—these girls are better able to make decisions about their lives. At Best Friends, we say, “When you ask an adolescent not to do something, you must give her or him something to do,” especially when it is something “cool.” Our Make Music Not Madness productions in the schools celebrate positive choices as alternatives to drugs and alcohol, and we encourage parents to attend as well. These appealing contemporary musical productions have had a significant impact on the student body and provide Best Friends and Best Men with a chance to reach out to their fellow students. Our creed is, “If we give our children our best, they will surely respond with their best.” Best Friends and Best Men are living proof of that.

LET’S SUNDANCE AFTER 25 YEARS THE SUNDANCE KID’S FILM FEST AND INSTITUTE HAVE NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD BY SOROU S H RICHAR D S H EHAB I AN D NANCY R EYNOLDS BAG LEY

s the film promises, “If you build it, they will come,” and no one seems to know that better than Robert Redford, who, 25 years ago, dreamed of creating an environment where independent artists could develop and showcase their films without the traditional Hollywood barriers.

Neither wind, blizzard, nor avalanche could keep a sizeable group of prominent Washingtonians from jetting to Park City, Utah, to view and discuss some of the 193 full-length films, shorts, documentaries and panels. Notables included former PBS President and Sundance Trustee Pat Mitchell, Reps. Rahm Emmanuel, Cynthia McKinney and Harold Ford, MPAA President Dan and Rhoda Glickman, Catherine and Wayne Reynolds, Douglas Smith, Gabriela Moreno, Center for American Progress founder John Podesta along with fellow CAPers Laura Nichols and Anna Soellner, Time magazine’s Matt Cooper, Jody Arlington (who was tasked with managing press for the 25th Anniversary). Nick Maduros of

Quinn Gillespie, Maggie Cole, David Leavy who won the dramatic directing award for his and Patricia Finneran from Discovery and self-portrait of life in Spanish Harlem. The film SIVLERDOCS, Lawrence O’Donnell, also won an award for Best Ensemble Cast. On Franck Cordes, Cid Szegedy, Hamid the international documentary side, director Kazemi, Neil Glickfield and Kimball Yonghi Yang won the Documentary Special Stroud, among many others. This year’s Jury Prize for “Dear Pyongyang” which provides Sundance Festival was a testament to Redford’s westerners with a rare glimpse inside North vision and the success of the Institute over the past Korea by chronicling the relationship between quarter century, with over 50,000 gathering for a Korean father and his Japanese-born daughter, ten days of films, parties, music, skiing and panels telling a riveting story of devotion to a unified, that embody creative risk-taking, diversity and communist Korea. Washington Life asked friends and members of aesthetic innovation. The festival, on of the many programs the Institute offers year-round in film, our community to write about their Sundance experience at the festival music and theater at the panels, presentations and labs, has become one TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A MORE films. We are privileged of the most important COMPLETE PICTURE WASHINGTON to have Robert Redford independent film festival LIFE ASKED FRIEND AND MEMBERS take us into the heart in the world. OF OUR COMUNITY TO WRITE ABOUT and soul of the festival WL wasn’t surprised THEIR SUNDANCE EXPERIENCE with a piece on what to see so many friends motivated him to create f r o m “ Po l l y w o o d ” given that Washington continues to grow into the Institute as well as a Q & A interview with Documentary Central–a.k.a. “Docuwood”– him on documentaries. Pat Mitchell provides a and is thriving as the nation’s third largest film unique perspective as a long standing trustee of production market.This year, former and current the Sundance Institute and tells you how to get Washingtonians in Park City associated with involved. Fellow trustee and star Glenn Close, films included former Vice President Al Gore who is also a creative advisor for the Institute’s and director Davis Guggenheim for “An developmental labs, shares her thoughts on Inconvenient Truth” which was quickly snapped Redford’s vision for the years ahead. Christiane up by Paramount Pictures and will be released Amanpour of CNN sends us a dispatch about on May 26; Rep. Cynthia McKinney featured hauling across the Atlantic for her first Sundance in “American Blackout,” writer Christopher experience and reports on a panel moderated Buckley for the film adaptation of his book by Mitchell, featuring eBay and Participant “Thank you for Smoking;” Philip Chidel Productions founder Jeff Skoll, Dan Glickman, for his dramatic narrative “Subject Two;” Redford and other notables. John Podesta Maria Maggenti for directing “Puccini for takes us inside the panel he moderated entitled Beginners;” and Christopher Quinn for “Where is the Media?” with “Syriana” writer “God Grew Tired of Us,” a brilliant film about and director Stephen Gaghan, NPR’s Farai three charming displaced Sudanese young men Chideya, blogger Eric Alterman, Todd adapting to their new life in America, which Purdam of Vanity Fair and Matt Cooper won both the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury of Time. Other contributors including Rhoda Prize and Audience Award. Glickman, Patricia Finneran, Sarah Ingersoll, “Iraq in Fragments” a non-political triptych Annie Sollner, Renee and Max Drake as well that provides beautifully shot portraits of as our own WL team provide reviews of many young Kurds, Shiite and Sunni Iraqis in the of the features, documentary and short films that aftermath of the war won three awards for were screened. documentary directing, editing and excellence in To view trailers of some of these films go cinematography and was one of our favorites. On to www.WashingtonLife.com and sign up for the dramatic side Robert Downey, Jr. provided the free digital edition which provides links a searing portrayal of the life of Dito Montiel, the to the trailers as well as over 50 shorts. At 25, writer of “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” Sundance has never looked this good.

INDEPENDENT MOVEMENTS

My years with Sundance and the man who made it great, Robert Redford B Y PAT M I T C H E L L

y relationship with Sundance began more than a decade ago. I’ll never forget my first impression….of the place and of the Sundance Kid himself. It was January, right before the festival. I came to convince Robert Redford to work with me on a documentary series on the history of Native Americans.

When I finally reached the Sundance resort at the tip of Provo Canyon, driving in the middle of a snow storm, I was stunned by the beauty of the place and by the presence and passion of the man who had quite literally designed and built it, and who had made it the home of the Sundance Institute. By the end of our walk along the river…. yes, there is a real and natural river that runs from Mt. Timpanagos through the groupings of cottages and Billie Swaggers, Pat Mitchell and Robert Redford at Sundance mountain homes… I had convinced him to work with me on the series and he had invited me to join the Institute’s board. Sundance is now a big part of get advice from the best in their fields. Far from The Sundance theatre labs have nurtured successful my life. Hollywood and NewYork, away from the pressures and important work like Tony Kushner’s “Angels Sundance, the place, was a rundown sheep farm of the marketplace, the fortunate few selected, are in America,”“The Laramie Project” and this year’s about to be taken over by developers planning to encouraged to take creative risks to find their ‘voice’ Tony winning play, “I am my own Wife.” It feels build condos and shopping by actually working on good to see such innovative and diverse work find its centers. Redford bought their films or scripts or way into the larger cultural landscape, and by doing SUNDANCE THE PLACE WAS it and created a natural so, bring ideas, issues, new personalities and talent to score. A RUNDOWN SHEEP FARM ABOUT preserve where only a audiences around the world. Over the 25 years, TO BE TAKEN OVER BY DEVELOPERS small footprint of 60 or so Placing a film festival in a small Utah town in hundreds of filmmakers WITH PLANS TO BUILD CONDOS cottages and two dozen have been discovered January was not exactly a prescription for success, AND SHOPPING CENTERS homes cluster around a and nurtured. Many but the Sundance film festival is nothing short of magnificent mountain have continued to phenomenal, a sell-out every year with waiting lines range, awesome ski runs, two restaurants, a screening make the kinds of films, plays and music that have for every film.The festival is now widely recognized room, a couple of buildings that function as ‘studios’ launched careers. Sundance is credited with creating around the world as the most important exhibition for film directors, mentoring spaces for writers and and strengthening an audience for the whole for an independent film or documentary. Redford actors and editing and composing suites during independent sector. Among the films that have gone often reminisces about the days when he had to the Institute programs that from time to time from either the Institute’s lab programs or exhibition literally stop people on Main Street in Park City to throughout the year. The concept of the Institute at the Sundance Film Festival to mainstream success try to interest them in seeing a movie, but now, he is simple, functional and unique: provide a safe are “Sex, Lies and Videotapes,” “Reservoir Dogs,” sometimes worries about the crowds, the celebrities, place, in a beautiful, remote setting, where aspiring “Big Boys Don’t Cry,”“Central Station,” and many and the hype that naturally evolves around such writers, filmmakers, and composers can work and documentaries such as “Capturing the Friedman’s”. success. He also cautions filmmakers invited to show

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OF COURSE PLACING A FILM FESTIVAL IN A SMALL UTAH TOWN IN JANUARY WAS NOT EXACTLY A PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS BUT THE SUCCESS OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL IS NOTHING SHORT OF PHENOMENAL A SELL-OUT EVERY YEAR WITH WAITING LINES FOR EVERY FILM

Scott Seydel and Pat Mitchell their work at the Festival to try to ignore the other stuff and focus on the experience of having their work seen and appreciated. Seeing the films, meeting the filmmakers and actors is the main attraction at the festival, but for me, there was an extra special event this year that made this year’s festival even more memorable. Washington Life and the Creative Coalition honored me with a birthday party! Friends and colleagues from the Sundance Board and PBS took time out from going to films and joined the fun at a party that included a birthday song written and performed by Glenn Close and her new husband, David Shaw. Other friends who joined the celebration were Washington’s own Catherine and Wayne Reynolds and Dan and Rhoda Glickman, as well as my good friend and Board colleague, Sally Field, and producer/entrepreneur Jeff Skoll. From the catered food from one of LA’s finest eateries to the many good hearted toasts, it was the kind of birthday party that is a memory forever. What made it even more special was the fact that it was also Soroush’s birthday, even though he didn’t tell anyone this until the end of the evening. Don’t’ know how I will top such a birthday celebration in the future and many thanks to all who put it together…right in the

middle of a Utah snow storm and on one of the and rented out through the resort management. Redford, who donated most of the 9000 acres of busiest nights at the Festival. Now if all of this is making you wish you had Sundance to a nature preserve, the North Fork made the trek to Park City or if you’re feeling Conservancy, has opened up nine new home sites inclined to start now making plans, you might on the ridge next to the ski runs.There are three or four left for those who consider visiting the seek a retreat that offers Sundance web site and THIS SUMMER SUNDANCE natural beauty and the finding out more about HOSTED MANY OF AMERICA’S BEST best of every season… the festival and other KNOWN MAYORS AS THEY FOCUSED Sundance activities. Also, ON WAYS TO FACE THE ENVIRONMENTAL from mountain hikes and waterfalls to biking, riding, I suggest to those who CRISES THREATENING THEIR CITIES fishing, and yes, from time ask how they can get AND INDEED THE WORLD to time, dropping in on a more involved to consider lab or Institute program. joining the Patron’s Circle You may remember that at the end of his film, as a way to get engaged in the Institute programs, helping to sustain them and among the privileges “The Candidate,” when Redford’s character wins of being a Patron, aVIP ticket package to next year’s his Senate race, he asks, “Now, what do we do”? Well, there is no doubt that Robert Redford knows Festival. There’s still much more to Sundance than the what he’s going to do after 25 successful years: he is Institute or the festival. Never one to linger long deep into planning the next 25, the second legacy on success, Redford has also epanded Sundance and ways to evolve the Institute’s programs, keep the to include a cable channel, a catalog, and an inter- festival fresh and cutting edge, and yes, sustain the national documentary fund. Future plans include, magic of Sundance. a conference center where different groups can gather in a beautiful natural setting to shape new ideas, plans, and solutions to the challenges of our time.This summer, Sundance hosted many of America’s best-known mayors as they focused on ways to f ace the environmental crises threatening their cities. I bought into the magic big time. My husband and I purchased one of the cottages which are all privately owned

Laura Nichols and Robin Bronk

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Rhoda, Dan and Amy Glickman

Pierre and Isabelle Fay and Peggy Fries

Gerry Byrne

Paul Turcotte and Anne Marie Pesanti

Cady Huffman and TerryTemescu

John and Marva Warnock

Gaby Moreno

Jeffrey Sachs

Scott Seydel, Clark Seydel and Pat Mitchell

Jeff Skoll

Kimball Stroud and Jody Arlington

Catherine and Wayne Reynolds

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Maggie and Jessica Cole

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Scott Seydel, ????????????? Pat Mitchell, Jeff Skoll and Sally Field

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Joey Pantoliano, Eloise and John????????????? Paul DeJoria

O F T H E PA R T Y

PAT M I C H E L L’ S B I R T H D AY January 20 •The Style Lounge, Park City, Utah P H O T O S B Y M YC H A L WAT T S A N D S H AW N C A R S O N

Abby Shaw, David Shaw, Glenn Close and Soroush Shehabi serenading Pat

Nat Owings and Mark Mitchell

Washington Life and the Creative Coalition sent one of television’s first daughters, former PBS President and CEO Pat Mitchell, big birthday wishes at a party we threw in her honor to kick-off Sundance. A television veteran herself, Mitchell has earned 37 Emmys, five Peabody Awards, and received two Academy Award nominations for her work in front of and behind the camera. As a Trustee of Sundance for over a decade, the Institute and festival have become a special place for her. Pat, the first producer to ever lead PBS truly reinvigorated its prime time line-up by moving aggressively towards diverse programming in ways once considered unthinkable. WL was particularly honored to be able to bring fellow Sundance Trustees Sally Field, Glenn Close, Adobe CEO John Warnock, eBay and Participant Films founder Jeff Skoll together with Washington friends Catherine and Wayne Reynolds, Dan and Rhoda Glickman, Gabriela Moreno, Maggie Cole, Nat Owens, Kori Bernharts, Laura Nichols, and Stephen Gaghan for an intimate dinner and birthday celebration. The Creative Coalition truly helped make this a special night and turned out in force with President Joe Pantoliano, Executive Director Robin Bronk, Executive Board members Gerry Byrne, John Paul and Eloise DeJoria, Jefferey Sachs, and supporters Paul Turco e, Peggy Fries, Pierre and Isabelle Fay joining the celebratory feast. A er a cocktail hour, featuring Patron tequila and special drinks provided by the Viper Room, guests raved about the soup and braised short ribs from Mason G, one of L.A.’s finest new eateries. Mitchell said it was “a birthday memory to last forever” and was particularly surprised when Glenn Close and her new husband, David Shaw led a chorus in perfect harmony, with an original song the couple sang to the tune of “Ba le Hymn of the Republic,” toasting her with, “Our eyes have seen the glory of Pat Mitchell on a roll, she is giving way more speeches than the Congress as a whole, she’s saving public television, she’s doing it with soul! Pat Mitchell’s marching on!

Steve Gaghan and Alex Kelly

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Glenn Close and Pat Mitchell

REDFORD TALKS

The new star of Sundance... the Documentaries

ince the inception of the Sundance, documentary films have been part of the Festival. As the Institute turns 25, the Documentary Film Program celebrates its tenth anniversary. Prior to the 2006 Festival Robert Redford answered questions highlighting the institute’s commitment to documentary filmmaking.

What is the philosophy of documentaries and documentary programming at Sundance? How does this fit into the documentary film program and the whole Sundance mission? Robert Redford: Sundance Institute mission is simply to discover and develop independent artists and audiences, and from the beginning that has included documentary film. We provide year-round support to documentar ians through the Sundance Documentary Fund, Documentary Edit and Story Lab, Composers Labs and of course, the Sundance Film Festival. At the Festival we’ve always exhibited documentaries along with features, to bring these extraordinary personal stories from around the world to American audiences and increasingly to worldwide audiences. It 2006 marks not only the 25th anniversary of is very gratifying to have contributed to the Sundance Institute but also the 10th year of the wider acceptance Sundance Documentary of and interest in Fund, which came to us WE SUPPORT DOCUMENTARY documentar ies by a from the Open Society PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD broader audience.When Institute in 2001, and THAT FOCUS ON HUMAN RIGHTS you see documentaries has been augmented FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION SOCIAL like Why We Fight or with support from the JUSTICE AND ACTION CIVIL LIBERTIES Born into Brothels, your Ford Foundation. We AND THAT PUSH THE CREATIVE view of the world and support documentary BOUNDARIES OF FORM AND CONTENT the human condition projects from around expands and these days, the world that focus documentaries have taken the place of televised on human rights, freedom of expression, social news as a source of information about what is justice and action, civil liberties, and that push really going on in the world. the creative boundaries of form and content.

Talk about your personal commitment and interest in documentary film. RR: Documentaries reveal new worlds, real lives and affect social change in a way narratives can’t, and documentary filmmakers often risk their lives to bring these stories to us, something that impresses all of us here at Sundance. We’re excited when the artists and projects we support enliven the diverse exchange of ideas crucial to developing and maintaining an open society, and engaging citizens around the world with opportunities for meaningful, ongoing discourse about these issues and the human stories within them.

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POINT OF VIEW BY ROBERT REDFORD

Looking back over the past twenty-five years what has been the most rewarding aspects of Sundance.What do you envision for the future of Sundance? RR: For me, the most rewarding aspect of Sundance is always the filmmakers. To have the opportunity to work with screenwriters, directors and advisors at the labs at Sundance Village-- to see the growth and watch the stories unfold as part of the process of making a film. We’re honored to work with artists who embody the independent spirit and grateful to each of them for sharing with us their extraordinary stories and original voices. I would say the future will harken back to the original mission of discovering and developing independent artists—their creative diversity and risk taking-- and continuing to build audiences..both in the US and abroad. I see us deepening and broadening our current impact through our artistic development programs and Film Festival screenings with the hope that we can play some role in creating a more informed society.

Jennifer Aniston and Robert Redford on opening night of “Friends With Money”

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Independent film is a quintessentially terms and extends the power of a platform American endeavor. It embodies a defining to new groups of people. The artists who mark of our national character- a fundamental choose to make their films independently belief in the rights of the individual. It is embody the idea that exploration and rooted in the notion that voices outside of invention move us forward as a society. By the mainstream enhance our culture, and the taking creative risks, independent filmmakers exper iment with insistence that artists WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MIDST methods that lead working outside of to innovation and the system can make OF A BROAD CONVERSATION ABOUT later make their way films in their own THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS way. Our most basic into the mainstream. WITHIN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY American values – And by expressing freedom of expression, a right to privacy, and alternative voices, theses artists add texture a democracy of ideas and voices- are rooted to our cultural identity. in our collective faith in human potential. Whether the narrative or documentary Our conviction that people should create in form, when independent films enter their own destinies by actively participating our national dialogue they provide us with in society at large, and by questioning those important information about the people and the issues that define our times. Personal in power, has formed this country. We are currently in the midst of a broad stories told by unexpected voices foster conversation about the role of individual an appreciation for the myriad ways in r ights within a democratic society. which diverse individuals navigate daily life. Extending voice and power to greater With subjects that range from the state of segments of our populace has marked some our natural environment to foreign wars, of our greatest social progress. From the documentaries offer vital alternative sources founding principle of religious freedom, to for information that we may otherwise the abolition of slavery, to women’s right be hard-pressed to find. Increasingly, to vote, expanding individual rights and independent filmmakers provide the kind diversifying the power of the base of our of information that is necessary for citizens democracy have been central to some of in a democracy to exercise their right and the most defining moments in our history. responsibility to be informed and active Independent film is a forum that embraces participants in society. differences and dissent and in which Collectively, these filmmakers comprise individuals who exercise their freedom of a loosely connected movement that its expression often succeed in breaking new very diversity provides a more complete ground. In this pluralistic arena, high value and complex picture of America than any is placed on diverse voices and on the unique politically motivated sound byte ever will. idea the offer culture at large. And as we see individuals liberties comprised, In independent film there are no keys to the independent films and the artists who make kingdom and there is no formula for success. them continue to remind us that who we are The only requirements are the will, tenacity as Americans is most fundamentally defined and skill to tell a unique story in a compelling by our values of individualism, freedom of way. Independent film champions the ability expression, and a democracy of ideas. of individuals to make films on their own

MY SUNDANCE The personal is political, and powerful, in the 2006 Sundance documentary line-up. BY PATRICIA FINNERAN

hat do Dan Glickman, Todd Purdham, John Podesta and Paris Hilton have in common? They were all at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, albeit for very different reasons. In a year when Sundance organizers vowed to get back to their independent roots, a powerful wind was blowing from the East, as Washington invaded Park City.

As the director of a documentary festival, I’m often asked “Why are documentaries so often the voice of the liberal left?” I want to answer “Why is talk radio the voice of the far right?” But that would be too glib. Documentary filmmakers look deeply into the compelling stories and complex issues that we face as global citizens and invite audiences to question the status quo. Some do it with an overt political agenda, others adhere to strict journalistic principles, still others tell stories of people - or penguins - that we relate to 0n a more emotional level. I am far less interested in the idea of left or right than in the effectiveness of the storytelling. SUNDANCE 2006 presented some 40 new documentaries from all over the world: Indian expats in the U.K. (“I For India”); Neil Young in concert (“Heart of Gold”) tourists at a concentration camp (“KZ”) a musical documentary featuring female prisoners (“Songbirds”); a three hour meditation featuring monks in the French alps (“Into Great

Davis Guggenheim and Al Gore

“American Blackout” Producer Ian Inaba and Rep. Cynthia McKinney at their film screening

“That’s not left or right, that’s the power of the personal story to move people, to jolt us out of our sense of hopelessness.” Silence”); and a few that delved into American politics such as an exploration of the African American vote in the 2000 election (“American Blackout”) and a portrait of activist and accused election spoiler Ralph Nader (“An Unreasonable Man.”) Amid all the glamour, the big star at this year’s festival was none other than Al Gore, whose presence and hot new film “An Inconvenient Truth,” may have eclipsed press coverage of Jennifer Aniston’s bag of schwag. The film, directed by native Washingtonian Davis Guggenheim (son of the late 4-time Academy Award winning Charles Guggenheim) and produced by Participant Productions, interweaves the story of Gore’s life with his slide-show-on-steroids story of global warming. But in the post-Michael Moore age, savvy documentary filmmakers have to go beyond left and right their work will be promptly dismissed by half their potential audience.“Black Gold” is a film about the global coffee trade, centering on the tireless leader

of a coffee cooperative in Ethiopia who travels the globe seeking a fair price for the gourmet Arabica beans. This is a film that challenges the financial model of Starbucks®.When I look around my local Silver Spring Starbucks® in the morning, the folks waiting in line seems evenly red and blue; when it comes to coffee, it’s all about the caffeine. The film’s central point is that trade, not aid, would most benefit these community farmers who want to sell their coffee at a price that allows them to feed their families and send their children to school. The film goes from the New York commodities exchange to the worldwide coffee marketers convention to the WTO trade meetings. There’s enough poverty and injustice to spread the blame all around, but the geopolitics and economics of the global coffee trade are too complex to offer a single villain. That’s not left or right, that’s the power of the personal story to move people, to jolt us out of our sense of hopelessness. One man thinks, “Perhaps I can’t solve the problems of agricultural subsidies and fair trade, but I can help these hard working farmers build a school for their children.” So while a few politicians and leading figures of the fourth. Estate donned parkas and snow boots in January, in a kind of reverse celebrity dance (remember that it was a big deal that actors came to the White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner?) the movies that moved audiences were emotional, compelling and human. The power of documentary is that it makes the political, personal.

SAVE THE DATE JUNE 13-18, 2006 SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival brings the best new documentaries to Washington, D.C. audiences. For more information, go to

www.silverdocs.com.

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TRUSTING IN SUNDANCE

Glenn Close talks about Sundance and her role on the Institute’s board BY GLENN CLOSE

n the set of “The Natural,” while waiting for a shot to be set up, Robert Redford would, upon occasion, settle himself into a director’s chair and join in on whatever conversation was in progress. He is very witty, highly articulate and an extremely good storyteller. More o en than not, usually urged on by one of his fellow actors, the conversation would come around to one of his lifelong passions—The Sundance Institute. It’s hard for actors—I don’t care how successful they might become—to believe that they will ever get another job. So we tend to be completely focused on where our next paycheck is coming from. By the time “The Natural” was shot, Bob had received a lot of significant paychecks, but he was compelled to give back and he was doing just that. I was impressed by the fact that Bob was actually putting his money where his mouth was. He had founded and had actually invested in a place for emerging, young independent voices. He was on his way to changing the landscape of American film. Several years later, Bob asked me to become a member of The Sundance Institute’s board of trustees. It took me a not inconsiderable amount of time to feel comfortable around the board table—to find my own, independent voice—but I eventually did and am proud to still be serving after 16 years. On this, our 25th anniversary, the thing that amazes me is that the energy and passion around the table and at the Institute is as vital and exciting as it was all those years ago— even more so. Sundance has definitely made its mark and is going strong. It’s not any easier. The challenges remain. I was able to visit some of the labs last summer and I witnessed them

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I was able to see them gaining confidence and occasionally witness their absolute exaltation when the work was going well. When their vision was manifest in a scene, a moment, a connection. That is the inspiring purity of the process that goes on at the Sundance Institute. BOB HAD RECEIVED BY THE TIME “THE NATURAL” WAS SHOT A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT PAYCHECKS BUT HE WAS COMPELLED TO GIVE BACK It is messy, often chaotic and frequently there is a quotient of despair, but for those who persevere, something unique happens.They find their voice. They are able to reveal something about the human experience original to them. They have put something palpably positive into our collective consciousness as they have become true artists. It is a privilege to be a part of that process, even if it is from the sidelines, urging them on. We have much to celebrate.

Glenn Close every day. I wanted to stay to the very end, to hang out and see how the young director/ writers would solve the various issues with which they were all wrestling. Like other Board members, I was able to sit down with them at several meals, hear them talk, sense their excitement, and commitment as well as their frustration.

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Aside from her role on the Board of Trustees for the institute, Glenn Close had a busy 2005, working on “Nine Lives” (Maggie) in a touching scene with Dakota Fanning, “Hoodwinked” (voice of Granny), “Tarzan II” (voice of Kala), and The Chumscrubber (Mrs. Carrie Johnson). This year she slated to work on “Sunset Boulevard (Norma Desmond) and Therese Raquin (Madame) with is in post-production.

SNOWED OVER

Film Buff Rhoda Glickman sees the significance of Sundance.

lickman is no stranger to film festivals. As the wife of Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) President Dan Glickman, she’s more than adept at maneuvering the insand-outs of festival premieres, symposiums, panels and VIP passes. This year both she and her husband made their first trip to the Sundance Film Festival, perhaps signifying what the Sundance community hopes is another important step in the festival’s development. Washington Life is pleased to publish Rhoda’s reflections on her experience in Park City.

★★★★ There was an air of excitement at Sundance. It was an amazing feeling to be there for the

Little Miss Sunshine LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ film is a hysterically funny, delightful movie with a wonderful message about the importance of family.The film focuses on a dysfunctional family who pile into aVW bus to get seven-year-old Olive–daughter, sister and niece to the rest of the characters–to a beauty pageant. It’s a feel-good movie, but the jokes continue throughout. I thought this was a great example of wonderful actors, like Greg Kinnear,Toni Collette and Steve Carrell, working for less money because they really wanted to do the film. There was also considerable buzz about Abigail Breslin’s great performance as Olive.

first time, surrounded by people who love cinema. When you’re in a situation like that you realize instantly there’s more to movies than movies. I think a barrier was broken this year when my husband, Dan, attended the festival, the first MPAA president to do so. People were thrilled he was there, and the MPAA was very well received. More than anything, it’s the incredible energy at Sundance that strikes you. It personally made me appreciate the strength of the film community and how crucial it is to continue to nurture upand-coming talent. Often, lost in the shuffle, however is how much work it takes to put the festival on every year, especially by Robert Redford, who remains Sundance’s driving force. Each year, more often than not, the

independent films, documentaries and shorts screened at the festival create an electrifying buzz throughout the industry. Jjust think about the class of 2004: “Super Size Me”, “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Garden State”, or “Hustle and Flow” last year. I was fortunate enough to see several very diverse movies that are having the same effect this year. It was especially refreshing to see major actors working for far less money than what they would earn on a big-budget production purely for the love of making good movies. In sum, it’s the spirit of the love of film that has overtaken Sundance filmmakers and in turn, the fans who follow them—including me. In that spirit, here are my thoughts on four interesting festival films, a documentary, a thriller and two very distinct comedies.

CLEAR CUT THE STORY OF PHILOMATH OREGON

that provides a balanced look at the controversy, proving that no complex human drama is truly “clear cut.”

This documentary by Peter Richardson is the true story of a timber town with a generous benefactor.As a former secretary of agriculture, my husband thought he knew everything about the harvesting of our ancient forests but this film provided fresh perspective. For 40 years, the Clemens family, wealthy from logging, has given college scholarships to all graduates of the local high school. With the timber industry dwindling and new ways of life arriving, things begin to change in Philomath.The Clemens foundation, upset that the school is teaching what they considered to be a “politically correct” forest preservation curriculum, threatens to do away with the scholarships. What follows is a compelling story of tradition and change

NIGHT LISTENER

In this disturbing thriller, Robin Williams plays a role you don’t expect him to play. In his portrayal of a writer and Garrison Keillor-esque Night Listner radio host, Williams must walk the blurry line between truth and deception when a listener’s story, which may or may not be true, invades his psyche.The film is peculiarly timely since it deals with a soon to be published book that is based on events that may not be real. It inadvertently reminds one of the controversy surrounding James Frey and “A Million Little Pieces”–a real life example of the issue of truth in publishing.

FRIENDS WITH MONEY This one is a bit troubling. It revolves around three

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BRAVE NEW WORLD MORE THAN ANYTHING

Sundance opens the door for Social Change BY CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR

IT’S THE INCREDIBLE ENERGY AT SUNDANCE THAT STRIKES YOU IT PERSONALLY MADE ME APPRECIATE EVEN MORE SO THE STRENGTH OF THE FILM COMMUNITY AND HOW CRUCIAL IT IS TO CONTINUE TO NURTURE UP-ANDCOMING TALENT ”

wealthy couples and a struggling maid (Jennifer Aniston) who goes to great lengths to keep up with her friends, including visiting a store to get free samples of a face cream she can’t afford. It’s an interesting movie because you get to look at the psychology of how people relate and how money can affect relationships for better or worse. I thought the cast, which also includes Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack and Frances McDormand, was great and had real chemistry. Aniston’s adept performance was deeply moving as she portrays a totally different persona than her role as Rachel on “Friends,” a true testament to her acting ability. Jennifer Anniston She’s not and Catherine Kenner glam, but she’s at the premiere still Jennifer of “Friends with Aniston. Money.”

ike everyone, I came to Park City to see Robert Redford and the house that he has built, Sundance. When I hauled my tired carcass across the Atlantic, I didn’t know what to expect, but after two short days I found myself reinvigorated and rejuvenated, pumped up and full of the possible.

Redford’s commitment to alternative media has never been more needed as we find ourselves dangerously close to the edge of conformity and dogmatic thinking in our mass media environment. The first night my jet lag was instantly cured by the wonderful feature film “Little Miss Sunshine,” which received a standing ovation from the audience and was instantly snapped up by a studio. The next day I was invited to Redford’s lunch for the film and documentary makers. His talk was a real morale boost for the attendees and it was great to see all these thriving and incredibly talented artists. I collected a haul of DVDs to take back to CNN for possible collaboration.This was quality with a heart and appeal. The most thought provoking highlight of my trip was a Sundance Film Festival panel titled, “Brave New World: Entertainment and Social Change,” moderated by Pat Mitchell, featuring Dan Glickman, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jeff Skoll, founder of eBay and Participant Productions; film financier and Redford partner Jake Eberts; co-founder of October Films Bingham Ray; and the Sundance Kid himself. The panel focused on whether Hollywood can truly impact social change and whether emergent technologies and interactive distribution models play a role in shaping social consciousness. Redford joked, “I’m a cynical optimist,” as he spoke about the growth of films that both inform and entertain Sundance and his own roles in films such as “The Candidate”

and “All The President’s Men.” Glickman noted that he ran for office after watching “The Candidate” and argued that, “The image of this country is identified with entertainment. Never underestimate the power of films to change your life and drive social change.” Bingham Ray highlighted political films such as Skoll’s “North Country,” “Syriana” and “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and Focus Features’ “Brokeback Mountain,” a “resurgence of films saying things to people that matter. Rarely have so many films had so much impact.” Two Sundance documentaries moved audience members so much that one wrote a $10,000 check for a school in Ethiopia following the screening of “Black Gold,” a film that tracks the coffee trade. Another wrote a check for $25,000 to a foundation that aids displaced Sudanese youth following the screening of the Grand Jury and Audience Award winner, “God Grew Tired of Us.” For those of us who believe in the cutting edge, in the possibility of our mass media to do good while doing well, this was heady stuff, a rare gambol in the garden of Eden.

Pat Mitchell moderating the pan el “B rave New World : Enter tain me nt and Social Change.”

WHERE’S THE MEDIA? Who speaks the truth when journalism and entertainment converge? BY JOHN PODESTA

hen blogs, documentaries and feature films deliver stories that newspapers and cable TV have left behind, what are the responsibilities of “traditional media” versus “new media”? To find out the Sundance Institute and the Center for American Progress co-presented a panel, “Where’s the Media?” which attempted to make sense of this rapidly changing landscape.

Long presumed as a ‘check’ against injustices and abuses of power, the media has been criticized in recent times for seeming absent in that role—for failing to act on behalf of the public in the interest of truth. The public finds itself living with more media than ever before– an endless parade of talking heads on TV and innumerable radio channels. And, of course, there’s the Internet which has ushered us out of the age of the anchorman and into the age of the blogosphere where technology and speed trumps all. But what does that mean for society and the common good? A mix of filmmakers and journalists participated including Matt Cooper from Time, “Syriana’s” Stephen Gaghan, Vanity Fair’s Todd Purdon; Jehane Noujaim, director of “Control Room;” Farai Chidoya of NPR; and Eric Alterman a media critic and blogger. They discussed and at times sparred over the issues of entertainment, audience demands and responsibility. Filmmakers Noujaim and Gaghan told stories no one was addressing. Gaghan also discussed wanting to tell tales that had no defined hero and no Hollywood ending: “Traffic” about the drug trade and “Syriana” about big oil. “Everything in those films is based on true stories,” Gaghan replied when asked what responsibility he had for checking the facts in his work. “I’m a kid

“Syriana” writer/director Stephen Gaghan

Media critic and blogger Eric Alterman

Panelists acknowledged that there was increasing focus towards niche audiences. from Kentucky and it blew my mind.” An area of particular contention was the embedded nature of the national press corps

which have been as much a part of news stories this year as their subjects. From the use of intelligence to justify the Iraq war, to the Valerie Wilson Affair, panelists discussed whether traditional media is really covering important stories in an unbiased and courageous manner and how alternative media is fulfilling demands in the marketplace in significant ways. Purdum agreed that it’s good for mainstream media to be “goosed and pushed” by alternative counterparts, although he argued that journalists we’re fulfilling their core mission. More fundamentally, he stressed that newspapers and network news outlets are “under siege”— with shrinking audiences and thereby reduced revenue streams. Panelists agreed that current economic models were not sustainable if corporate parents of media companies want the rates of return demanded by the marketplace. When it comes to the marketplace, audiencedriven content is the wave of the future. Panelists acknowledged there was increasing focus towards niche audiences—giving people what they want rather than what they might need to be informed citizens. Chideya asked “who can afford to broadcast when the market wants you to narrowcast?” She explained that media, new or old, must grapple with whether they want to serve the consumer or the citizen. So where is the media? The answer to that question is that it is everywhere: from newsprint to film, from the web to mobile phones. The battle between traditional/alternative or old/ new is less about audience share than how the purveyors—be it Viacom or a lone blogger— serve two masters: the public good and the marketplace.

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Spotlight: INDEPENDENT FILMS Looking at the Festival’s Highest Award Winners

Sundance has also been a beacon for leading independent film award winners, and 2006’s award winners are no different in their appeal and importance. Their stories, however, are as diverse as the people who made them.

GOD GREW TIRED OF US

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS

WINNER Grand Jury Prize for Documentary WINNER Audience Award for Documentary

WINNER Directing Award for Documentary Director James Longley

Looking for reprieve from the civil war

allows viewers

raging in Sudan in the late 1980’s, 27,000

to hear and

“lost boys” set out on a barefoot march

see what they

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS WINNER Dramatic Directing Award WINNER Dramatic Jury Special Jury Prize for best ensemble performance

DEAR PYONGYANG WINNER World Cinema Documentary Jury Special Jury Prize

rarely get a chance to do on the news: the opinions and concerns of normal Iraqi citizens caught in the middle of the conflict over thousands of miles of desolate

between the United States and their

Chronicling the relationship between

country.

a Korean father and his Japanese-

desert. Half were killed by bombing

born daughter as she tells the story of

raids and starvation, while the rest now

“Iraq in Fragments” follows an 11-

his devotion to the vision of a unified,

live together in a Kenyan refugee camp.

year-old mechanic in war-torn

communist Korea, Yonghi Yang’s “Dear

The U.S. has invited some of the boys

Baghdad, a young leader in the Shiite

Pyongyang” provides westerners with

to settle in

revolutionary movement and a Kurdish

America.

farmer who says he is grateful to

Montiel’s first film, is based on his

a rare look inside North Korea.

America for ousting Saddam. This

upbringing in Astoria, Queens; the

Yang, raised

Director

unique look at those who are often

“saints” are the people he remembers

in Japan,

Christopher

forgotten offers a humanizing view of

from that neighborhood, he is the one

probes her

Quinn, a D.C.

its characters and gives a sense of a

that got out. The director, who was

father about

native, follows

country dealing with struggles both

kicked out of school for fighting and

his radical

three of these

internal and external.

toured in a

choices,

van with a

which

they adjust to lives completely different

hardcore

included

from anything they have imagined. They

band,

sending his

marvel at Western customs, find menial

guides an

three teenaged sons to live in North

jobs and have enough to eat for the first

outstanding

Korea forever in 1971. Over an hour and

time in their lives, but nonetheless miss

cast that

forty minutes, the viewer sees a man

the camaraderie and brotherhood that

infuses truth into this bittersweet tale

staunch in what he believes, but also

allowed them to survive in Africa.

of memories.

willing to change.

immigrants as

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WINNERS AND OTHER WL FAVORITES

his year almost 3,200 films were submitted for consideration, but only a lucky 193 (120 features, 73 shorts) had the opportunity to be screened at Sundance. Here’s WL’s recommendations for the best Washington-connected films, and others that stood out from the festival.

AWARD WINNERS TZAMETI Winner:World Cinema Jury Prize for Drama When an unlikely chain of events leaves 20-year-old Sebastien with a train ticket and a set of instructions–clearly meant for someone else–he decides to accept the challenge. Sebastian soon finds himself at the brink of human decency, but decides to barrel on, with only luck and his wits to aid him. “13 Tzameti” is Gela Babluani’s first feature film, and his combination of story and style produces great effects. DENADIE Winner: World Cinema Audience Award for Documentary With no filmmaking experience, director Tin Dirdamal picked up a camera and made “DeNADIE.” The film follows South and Central American immigrants as they travel northward, striving for a livelihood their own countries can’t provide them. Providing a sharp look at the United States’ border crisis and an in-depth inspection of a Mexican culture struggling to deal with its own, Dirdamal’s film avoids taking a political stance, it just shows the viewer the lives of those affected–and illustrates a story of immigration many do not understand.

House of Sand

THE HOUSE OF SAND Winner: 2006 Alfred P. Sloan Prize Andrucha Waddington’s “The House of Sand” follows three generations of Brazilian women as they try to survive an encroaching desert and the passage of time.The film uses a unique casting model in which pregnant daughter Aurea is initially played by Fernanda Torres and her mother, Maria, is played by Fernanda Montenegro. As the film progresses, Montenegro assumes the role of the aged Aurea and Torres takes over as Aurea’s daughter (who Torres was carrying at the movie’s beginning).

Eve and the Fire House EVE & THE FIRE HORSE Winner:World Cinema Documentary Jury Special Jury Prize Director Julia Kwan’s feature film debut follows Eve and Karena, two young sisters, as they work to reverse a series of misfortunes affecting their family. Eve finds solace in her imagination, but Karena believes the answer to their problems lies in Catholicism. In no time, ornaments of the Catholic faith begin to show up in a home formerly dominated by Buddhas. Kwan’s film gives viewers a unique look at religion and fantasy, and the thin line between the two. Stellar performances from young actresses Phoebe Jojo Kut and Hollie Lo make the film even more endearing. NO Winner: World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic In his directorial debut, playwright Toa Fraser dramatically portrays a family struggling to pull itself together while it actually is falling apart. Nanna

Maria (played by the bold Ruby Dee) dreams of her youth in Fiji, but her adult home in New Zealand is far from her youthful days of family laughter in the sun. After her husband dies, Nonna plans a traditional Fijian celebration, complete with a roasted pig. Through planning for the party, familial drama is exposed and love and resilience become more apparent. QUINCEANERA Winner: Grand Jury Prize for Drama Winner: The Audience Award for Drama Everything seems simple in Magdelena’s Echo Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. As her 15th birthday approaches she thinks about her boyfriend, her quinceanera dress and the limo she hopes will arrive on her special day. Then Magdelena discovers she is pregnant. Suddenly, she finds herself kicked out of her religious home and taken in by her great grand-uncle and a tough cousin, Carlos, who was rejected by his own family for being gay. Directors Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer give viewers a modern tale of family and hope. TV JUNKIE Winner: The Documentary Jury Special Jury Prize Directors Michael Cain and Matt Radecki took more than 3,000 hours of Rick Kirkham’s personal video footage and turned it into a riveting look at the duality of one man’s life. Kirkham, a national news correspondent for “Inside Edition,” documented every aspect of his life, both good and bad. Going beyond Kirkham’s story, “TV Junkie” is an examination of a generation obsessed with celebrity and technology.

awards, which “salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring

The Darwin Awards those who remove themselves from it in really stupid ways.” Director Finn Taylor tells the story of a detective–an expert profiler–who is hired by an insurance company to team up with one of their investigators in order to create a profile for potential Darwin Award Winners (because they cost the company a fortune). With great performances from Joseph Fiennes and Winona Ryder, not to mention some interesting cameos, Taylor turns in a highly entertaining and funny film. KISS ME NOT ON THE EYES Dunia is a Middle Eastern student of poetry and belly dancing, but her artistic expression is limited because she cannot experience desire. Determined to find this missing feeling, Dunia begins a search for ecstasy in poetry, dance and music. In the end, Dunia must confront the traditions of her society, which have ruined her capacity for pleasure, before she can experience it.“Kiss Me Not on the Eyes” is Beirut native Jocelyne Saab’s look at a society that both glorifies and condemns female sexuality. This is her take on cultural taboos, all captured with an honesty rarely found in Arab film.

NOTEWORTHY FEATURES THE DARWIN AWARDS This comedy revolves around the titular

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DOMESTIC DOCUMENTARIES

“5 Days”

THIS FILM NOT YET RATED The independent film community has constantly debated the role of the MPAA over the past few years and “This Film Not Yet Rated” explores a provocative and cogent inquiry into this debate. Oscar nominated director Kirby Dick examines if studios receive different treatment from the MPAA in terms of ratings. The queries he poses are troubling, and the results of his breakthrough investigation are both disturbing and straightforward. THE TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT Utilizing exclusive footage, directors Ricki Stern and Anni Sundberg showcase the impact of crime, race and law on a community divided along racial lines for over two decades. This shocking story is a searing reminder of the racial chasm that continues to haunt our nation. WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? Fashioned like a tongue-in-cheek murder mystery, this film sets out to uncover who is responsible for the demise of this ill-fated vehicle and explores the usual suspects: car companies, oil companies the government and consumers. The film serves as a potent reminder that the powers that be will stop at nothing to maintain their position in the world.

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SON OF MAN • BY JOHN PODESTA

LEONARD COHEN I’M YOUR MAN A must-see for any fan of songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen, Lian Lunson’s new film is an in-depth look at Cohen’s life, featuring interviews and performances of his work by artists ranging from Nick Cave and Rufus Wainwright to Beth Orton, plus a surprise musical finale. During the film, Cohen reflects on life, love and destiny, all in his arresting use of conversational language.

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARIES

GUEST REVIEWERS

DAYS Yoav Shamir’s “5 Days” documents one of the most important events in recent Middle East history: the August 2005 withdrawal of Israeli settlers from their homes on the Gaza Strip. Seven camera crews follow the military, settlers and the resistance movement during the pullout. Shamir, who specialized in documentary direction and cinematography at Tel Aviv University, depicts how an explosive situation was diffused without bloodshed. ANGRY MONK REFLECTIONS ON TIBET In this documentary, Director Luc Shaedler tells the story of Gendun Choephel, a Tibetan Buddhist monk in the early twentieth century. During a period of religious conservatism and national isolationism in Tibet, Choephel preached a doctrine of modernity and engagement. Using archival footage, interviews and modern takes on Choephel’s life, the movie is a wonderful look at his unique story, to which modern Tibetans still respond. THE GIANT BUDDHAS A hard look at religious fanaticism, “The Giant Buddhas” uses the destruction of two of the world’s most stunning landmarks as its base. In early 2001, the Taliban ordered all non-Islamic statues in Afghanistan destroyed. Despite international outrage, two giant stone Buddhas– more than 1,600 years old–were lost. Director Christian Frei gives viewers a thought-provoking look at a sensitive subject. He interweaves the story of his own journey to afghanistan , that of a Buddhist monk visiting the statues centuries ago, and the tale of a Canadian woman visiting the birthplace of her father, to produce a captivating feature.

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“Son of Man” is the first South African film to be an official selection at Sundance. Many critics, including Roger Ebert, who was at the screening I attended, consider this film the start of that country’s movie-making renaissance.The film is the story of Christ told in the context of a modern, war torn African nation.The filmmaker follows the story from the conception of Jesus during a militia attack to his eventual execution, interweaving splendorous color, gritty realism and awesome imagery of angels and the devil. The result is a fresh, modern story that will resonate with people regardless of faith. THANK YOU FOR SMOKING BY ANNA SOELLNER

Jason Reitman’s adaptation of Christopher Buckley’s novel is a sassy look at DC’s lobbying culture. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor the folksy, smooth, spokesman for big tobacco in an all star cast including Maria Bello, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes and a worth-the“Thank You For Smoking” $10-bucks-alone cameo by Rob Lowe. This film produced a mini-sensation at Sundance when a love scene between Eckhart and Holmes was “accidentally” cutresulting in boos and hisses in the audience.According to Reitman, if you only want to see Holmes disrobe rent “The Gift.” If you like smart, snarky comedy see this film. By the way, John Podesta who watched the film with me, thought the movie was overrated by the audience. But what does he know—he’s a former lobbyist. THE GROUND TRUTH BY SARAH INGERSOLL

For film-going politicos, documentaries are a best bet for thought-provoking material, particularly The Ground Truth:After the Killing Ends by Patricia Foulkrod. In this film, the lives of American soldiers are depicted from recruitment and training to combat in Iraq, to veteran status.Watching the young men and women return home wounded, emotionally drained and without adequate support from Veterans Affairs Department for housing or employment, was painful for all who viewed it. The poignancy of the betrayal of these young people was made more heartfelt by the presence of the men and women featured in the film. Paul Reickhoff, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1998 and served a tour of duty in Iraq lasting from April 2003 to February 2004, is now executive director and founder of Iraq and

Afghanistan Veterans of America and brings these brave and honorable men and women together to tell the truth.

SUNDANCE SHORTS The 2006 edition of the Shorts programs at Sundance offered a range of diverse subjects and styles: a. Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking: A tie between “Bugcrush,” directed by Carter Smith, and “The Wraith of Cobble Hill, directed by Adam Parris King. b. Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking: “The Natural Route,” directed by Alex Pastor. c. Special mentions:“Before Dawn” by Balint Kenyeres;“Preacher with an Unknown God” by Rob VanAlkemade; and “Undressing my Mother”by Ken Wardrop. This year 50 of the 73 shorts will be available online through June. For more information go to WashingtonLife.com and sign up for the digital edition and get linked to feature trailers and all the shorts.

DOUBLE FEATURE If it’s Tuesday it must be “Thin” BY MAX AND RENEE DRAKE

hile on a ski trip to Park City, former Washington “Govinda Girl” Renee Drake and her husband Max made it a point to see as many films as they could. Here are a few of their picks. What were their favorites? Read on…

THIN

NEIL YOUNG HEART OF GOLD

If you are dying to be thin, this 105-minute documentary film by the well-known photo journalist/first-time film director Lauren Greenfield may cause you to reconsider your weight goals. “Thin” follows four troubled anorexic/bulimic girls seeking voluntary treatment at a residential clinic in Florida. There is no candy coating by Greenfield who, after gaining the trust from patients, therapists and staff, is allowed access to private moments that are frankly uncomfortable to watch. The footage is not for the faint of heart and is critical to our understanding of the nature of the disease. In a century when our planet is plagued by tragedy, one can’t help but wonder if it is possible to feel sorry for these self-obsessed, self-hating women who sadly measure their own self-worth by the number, usually below 100, that appears on the scale or the amount of calories they consume at each meal.

climbing the sand dunes of Duck, North Carolina before ALS would become the all-consuming fabric of their lives. Shot over five years, it is remarkable to witness the incredible support system that Stephen has in family and friends who put their own lives on hold to chase every lead and tap every resource to raise funds to keep their research lab going.What we are left with is a portrait of an indomitable spirit who retains humor, hope and love in his struggle for life.

Opening with several interviews with Young and other band members on their way to Nashville’s Rymann Auditorium, we are given the background on the brush with Young had with a brain aneurysm that inspired him to write and quickly record the songs on his Prairie Winds album. He is a man who has looked death in the face time and time again and is thankful to be alive, embraced by the love of family and friends, and nostalgic for those he has lost. His voice has lost none of its soulfulness and magic and he captivates the audience as he picks, strums and plays his harmonica alongside such notable talents as Emmylou Harris. If your expectations are to see a series of interviews and historical montages of Neil Young in his everyday environment, you may be disappointed because this film lets his Prairie Wind concert performance speak for itself. Young’s story telling originality and guitar playing skills win the day.

SO MUCH SO FAST

WHAT REMAINS

Twenty-nine-year-old Stephen Haywood’s battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a heartbreaking account of the systematic loss of his neurological function and his family’s quest to find a cure for him as the grains of sand rush through the hourglass of his life. The film directed by Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan opens with a touching family photograph of Stephen and his brothers when they were young boys

Eleven years after “Blood Ties” was nominated for the short docu Oscar, director Steve Cantor goes to the lush green hills of Lexington,Virginia, that surround Sally Mann’s family farm for a film focusing on death and decay. Family is clearly the most important thing to this country doctor’s daughter who is at once philosophical and scientific in her approach to life. She is direct and honest, whether she is talking about the controversy that swirled around the photographs of her children that catapulted her to fame, or coming to terms with her husband’s battle with crippling MS. Her photographic investigation at a forensic lab, that somewhat shockingly has decaying bodies exposed to the elements in an adjacent yard, are respectfully recorded with an unerring eye for detail and a sincere curiosity.What remains with the audience after seeing Cantor’s film is a portrait of an artist who is true to her vision of the world and is willing to share it.

“What Remains”

“Neil Young, Heart of Gold”

ALPHA DOGS Hollywood youth culture against the backdrop of the true story of Jesse James Hollywood, a notorious California drug dealer still incarcerated and waiting to be tried, is the energetic and depressing storyline of this Nick Cassavetes big budget production.Weirdly cartoonish at times and loaded with violence, the film is carried by Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Justin Timberlake and Washington native Olivia Wilde, who all give interesting performances but cannot ultimately make sense or ignite compassion from the audience for this depressing tale of teenage hormones spinning out of control. A noble effort perhaps on the part of Cassvetes, but ultimately a dog with fleas.

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Justin Timberlake in “Alpha Dogs”

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MATT DILLON HONORED But seeing him receive the Ray-Ban Visionary Award was just part of the Sundance experience… BY KIMBALL STROUD

2006 Ray-Ban Visionary Award winner Matt Dillon

’ve been to Sundance before, but my experience at this year’s festival was on a different level than my last. That time, I attended a few events and screenings, but spent a lot of time on the slopes. This year I didn’t even clip on a lift ticket—it was event after event from film screenings, award ceremonies and intimate dinners, to party hopping with eBay founder Jeff Skoll (one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met).

One of the highlights of my week had to be seeing Matt Dillon receive the 2006 Ray-Ban Visionary Award at the Stein Ericsen Lodge– where two roaring fireplaces provided an intimate ambiance. The award honors the effort and dedication of individuals whose work showcases vision, imagination and originality; all of which Matt has exemplified throughout his stellar career. The evening, presented by The Creative Coalition, featured a montage of Matt’s career, from his hilarious turn in “There’s Something About Mary” to his portrayal of a conflicted cop in “Crash.” Lili Taylor, who worked with him on the upcoming film “Factotum,” presented Matt with the award. As a testament to his work, Hollywood luminaries such as Dennis Hopper, Gus Van Sant, Chazz Palminteri and Keanu Reeves were also in attendance. Later, I was treated to a private dinner with Matt, who was one of the most gracious and genuinely nice people I’ve ever met–and he picked up the tab! All through dinner, people like Ashley Judd were coming up to congratulate but he was totally unaffected by it. Near the end of the meal, I commented on his flawless skin, asking him if maybe it was makeup he had on from the presentation. Matt assured me it wasn’t and filled me in on his secret: he’s never used soap on his face. On a different note, one of the most

Harry Shearer, Hill Harper and Ron Reagan Jr.

emotional experiences I had at Sundance was listening to the “Who’s Rockin’ the Jailhouse? Behind Bars, In Front of the Cameras” panel. Moderated by Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr., an MSNBC political analyst, the discussion explored the public’s appetite for prison stories and the entertainment industry’s ability to shed light on incarceration. The panel featured a prison warden, among others, and it was moving to hear their personal stories, and get a realistic take on what happens in prisons. It was particularly poignant because instead of listening to talking heads chattering about something on the news, I was able to hear it firsthand from those who experience our prison system on a daily basis. The dichotomy of the two, Matt’s award dinner and the prison panel, coupled with so many other interesting conversations, discussions and, of course, films, made staying off the slopes this year the absolute right choice. Anyway, Tahoe stays open until the end of March…

Chazz Palminteri and Joe Pantaliano

Ben Folds

The Cargo Lodge at Harry O’s

James Hetfield of Metallica

O F T H E PA R T Y CARGO LIVE ON L O C AT I O N B Y N I G H T January 26, 27 and 28 • Harry O’s in Park City PHOTOS COURTESY OF CARGO MAGAZINE

Tatyana Ali

THE EVENT CARGO Magazine transformed the lodge at Harry O’s into a concert venue for shows by Fab Faux, Liz Phair, Ben Folds and Counting Crows. THE SCENE The lodge was thumping as celebrities and VIPs were treated to state-of-the-art sound and an open bar at the ho est ticket in Park City. THE GUESTS Winona Ryder supporting her ﬁlm the “Darwin Awards”, Danny Masterson, Wilmer Valderrama, San Francisco 49’ers quarterback Alex Smith, Joseph Fiennes and Dominique Swain.

Liz Phair

O F T H E PA R T Y D I S C O V E R Y C O M M U N I C AT I O N S HOSTS THE INDEPENDENT FILM COMMUNITY

Clark and Karen Bunting

January 22 • Zoom Restaurant, Park City, Utah THE EVENT 300 independent nonfiction filmmakers, distributors, entertainment media and industry VIPs with Discovery Communications celebrating the art of documentary filmmaking at its annual Sundance Film Festival party. THE SCENE In addition to showcasing Discovery’s theatrical film unit Discovery Docs and the AFI/Discovery Channel documentary festival SILVERDOCS, the event featured Discovery the cast of TLC’s “Miami Ink.” Guests had the option of receiving a custom designed temporary ta oo by the artists of “Miami Ink.” THE GUESTS Al and Tipper Gore, Stewart Copeland promoting “Everyone Stares”, and rock legend Andy Summers.

Glenn Close and Pat Mitchell Anthony Bourdain and Stacy Loudon

Steward Copeland, Al Gore and Andy Summers

Discovery’s “Miami Ink” Lounges

A R T S

C U L T U R E

Expanding the Dream

In 85 YEARS, the Phillips Collection has come a LONG WAY. Former chairman LAUGHLIN “LOC” PHILLIPS explains why.

Although he resigned at 78 as the Phillips’ chairman of the board in March 2002, Loc Phillips springs into action when talking about the museum’s latest renovations.Without skipping a beat, he’s in PR mode: “The opening of the Collection’s new building will give it a host of exciting new resources, including expanded exhibition space, a sculpture court, a 180-seat auditorium, a roomy and accessible art library, and news classroom facilities. The improvements will not only enhance existing museum programs, but serve as resources for a long-awaited Center for the Study of Modern Art. It marks a new high in the realization of my father’s efforts to share his intelligent appreciation of exciting developments in the art of his time.” Loc knows the museum better than anyone— it was opened in 1921 by his father, Duncan Phillips, as the first American museum of modern art. By the time of Duncan’s death in 1966, he had amassed a collection of more than 2,000 works by the predecessors of modern art, such as Ingres and Delacroix, by impressionists and post-impressionists including Monet, Renoir, Cezanne and Gauguin, and by a wide range of 20th-century artists such as Picasso, Giacometti and Jacob Lawrence, as well as more recent figures such as Mark Rothko and Washington’s own Morris Louis. But despite the range and quality of its holdings, the Phillips was for many years a very modest institution, displaying its growing collection in the domestic setting of the family’s Washington home.

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“He wanted to create a relaxed, informal museum where people could easily interact with the artworks, sensing and savoring their essence,” says Loc. “One of our challenges over the years has been to maintain this special atmosphere while at the same time refitting the museum to meet high professional standards and reach its full educational potential. The new building has been planned in that spirit.” Another challenge has been the creation of the Center for the Study of Modern Art, an initiative which Loc championed for over fifteen years.“It’s not easy to gain support for such an ambitious project in a city like Washington, where there is a panoply of other worthy, needy arts institutions,” he says, “I applaud the accomplishments of the present director, Jay Gates, his staff, and the generous and dedicated board of trustees, led by George Vradenburg.”

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. Photo © Ricardo Gutierrez for El Pais. Photo by Naomi Savage.

hen its doors open to the public on April 15th in order to welcome back Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” along with other European masterworks after a four-year international tour, visitors to the Collection will also be viewing for the first time the museum’s expanded space.

Clockwise: Main Gallery in 1927. | Laughlin Phillips, 1988 | Duncan, Marjorie, and Laughlin Phillips on the steps of their home, Dunmarlin, on Foxhall Road, 1932. | The house at 21st and Q Streets, NW, 1900. | Marjorie and Duncan Phillips in front of Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1880–81), 1954.

ARTFULDRESSING BY B A R B A R A M C C O N AG H Y

PHOTOGRAPHED BY ZAID HAMID AT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION WASHINGTON D C

ashion and art have always had a special connection, so much so that the lines between the two often blur, creating a confluence of admiration, inspiration, and conceptual “borrowing” that has, through the ages, driven Renaissance to Dada, and Fall’s latest “new black” to Spring’s trendiest “must have.” Fashion is art, art is fashion; both are ever-changing, yet, both leave indelible echoes which bounce infinitely within our collective notions of taste and style.

Now enter the collectors and patrons—those who understand this dance. They’re the chic and fashionable from business, society and the entertainment world, who fervently support both their favorite artists and fashion brands. Our spring fashion shoot was inspired by all these factors, and exhibits that, within this enduring dalliance, Spring 2006 is not only the “year of the dress,” but also the year of artful dressing.

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“

I’m doing a painting of oarsmen, which I’ve been itching to do for a long time. I’m not ge ing any younger, and I didn’t want to defer this li le festivity which later on I won’t any longer be able to aﬀord; already it’s very diﬃcult…

”

– Pierre-Auguste Renoir in a letter to Paul Berard﹐

Celebrating the return of The Phillips Collection’s best known work, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1880-1881) is superimposed with the collection’s Deputy Director, Rich Rutledge and members of The Gala Commi ee at The Phillips Collection, all dressed in Spring 2006 fashion from Neiman Marcus. Women’s fashion styled by Sandy Grabowski, assistant public relations director. Menswear styled by Derek Hill, menswear specialist of Neiman Marcus.

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“

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– Pierre-Auguste Renoir in a letter to Paul Berard﹐

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Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) Interior with View of the Ocean, 1957 Oil on canvas

Concrete subject appealed to Diebenkornâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innate sense of order and control; he appreciated the confl ict between reality and abstraction.

o Yun, wearing a Harkham blue blush chiffon dress with underlining burgundy waist sash, Marie Chavez gold long earrings with green crystal and light blue stone, both by URBAN CHIC; Etro multi-colored green/blue/ burgundy/pink shaw, NEIMAN MARCUS.

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The look is clean, modern urban dresses that can go out for cocktails, yet still bring out your inner Goddess. – Christopher Reiter, Owner, Muleh

Milton Avery (1885-1965) Girl Writing, 1941 Oil on Canvas

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o Yun, wearing Phillip Lim natural dress in white with gold rope straps, MULEH.

Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) Berkeley No. 12, 1955 Oil on Canvas

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This year spring dresses exemplify romance, glamour and femininity.

”

– La Shea, Couture Buyer, Saks Jandel

o Laura, wearing a Shawn Ray Fons tier chiﬀon bohem print multicolored orange, green, yellow and brown evening dress, Ciner gold multi-colored coin earrings, both by SAKS JANDEL; Enzo Angiolini Eaomani bronze snake heels, BLOOMINGDALE’S.

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I have always tried to hide my eﬀ orts and wished my works to have the light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect the labors it has cost me. – Henri Matisse

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Henri Matisse (1869-1954) Studio, Quai St. Michel, 1916 Oil on Canvas

o Laura, wearing 3.1 Phillip Lim blue with gold rope dress, MULEH; Prada gold cork platforms, NEIMAN MARCUS. Yun, wearing a 3.1 Phillip Lim gold rope dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim gold beaded handbag, MULEH; Anne Klein gold platform sandals, NEIMAN MARCUS.

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) Painting No. 9, 1944 Oil on Canvas

o Laura, wearing a Shawn Ray Fons tLaura, wearing Gucci A-strap short black dress with cream flowered print and off-white platform cage sling back heels, both by GUCCI; black plastic rope necklace, NEIMAN MARCUS.

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To be art, the subjective must be manifested through the objective, the apparently mathematical must be free, spontaneity must be consciously expressed. –Piet Mondrian

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Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) Early Spring, 1908 Oil on Canvas

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Yun, wearing Laundry strapless brown multi-colored dress, BLOOMINGDALE’S. Laura Peterson, wearing Laundry multi-colored brown/blue, green and orange halter dress, Bloomingdale’s cream/green/ brown ne ed wooden necklace, Enzo Angiolini Eadoni gold medred leather platforms, all BLOOMINGDALE’S.

”

2006 is the year of The Dress.. – Eﬃe Elkorek, Personal Shopper, Bloomingdale’s

Produced and styled by Barbara McConaghy. Fashion assistant and editorial credit by Elizabeth Moon. Photographed by Zaid Hamid, Coordinated by Allison Signorelli the Phillips Collection gala coordinator and Joelle Seligson the publicist for The Phillips Collection, Occasions Caterer Ma Zapalla, TOKA Salon and Spa hair designer Mazir Ozturk, T.H.E. Artist Agency for makeup artist Anita Bahramy and for models Yun and Laura Peterson. Special thanks to Neiman Marcus, Saks Jandel, Muleh, Blink, Urban Chic and Gucci.

SAVE THE DATE

April 7

April 15

Join The Phillips Collection and Washington Life at the gallery’s Spring 2006 black-tie dinner. Tickets, $1000; Contact/ticket buying information (202) 387-2151 x315

The exhibition “The Renoir Returns: A Celebration of Masterworks at the Phillips Collection,” featuring “Luncheon of the Boating Party,” opens to the public at The Phillips Collection. 1600 21st St., N.W.; (202) 387-2151, www.phillipscollection.org

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Immortalizing the Spirit of The French Revolution

enoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party conveys the light-hearted leisurely mood of the Maison Fournaise, while reflecting the character of mid-to late-nineteenth century French social structure.The restaurant welcomed customers of many classes including bourgeois businessmen, society women, artists, actresses, writers, critics and, with the new, shorter work week—a result of the Industrial Revolution— seamstresses and shop girls.

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Le hand photo (le to right, including persons in painting): 1. Richard Rutledge, wearing Ermenegildo Zegna white linen jacket, Armani lavender collared shirt, Brioni black with white polka dot bow-tie, Duchamp black with white polka dots pocket square, all NEIMAN MARCUS. 2. Caroline Cunningham, wearing an Akris black zip-down front shortsleeve blouse, Armani Collezioni black dress pants, and Lambertson Truex zebra doctor handbag, all NEIMAN MARCUS; Bloomingdale’s black beaded necklace, Ellen Tracy solid black beaded necklace, and Ellen Tracy black tassel earrings; all BLOOMINGDALE’S. 3. Peggy Hunter, wearing Liancarlo Couture black pa erned dress with gray and white detail, NEIMAN MARCUS. 4. George Vradenburg, wearing Prada black outerwear jacket, Prada Sport white zipper down long-sleeved polo, Zanella white linen trousers, Gucci black signature boating shoes, all NEIMAN MARCUS. 5. Trish Vradenburg, wearing Dolce & Gabbana white co on jacket, Agnona black skirt, NEIMAN MARCUS; Via Spiga black and white sling back pumps, Bloomingdale’s gold with black beaded chandalier earrings, BLOOMINGDALE’S. 6 & 7. In painting: Man in top hat (6) is editor of the Gaze e des Beaux-Arts, Charles Ephrussi, who speaks with a younger man wearing a more casual brown coat and cap who may be Jules Laforgue (7), the poet, critic, and personal secretary to Ephrussi. 8 & 9. In painting: Actress Angèle and the Italian journalist Maggiolo. 10, 11 & 12. In painting: Sporting boaters’ hats are the artist Paul Lhote (10) and the bureaucrat Eugène Pierre Lestringez (no. 11). These close friends of Renoir, o en modeled for his paintings, and seem to be ﬂirting with the fashionably dressed, famous actress Jeanne Samary (no. 12).

13. Brian Dailey, wearing a deep chocolate pinstripe suit jacket and matching pants, a white with green blue pinstriped collared shirt and a white pocket square all from Ermenegildo Zegna and an Etro multi-colored black/green/pink/yellow striped tie, all NEIMAN MARCUS. Right hand painting (le to right) 1. Patricia Sagon, wearing Rena Lange black and white checkered suit jacket, NEIMAN MARCUS. 2. Karyn Frist, wearing Dolce & Gabbana black textured blazer suit jacket and skirt, NEIMAN MARCUS. 3. In painting: smiling woman leaning on the railing thought to be Alphonsine Fournaise, the daughter of the proprietor. 4. Vicki Sant, wearing Akris white dress slacks, NEIMAN MARCUS. 5. Jeannie Rutherfoord, wearing Armani Collezioni white suit jacket with skirt, Rena Lange black v-neck short sleeved blouse, Lambertson Truex black shiny doctor bag, all NEIMAN MARCUS. 6. Mike Connors, wearing Prada black suit jacket, Georgio Armani black pinstripe pants, Prada pink polo shirt, all NEIMAN MARCUS. 7. Julie Connors, wearing Oscar de la Renta white dress with black print, Oscar de la Renta black cardigan sweater, Kate Spade black espadrilles, all NEIMAN MARCUS; Christian Roth black and white sunglasses, BLINK. 8. Don Beyer, wearing Armani plaid jacket, Brioni black shirt, Zanella white slacks, multi-colored polka dot pocket square, all NEIMAN MARCUS. 9. Megan Beyer, wearing St. John by Marie Gray white suit jacket with black detail, Carmen Marc Valvo black sheer pleated skirt, all NEIMAN MARCUS; Jose & Marie Barrera light blue crystal bu erﬂy long earrings, SAKS JANDEL.

TREND REPORT

Newsworthy for Spring

SPRING’S BIGGEST TREND? Finding must-have pieces from designers previously unavailable in Washington

or women, easy dresses ruled the runway. Whether the fluid and fun pieces from Christopher Deane or the structured, almost architectural dresses and skirts from Lanvin–you’ll be right on mark for Spring. For a more glamorous evening, Collette Dinnigan couldn’t be more of the moment. And for all of the men in our life, Eric Finn’s custom suits allow him to be as trendy or traditional as his comfort allows. Add innovation to his suit with accessories—we love the new take on one of Britain’s most refined men’s shoes, Barker Black.

BY ALISON LUKES STYLE EDITOR

CHRISTOPHER DEANE Design duo Christopher Crawford and Angela Deane have fused their artistic talent into the design label Christopher Deane. The line features a chic range of day and evening pieces and is easy yet polished. Spring promises easy cotton peacoats and feminine flowing dresses. New this spring to Alex Boutique–owner Liberty Jones loved the line so much there are only a few pieces she didn’t order. 1

COLLETTE DINNIGAN Australian designer Collette Dinnigan’s dresses and gowns are favorites of Elle Macpherson, Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron and now available in Washington. The new Boutique at International Lifestyles exclusively carries Collette Dinnigan, Little Joe by Fail Elliot and Meli’ Melo’ Bags.Tulip Print Silk Georgette with Rouched Bodice Halter Gown retails for $1,790.00 at The Boutique at International Lifestyles 1300 9th Street, NW Washington DC 20001 202-332-5508 2

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ERIC FINN Er ic Finn is emerg ing as Washington’s premier custom menswear line. Offering made to order shirts, suits and jackets flawlessly constructed in the finest Italian and English fabrics. Their innovative designs, individual options and quality craftsmanship give men custom pieces at comparable pricing. An added bonus, their wardrobe consultants come to their client’s home or office. Eric Finn custom suits range between $1100 and $4000. www.ericfinn.com

OWN IT

BARKER BLACK 3

Until now the distinguished shoe line Barker Black has only been in the United Kingdom. Exclusively available at Saks Fifth Avenue, the Barker Black line is the epitome of English refinement. Made from the finest Italian and French calf, the sleek and sophisticated line embraces over 125 years of its storied past while forging ahead with it’s modern design. 4

Rare Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring of exceptional quality

Continental

J EWE L E RS 1010 Connecticut Ave. Washington, DC 20036 202-833-3366 Catalogue Available

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www.dcjewelers.com

W H A T ’ S

H O T

Resort to Yellow Warm-up to the “it” color for Spring 2006 resort collections 1

ETRO’S SILK YELLOW PAISLEY DRESS with black crewel work. $5,400. Available at Etro Stores. www.etrousa.com. LILJENQUIST AND BECKSTEAD’S -CARAT radiant cut fancy yellow canary diamond with trapezoid sides. $59,000. Available at Liljenquist and Beckstead, Tysons Corner, (703)-749-1200, www.landbjewelry.com. CREATURE COUTURE’S SOUTH BEACH DOGGIE CARRIER in Dijon. Starting at $320. Available exclusively at The Posh Pooch, Bethesda, (301)-652-1199. JIMMY CHOO’S RUFINA $520. Available at Jimmy Choo, Chevy Chase, (240)-223-1102, www.jimmychoo.com. LACOSTE’S MESH SNEAKER IN POLLEN $110. Available at Neiman Marcus, (202) 966-9700, www.Neimanmarcus.com.

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Exquisite Diamonds, Exceptional Prices 4

Trusted by Washingtonians for over 50 years

LOUIS VUITTON’S Monogram Suede Onatah GM Fleurs in Yellow. $1,280. Louis Vuitton. Chevy Chase, www.louisvuitton.com. LAMBORGHINI’S MURCIELAGO ROADSTER $345,000. Ferrari Maserati of Washington, Dulles, (703)–478-3606. GENUINE OSTRICH MARISSA TOTE $2,950. Tysons’s Corner Galleria, (703) 748-7620, www.ferragamo.com.

Chevy Chase, MD

Washington, DC

McLean, VA

5550 The Hills Plaza

1025 Connecticut Ave., NW

Tysons Galleria

301-657-2144

202-785-4653

703-734-3997

www.booneandsons.com WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

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F I N E

A R T S

From Pop to Surrealism THE D.C. ARTS SCENE: Past, Present and Future BY C H R I S T I N A W I L K I E

THE WASHINGTON ARTS SCENE EXPERIENCED BY AN AMATEUR

ashington art lover Christina Wilkie explores the rewards and potential pitfalls of buying art in the nation’s capital.

During the 1960’s and early 1970’s,Washington was the center of a dynamic movement in contemporary art, identified as the Washington Color School. Consisting of an original group of six artists and their successors, the Color School movement challenged prevailing notions of abstraction by employing primary colors on canvases with a bold new simplicity. Artists affiliated with the School earned international acclaim for their innovative work, and residents responded by buying up the works of Morris Louis, Gene Davis and Ken Noland on pure speculation.These were certainly heady times, but in the three decades since the heyday of the Color School the visual arts in Washington have suffered from a form of “brain-drain,” most visible in the veritable laundry list of “hot” young artists who have migrated from Washington to New York and California in hopes of gaining national attention. One of the many side effects of this long-term shift away from the visual arts in Washington was the reinforcement of a notion that the nation’s capital wasn’t home to a dynamic art market.

Certainly,Washington doesn’t yet inspire collectors to descend upon it for one fabulous week each year (like Basel), nor is it known as a particularly friendly city for starving geniuses (like San Francisco). However, in the past ten years the city has changed dramatically, evolving from what one gallery owner called,“a bedroom community that would roll over every four years,” into a booming capital with an ever expanding perimeter. This new, widening Washington metro area owes much of its growth to innovative companies that employ a highly educated workforce, resulting in the nearly decade-long boom in the local housing, education and retail markets. Interestingly enough, urban markets for visual arts seem to work on a delayed timer with respect to an area’s economic development, with markets often surging five to ten years into a period of sustained economic growth. Boston and Atlanta are prime examples of this phenomenon; Atlanta’s arts market is still enjoying the fruits of the mid 1990’s economic surge there. By this logic, Washington is poised for a large-scale renewal of its once thriving visual arts market, and a chance to challenge the old stereotypes and get new collectors into the market.

But does all this mean Washington is a smart place to begin buying art? I set out to answer the question first hand by spending a month navigating the landscape (and some of the pitfalls) that await the potential amateur art collector here. What I would come to realize over the course of my exploration is that contrary to what I’d been led to believe,Washington is an ideal city in which to begin collecting original art. For starters, the city boasts a thriving and diverse arts community, the bulk of which is made up of artists who have yet to gain international renown, thanks in part to the presence of a number of excellent art schools. In addition to the regular injection of new talent,Washington gallery owners are often more approachable than they might be in New York or L.A. Thirdly, the cost of original artwork in Washington is extremely reasonable compared to what pieces by similarly well known artists might fetch in other parts of the country. For example, one show I attended was priced 40 percent below prices printed in the catalogue of its corresponding show in New York. All of these factors add up to a visual arts scene that is a real buyer’s market. It’s only getting hotter, and today’s amateur collectors can and should be a part of it all. My first destination was the KNEW Gallery in Georgetown, which in early February held a three-day show of the work of one of Washington’s most beloved long-time local artists, Raimundo Rubio (who currently, if not surprisingly, lives in Brooklyn).The show consisted of 29 of his latest works on paper. Every evening during the show the gallery, which is owned by Fernando Batista, gave a reception for Rubio’s collectors and friends, and as I wandered through the three small second floor galleries I was pleasantly surprised to find that some of Rubio’s original pieces were priced at less than $400.

Color School artist Kenneth Noland once said of his circle paintings, “I wanted color to be the origin of the painting.” Above: Split, Acrylic on Canvas, 1959, Smithsonian American Art Museum. Left: From Whitmore’s recent Fusebox show. Blunt Instrument, 2005, 64 x 67 inches, oil on linen. Photo courtesy of Fusebox.

From the Perspective of A GALLERY OWNER

Left: Ian Whitmore, The New Look, 2005, from his recent Fusebox show.

SAVE THE DATE UPCOMING SHOWS AT D C INDEPENDENT GALLERIES

My next stop was the hip neighborhood that has grown up over the last five years at the intersection of 14th and P Streets, just below Dupont Circle. I visited two small galleries known for showing quality cutting-edge art: Fusebox Gallery on 14th Street (which proving the precarious nature of art gallery survival, just closed down), and the Transformer Gallery around the corner on P Street. At Fusebox Gallery I came upon the work of Ian Whitmore, a 26-year-old painter educated at American University, who exemplifies the potential of the local art scene. Whitmore’s major pieces usually begin with a classical representation, over which he imposes chaotic abstractions that effectively dissolve the original image without ever fully abandoning it. The chaos in his scenes evokes a simultaneous feeling of mayhem and rapture, and the oil canvases glow with the energy of his brushstrokes and colors. Whitmore is a great example of the type of artist that amateur collectors would do well to acquire. He is young, brilliant and still widely unknown on a national level, but his work shows both outstanding quality and the steady development of a signature style. These two factors are particularly important to anyone who’s thinking of buying the work of an emerging artist. No surprise, then that he has sold out all of his shows with his second famously selling out before it even opened.Yet, his work is still reasonably priced (around $10,000 for a fivefoot by five-foot work), making it even more accessible to the amateur collector.

March 3 “Hystoria,” Themes of social chaos and information overload are explored by five artists at the District of Columbia Arts Center through March 26. March 4 “Corinne May Botz: The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death,” Botz’s photographs of her miniature crimescene models, from the1940s and ‘50s, at Hemphill Fine Arts through April 22. March 4 “Grant Wood’s Studio: Birthplace of ‘American Gothic,’ “ A selection of Wood’s fine art juxtaposed against his design and decorative works, at the Renwick Gallery through July 16. March 18 “Itsy Bitsy Bollocks,” a group show of installations, at Transformer Gallery March 18 through April 22. March 28 “Forget Me Not/No Me Olvides: Photographs by Norma Quintana,” portraits of people who live and work in California’s Napa Valley, at the Katzen Arts Center through May 7.

WL sat down with Washingtonian Fernando Batista, owner of the Antique Print Shop and the KNEW Gallery, both in Georgetown, and asked him what he wished more collectors knew. The following are excerpts from his reply. “Never buy a piece of art because you think its going to appreciate. If you want to make an investment, go to an investment advisor. After you’ve made your successful investments, figure out what you want to spend on art. Keep it flexible…don’t ever be to rigid about anything, but set aside your little pot of gold for buying art.” “Old pieces will generally hold the value that you’ve paid, because most galleries will generally price them at what they know to be the going rate for that work or that time period. Don’t be afraid to look at 19th century art, or at pieces that aren’t emerging art, because the reality is that most homes I know contain both. “You should look at sculpture as a real option, because sculpture today is where painting was 100 years ago. From the artist’s perspective it costs more to create a piece of sculpture, so over time there has been far less of it produced in the world. Even Modigliani never did a lot of sculptures, because the materials cost too much. Now you have a lot of artists who are switching back and forth between painting and sculpture, trying to do something different. As a collector, sculpture gives you a sort of virgin territory, so if you’re looking for the edge, this is where you need to go.” “Here’s a really practical suggestion--you need to keep a three-by-five card file with a picture and the dimensions of what you bought, where you bought it, the date and what you paid for it. This helps to create a provenance for the piece, which will come in handy should you ever decide to sell it.” Don’t forget the potential that we all have to leave a legacy in our lives, whether by the art we collect, or by other means.You can do it yourself or work in tandem with an art advisor, but each of us really has the opportunity to create something important and lasting.. Look at the [newly built] Katzen Center [at American University]– that guy actually went to Georgetown!”

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A U C T I O N S

What Price Provenance?

AUCTIONS prove that BEAUTY (and value) truly are in the eyes of the BEHOLDER BY D E B O R A H G O R E D E A N

ears Years ago, my mother told me to call my store “Provenance,” and to only sell things that once belonged to famous people. I thought for certain that she was showing a little too much of her lean Tennessee upbringing; certainly, people with breeding and education would take a pass on such obvious grabs for glory. I won’t bore you with how many times my mother had people pegged, but she was way ahead of the pack in understanding what makes them tick.

When Sotheby’s Greta Garbo catalog came out—complete with interior shots of La Recluse’s bedroom and where she had hung her Monet—the bar was set. This was followed closely by the first Jackie O sale, also replete with photos.The blinds were up! Now everyone could peer into the personal lives of the most private and celebrated citizens among us. Their Gauguins and tattered Deborah Gore Dean curtains proved a visible feast for those who could never otherwise imagine how the upper echelons really lived. What proved that Provenance counted was the Katherine Hepburn sale, although you just wished that, out of respect, Sotheby’s had run a vacuum through the house before they photographed the obviously unpretentious lifestyle of the intellectual Kate. Such down market antiques had never graced the floors of Sotheby’s before that day. And they sold for a fortune. At that sale, I was delighted to purchase for $9,000 a truly ugly painted bureau that perhaps no one else will ever appreciate. I certainly did wince, however, when an almost identical one was sold at Sloan’s and Kenyon a month later for

a few hundred dollars. Still, mine was Kate’s and my mother was right: Provenance had become the new black and now in today’s auction world that means power. A Gauguin is a Gauguin. A masterwork’s natural rise in the market is set by rarity and condition. It is dependable and out of reach for all but a wealthy few. But J-Lo’s engagement ring, Jimmy Cagney’s tap shoes and Betty Davis’ sunglasses all sold for record prices at auctions to people who probably couldn’t recognize a

Gauguin, much less buy one.To have a sense that you too, can peer through the shades that inspired the song “Betty Davis Eyes” is a great feeling. Had I known about that sale, I would have been in the front row, paddle in hand. Heck, it’s great to own a piece of history. The auction market is now very high-tech, all online and available to every gazillionaire all over the world. Americans will sell anything, even a copy of our own Constitution overseas. If a piece has genuine interest and pedigree, it’ll make it

A picnic at Morven Park...which was auctioned for $144,000.

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

PICTURE PERFECT World auction record for photography achieved At Sotheby’s, New York BY R E N E E D RA K E

ollectors of photographs witnessed a defining moment in the history of photography on February 15th when in the packed salesroom of Sotheby’s sale of Important Photographs from the Metropolitan Museum of Art they watched Edward Steichen’s “The Pond-Moonlight” break the world auction record for a photograph.

From Russia with Gold. to center stage. Washington auctioneers like Weschler’s and Sloan’s have both sold sleeping treasures for record amounts. Who could forget the Liz Whitney Tippett estate sale at Weschler’s some years back? The room was chockablock with British antique dealers on cell phones who had flown all day to buy back some of their country’s best exported period paintings. Nonetheless, New York has always been the center of the art and auction universe. Sotheby’s has the very capable Aurelia Bolton prowling about looking for hidden treasures and grand estates. Christie’s set a record sellng a massive $144,000 Asprey picnic hamper from John’s Kluge’s sale of the contents of Morven Park, his Albemarle County, Virginia, estate last December. Bonhams and Butterfields will no doubt be most interested in the modern furniture collected by the likes of Steve Sumberg and Conrad Cafritz. But it is Doyle New York which has moved into D.C. with full force and vigor, planting Reid Dunavant in the middle of Georgetown to pull in semiprecious possessions of local residents. And what a coup Doyle’s had on February 8th, when a Russian Gilt Silver Dinner Service, which had been owned by Ambassador to Iceland and allaround good guy Nicholas Ruwe and his wife Nancy sold not for its $125,000 estimate but a staggering $912,000.

The photograph once in the Gilman Paper Company Collection at the museum, was hammered down for the staggering price of $2,928,000. An early sublime landscape, and one of only three prints known to exists, the photograph was purchased on behalf of a private collector through the New York based Pace-Magill Gallery. The previous record for a photograph at auction$1,248,000 was set in November by Richard Prince’s “Untitled (Cowboy)” Steichen has long been regarded as one of the giants of 20th century photography and “The Pond-Moonlight,” considered by curators to be a seminal work, was taken when he was at the peak of his artistic powers.The masterful multiple-process photograph was made by Steichen in his mid-twenties at a time when he had mastered the technical aspects of photography and was able to combine this skill with his finely honed artistic point of view. The record breaking evening sale at Sotheby’s was a fitting tribute to both Steichen and fellow photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who had two photographs of Georgia O’Keeffe, Hands and Nude, which surpassed the million dollar mark. Other auction records were established for such wellregarded photographers as Walker Evans and Margaret Bourke-White further proving the photography market should be considered as important as the fine arts categories of paintings, drawings and sculpture.

Edward Steichen, The Pond-Moonlight, 1904 Multiple process platinum photograph, 16’ 1/16” x 19’ 11/16 “ Estimated at $700,000-$1,000,000 Hammer price: $2,298,000

What price provenance? ...a million dollars.

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A U C T I O N S

Royal Concerns

EBAY IT WAS NOT as auctioneers bid on objects once owned by the Windsor and Hanover clansâ&#x20AC;Ś not everyone was pleased, however, that some of the items were being sold BY K E V I N C H A F F E E

uyers obsessed by European royaltyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and there are manyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;took advantage of a rare opportunity to pick up silver, furniture, artwork, rare books and other history-laden objects once owned by the Windsor and Hanover clans at two spectacular auctions in recent months. BRITISH BAUBLES

On January 26-27, nearly 800 lots from the estate of H.R.H. Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (19001974), generated unprecedented interest, receiving over 125,000 online catalogue hits, record numbers of registered bidders and a record number of bids for any sale in Christieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s King Street London salerooms. The bottom line for Kevin Chaffee the effects of Queen Elizabeth IIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s late uncle was equally impressive: just over $9 million (over five times the pre-sale estimate). A George III silver soup tureen given to the Duke and his bride, the late Princess Alice, at their 1935 wedding by the ambassadors accredited to the Court of St. James, fetched $254,184, more than four times its high estimate. The top lot, a 15th-century illuminated manuscript titled, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Master of Game,â&#x20AC;? once rested in the Dukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impressive library of hunting books. It was sold to the noted London bookseller Bernard Quartich Ltd., for $354,144 (about five times estimate). INSIDE SCOOP

Tony British circles were abuzz about the cause of the largest sale of royal family heirlooms since the contents of the Duke and Duchess of Windsorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Paris residence were auctioned at Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in 1998 for $19.5 million (The Duchessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jewels brought $45.3 million at

Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in 1986).The reason, it turned out, was deferred death duties that came due after Princess Aliceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death in 2004 at the age of 102. Most strange indeed was the fact that the Dukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son and heir, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, could have avoided tax on his royal patrimony altogether if his mother had transferred the estate to him within seven years of her husbandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death. Court gossip maintains that the dowager, the very grand daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch, never approved of her daughter-in-law, a Danish commoner who had once worked as an au pair.

Prince Heinrich, after the latter denounced the proceedings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am speechless. This is a total sellout,â&#x20AC;? Prince Heinrich screeched on German television. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My brother does not understand tradition, He wants to make a killing out of this to finance a comfortable life abroad.â&#x20AC;? Prince Ernst-August, famous because of his marriage to Princess Caroline of Monaco and his many scrapes with paparazzi, declined to comment although he made it known that the family needed the money to keep Schloss Marienburg and another Hanover palace open to the public for future generations to enjoy.

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT

What has been described as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the biggest royal jumble sale in historyâ&#x20AC;? took place in Germany last October when the contents of Schloss Marienburg, a remote castle belonging to the royal family of Hanover, were auctioned for $52.5 million. The ten-day disposition of more than 20,000 objects in 4,400 lots broke the all-time record for Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house sales and exceeded the results of two previous German dynastic sales: Turn und Taxis ($47.2 million in 1993) and Baden ($19 million in 1995). The furniture, paintings, silver, clocks, arms and armor and textiles, once the property of the kings of Hanover and England (where the Hanover clan ruled from 1714-1901), filled 130 rooms of Schloss Marienburg and were viewed by more than 8,000 visitors. The highest price realized was for a pair of 19th-century vases made at the Imperial Porcelain Factories in St. Petersburg and decorated with old master paintings in the school of Rubens. BATTLE ROYAL

The sale was nearly overshadowed by a nasty feud between the head of the Hanover family, Prince Ernst August, and his younger brother,

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THIS MONTH MAN OF THE HOUR • PRESBYTERIANS • AGE CANNOT WITHER HER • BENAZIR • CHANCE FOR A HANGOVER

WITH DONNA SHOR

AROUND TOWN Claire Durante and Lindsey Biles

Five hundred young professionals rolled up their sleeves to raise $65,000 for the so others might eat ﹙some﹚ family and children programs at The Galleria at Lafayette Center on February 11. A Smith Point DJ provided “top 40” hits for the younger set under the glass domed Lafayette Center where specialty lemonade cocktails were served courtesy of Boru Vodka. Revelers Mary Beth Metrey, Molly McNamara, Danielle Perraut, and Chris Lucey were spotted at the benefit.

Lauren Finkelstien, Curtis Gallagher and Catie Harrell

George Vincent and Qu MAN OF THE HOUR

How would you feel, as a handsome young male, if you were stripped naked in front of 100 people, dunked in rapidly cooling water, not once but three times, then bundled into an embroidered dress? This fate befell Matei, the 8-week old son of Sorin Ducaru, the ambassador of Romania, and his wife Carmen , when Matei was baptized recently at Holy Cross Romanian Church, opposite Virginia’s Skyline Plaza. Few realized there was a church there; from the outside it is an unobtrusive white cottage, but the interior is worthy of one of the Romanian mountain monasteries, with walls and ceiling covered by

Katie Ryan, Nick Hunter and Grace Easby-Smith

inn Rounsaville

paintings and golden icons. Matei (Matthew to us) remained unfazed by it all, shedding nary a tear, even managing a smile for the crowd. Later at the embassy residence reception, as still more guests from diplomatic and social Washington filed past, he slept happily, ensconced on a sofa near the buffet table. Seated near him was guest Bishop Irineu of Detroit, who brought a huge cake topped with a photo of Matei emblazoned on its surface—in buttercream. WHY SHOULD PRESBYTERIANS GET ALL THE BREAKS? Pamela Ferguson says one of the

biggest laughs anyone ever got at the Alfalfa club dinner came

when incoming Alfalfa president Sen. Mitch McConnell “quoted” President Bush as saying ‘Laura asked me if I couldn’t open up Pennsylvania Avenue to pedestrians, but I told her I wanted it to be open to all religions.” AGE CANNOT WITHER HER

Shakespeare’s tribute to Cleopatra was channeled by Gloria Steinem who, on being told “You don’t look fifty!” at her 50th birthday responded “This is what fifty looks like.” Today’s sure and secure women, beauties like Kay Kendall and Grace Bender, now mark their milestones with publicly avowed celebrations. (One anonymous male reader called this columnist

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

after seeing Kay pictured in Washington Life celebrating her 60th saying, “That woman can’t be sixty. Are you sure it’s who the caption says it is?”) Grace, hunting for the perfect dress for her sixtieth birthday party in May, went to scope out French couture with Paris-wise Corinne Bensahel (who writes for Madame Figaro) and came back with a goldtoned Elie Saab gown, saying, “He does the feminine and flattering styles that are part of the mystique of Jackie Onassis and my idol, Audrey Hepburn.” When asked about her obviously slimmed-down self, Grace said “It was easy. All my girl friends got jobs, so I’m not sitting around eating hours-long lunches now.”

| MARCH

| washingtonlife.com

Joe Reeder and retired Gen. Richard Meyers

A R O U N D TOW N A R O U N D TOW N A R O U N D TOW N A R O U N D TOW N A R O U N D TOW N Guests gathered at Ray and Shaista Mahmood’s Alexandria home to honor

former pakistani prime

minister benazir bhutto. Rep. Jim Moran and retired Gen. Richard Meyers were present at the January 28 luncheon.

wers and Mary Beth Po st o rfe r en Mad am e B li ck

Susanne Blickenstorfer, wife of the Swiss ambassador, hosted a valentine’s day

celebration to benefit arts for the aging

at the swiss residence. Guests Janine Tursini, Kim Nettles and Christine Kursch were seen among those enjoying champagne and chocolate on February 14.

BENAZIR WAS BACK Hafizah and Ishaq Sharyar held a reception for Benazir Bhutto,

who comes here annually for the National Prayer Breakfast. The former prime minister of Pakistan is trying to get permission to return to her country, with an eye toward the 2007 elections where she hopes to run for the same office again. Busy on the lecture circuit, and involved with women’s issues, Bhutto spends her time between New York, where husband, Asef Ali Zardari is now living after eight years in prison. Seen: Jordanian Ambassador Karim Kawar; Rim Abboud, wife of the Lebanese ambassador; Bolivian Ambassador Jaime Aparicio and wife Pamela; Mobil Exxon’s Daniel Nelson and wife Irene; Tim and Jan

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| MARCH

Lolo Sarnoff and Anna Maria Via

Haak; Tandy and Wyatt Dickerson

(who reminisced with Benazir about old friends); Christine Warnke, Didi and Walter Cutler, Isabell and Ricardo Ernst, Robin and Ruben Jeffrey and the Sharyar’s long-time friend, hair stylist Zahra of the Watergate, whose late father was Pakistan’s president. “I came here with nothing left, speaking little English—so I could not work in an office—and had few funds after the upset in my country,” Zahra said. “Then I realized I did not need perfect English to style hair, so I took a course, and made a life here.” ONE MORE CHANCE FOR A HANGOVER

The Russian New Year follows the Old Calendar, and is celebrated

| washingtonlife.com

two weeks later than our New Year in the West. The annual ball to celebrate the occasion is always a hoot, as serenely garbed Russian nobility and other friends of the organizers, Prince and Princess Alexis Obolensky, are witness to some of the wildest entertainment in Washington. Some years it is sword dancers, sometimes a gypsy troupe; this year it was a spirited dance group whose star levitated himself five feet in the air, legs splayed out at his sides, by sheer strength. Always there is a marvelous balalaika band, and this year Herbert and Carol Traxler introduced a stately Viennese waltz group, whose pretty girls were white satin-clad, their escorts in black-tie. The ball was attended by Yuri

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

Ushakov, the ambassador of the Russian Federation, and Svetlana Ushakova. Others present included Georgian Prince and Princess David Chavchavadze, she wearing a glittering tiara, Gertrude d’Amecourt had four tables, over one of which son Guy d’Amecourt presided. Ambassadorial couples included John and Marie-Therese Lowell of Malta, and Helgi and Heba Agustsson of Iceland.Also seen were Lolo Sarnoff, Gen. Rick Lessey, Renee and Gen. Wallace Robinson, and Vera and Louis Emmerij. The evening was ended with the timehonored champagne toast. Send advance notice of an event you think Around Town should know about to aroundtown@ washingtonlife.com.

Jean-David Levitte, Anne Bujon, Marie-Cecile Levitte and Francois Bujon de l’Etang

Bobbie Brewster

Roland Celette and Mathew Hastings

O F T H E PA R T Y THE ANNE BUJON E D U C AT I O N A L I N I T I AT I V E BENEFIT DINNER February 3rd • French Ambassador’s Residence PHOTOS BY ZAID HAMID

Donald and Mable Champagne

Kary Magruder

Lolo Sarnoff, Ruthie Leffall and Gertrude Amencourt

Nina Pillsbury, Vibeke Lofft and Ann Townsend

THE EVENT Anne Bujon, wife of former French Ambassador Francois Bujon de l’Etang, was guest of honor at the Alliance Francais’ annual dinner to support French language and culture instruction in D.C.’s public schools. THE SCENE Althouh the Bujon’s diplomatic posting ended in 2002, their continued clout was evident raised $68,000 for the cause. 80-plus black-tie clad guests mingled before dinner in the classically-inspired red drawing room before se ling into a four-course meal that included vintage champagne and mouth watering foie gras. A er dinner, soprano Courtenay Schowalter entertained guests with selections from Poulenc and Bizet. THE GUESTS French Ambassador Jean-David Levi e and his wife, Marie-Cecile, Magda Chrobog, dinner chairwoman Dianne Alfandre Bruce, Willie Lewis, Philip and Nina Pillsbury, Calvin and Jane Cafritz, Gerson Nordlinger, Lolo Sarnoﬀ, Gertrude d’ Amecourt, Carmen Perowitz and D.C. Public Schools Superintendent Cliﬀord Janey.

Jane Lipton Cafritz

Mathew Otenlips and Courtney Schowalter

Willee Lewis, Mathew Hastings, Danielle Canfield and Thomas Canfield

William Haseltine, Mike McMurphy and Magda Chrobog

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Dianne Alfandre Bruce

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

C O L L E C T I O N â&#x2014;&#x2020;

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Collections from Yansi Fugel Cynthia Steffe Cambio White+Warren Isda

Mazza Gallerie 5300 Wisconsin Avenue 202.686.5363

Mary Ann Akers

Helen Thomas, Mary Rosokar and Frederica Dunn

David Bass

O F T H E PA R T Y 6 2 N D A N N U A L WA S H I N G T O N PRESS CLUB DINNER & CQ PUTTING ON THE R I T Z A F T E R - PA R T Y February 8 • Ritz Carlton

P H O T O S B Y I M M A N U E L J AYA C H A N D R A N

Rep. Arthur Davis

Joey “Pants” Pantoliano and Tammy Haddad

BY JANET DONOVAN While potential Presidential candidate Sen. George Allen of Virginia was dining on fish and filet at The Washington Press Club Foundation’s 62nd Annual dinner on February 8th at the Ritz-Carlton, Sen. Judd Gregg was cha ing about the bi-annual budget while quarantined in a parking garage adjacent to the Senate Russell Office Building. Even though the nerve agent scare proved false, Blackberries were buzzing throughout most of the evening; at least until Sen. Arlen Specter took over the podium. He was surprisingly wi y. “I know what you’re thinking: Every year you’re having a Democrat and a Republican, and this year you decided not to have a Republican,” the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said, referring to his oft considered moderate reputation. Taking a jab at longtime friend Sen. Bob Dole, Specter relayed this conversation: “I told Elizabeth, ‘I just shaved and I feel ten years younger.’” To which Elizabeth replied: “Why didn’t you do that last night?” Then there was his joke about three men getting to choose between Rye, Scotch or Bourbon. The first replies Rye, the second replies Scotch and the third, a man in cloth replies: “I’d commit adultery first.” “Hey wait,” the others chimed in, “I didn’t know that was a choice!” On Trent Lott: “During the hurricane [Katrina], he lost his house and his library… both books. And he wasn’t even finished coloring one.”

Juliana Silva and Peter Bergen Se

Sen. Arlen Specter and wife Joan

Co-speaker and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer held his own with a “Brokeback Mountain” inspired joke about Tom DeLay and his relationship with controversial lobbyist Jack Abramoﬀ. “The former House leader signed le ers to Abramoﬀ inscribed: ‘I wish I knew how to quit you.’”

Sen. Orin Hatch and Tsotne Bakuria

Celebrity power was compliments of Congressional Quarterly, whose guests included Miss America Jennifer Berry, Fran Drescher, Joey “Pants” Pantoliano, Cady Huﬀman, Tim Blake Nelson, and Giancarlo Esposito. CQ kept the buzz going until 1 a.m. at their exclusive ‘Pu ing on the Ritz’ a er party co-sponsored with The Creative Coalition.

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Ron Bronstein and Jennifer Palmieri

| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

Robin Bronk and Fran Drescher

Owen Ullmann

Secretary Gale A. Norton and Heidi Holland

Joe Scarborough

David Shuster and Jennifer Berry

Rep. James E. Clyburn

Amb. Ishaq Sharyar and wife Hafeza

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Laura Rosche and Chris Condeluci

Angie Ferrell, Maggie Toepffer and Jessica

George and Jerry Gaginis

Rockinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters

O F T H E PA R T Y Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; E S P R I T D E L A L O U I S I A N E MARDI GRAS BALL February 11th â&#x20AC;˘ The Old Post OďŹ&#x192;ce Pavilion PHOTOS BY JONAH KOCH

Kyle Ruckert, Carissa Graves, Ron Bartek and Raychel Bartek

THE EVENT The spirit of Mardi Gras came alive in the Old Post OďŹ&#x192;ce Pavilion when the Louisiana State Society threw a masquerade-themed ball in the midst of a snowstorm. The historic stuctureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acoustics provided the perfect venue for the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Louisianaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Rockinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters. The raw bar was ďŹ&#x201A;own in by the Louisiana Oyster Task Force and Acme Oyster of New Orleans. THE SCENE All proďŹ ts from the event were donated to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. Carling Dinkler, President of the LSS noted, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to remind people that Louisiana is still struggling in the a ermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but we will be back and will continue to celebrate the wonderful things like Mardi Gras that make us unique.â&#x20AC;? THE GUESTS 1300 people a ended including Reps. Charlie Melancon and Rodney Alexander of Lousiana and former Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, who acted as emcee.

Jennifer Cook and Bernie Cook

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Riley Temple and Charlene Drew Jarvis

Katharine Weymouth and friends

Bruce Gordon and Judith Jamison

O F T H E PA R T Y A LV I N A I L E Y A M E R I C A N D A N C E T H E AT E R G A L A February 7 • Kennedy Center, Opera House PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Olivia Bowman and Abdur-Rahim Jackson

THE EVENT The opening night gala at the Kennedy Center for one of the world’s foremost dance companies. The evening, underwri en by Southern Company, consisted of three events: a pre-show seated dinner, an energetic performance, and an a er-party in the South Gallery. Proceeds will help support Ailey’s local outreach dance scholarship programs. THE SCENE The hot spot of the night was definitely the a er-show dance floor, where guests showed standout performer Alicia Graff they had a few moves of their own. THE GUESTS Librarian of Congress James Billington, Bruce and Tawana Gordon, Dr. and Mrs. Aaron Jackson, Ann Jordan, Kay Kendall, Septime Webre, Anthony Lewis, Ralph and Katie Neas, Rep. Cliff B. Stearns, Lolo Sarnoff and Katharine Weymouth.

Beth Dozoretz, Dr. Aaron Jackson and Beatrice Welters

French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte (right) and Landon Butler

Maureen Dowd, Michael Kahn and Andy Reynolds

Stephen Wadsworth with Don Juan cast members Laura Heisler and Francesca Faridany

O F T H E PA R T Y “DON JUAN” OPENING NIGHT The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Lansburgh Theatre January 30 PHOTOS BY ALEXEI AGARYSHEV

Laura Kenny as Mathurine, Jeremy Webb as Don Juan and Laura Heisler as Charlotte. Photo by Richard Termine

THE EVENT The opening night of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Molière’s “Don Juan.” THE SCENE Pre-show buzz was trumped by intermission cha er as patrons wondered what would become of Don Juan (Jeremy Webb).... Would he ever let go of his philandering, self-serving ways? At the post-performance reception, conversation turned to praise for the technical quality of the production (the classical sets, staging, costumes, and foot lighting were superb) and the skilled execution of the French playwright’s rapid-ﬁre, language-laden text, which Michael Milligan (Sganarelle) handles with particular aplomb. See it before closing night on March 19th. THE GUESTS French Ambassador Jean-David Levi e, journalist Maureen Dowd, Shakespeare Theatre Company artistic director Michael Kahn, composer Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked,” “Pippin”), actress Paige Davis (formerly of TLC’s Trading Spaces), cast members and theatre patrons.

Actor Patrick Page, Stephen Schwartz and Paige Davis

Michael Milligan as Sganarelle (left) and Jeremy Webb as Don Juan. Photo by Richard Termine

Actor Ted van Griethuysen, Dorothy McSweeny and John Neville-Andrews

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Councilman Jack Evans and Sally Bedell Smith

Frank Fahrenkopf, Leslie Fahrenkopf and Juliet Eilperin

Robin Waugh, David Kranich and Catherine Beard

O F T H E PA R T Y

W H AT W O M E N R E A L LY WA N T January 26 • Baker & Hostetler LLP Oﬃces PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Lannah Hamilton, Bo Young and Kay Willis

Bruce Sanford and Rep. Steve King

THE EVENT Almost 200 a endees gathered to learn more about the conclusions that pollsters Celinda Lake and Kellyanne Conway reveal in their new book “What Women Really Want: How American Women Are Quietly Erasing Political, Racial, Class, and Religious Lines to Change the Way We Live.” For example, the authors write that 60% of all women 40 to 69 are single, and that 65% of all car purchases are made “directly by women.” The book has been praised for uncovering compelling data about a complex demographic; how women live and work, what they care about and, of course, what they really want. THE SCENE A er a Q&A, the mostly male crowd mixed and mingled, and we assume, took notes. THE GUESTS Michael Isikoﬀ, Debi Gasper, Rachel Pearson, and Jack Valenti.

Robin Breckinridge and John Steiner

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Sandy Casey, Cindy Adams, Former Rep. Guy Vanderjaqt and Debbie Casey

Celinda Lake and Kellyanne Conway

John Kane, Kathryn Griffin and Mary Kane

James Woodyard

Rep. Chris Johns and Gordon Taylor

Gloria Dittus and Rep. Jennifer Dunn

O F T H E PA R T Y

D I T T U S C O M M U N I C AT I O N S DINNER January 24 • Gloria Di us’ Kalorama Home PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Loran and Robbie Aiken and Joseph McMonogle

Gen. Rick Shelby and James Ratchfeld

THE EVENT Di us Communications, the D.C.-based public affairs communications firm, hosted an intimate political soiree at company founder Gloria Di us’ home to celebrate its merger with the Financial Dynamics family. THE SCENE The 200 guests enjoyed food catered by Occasions and listened as Gloria and Declan Kelly, CEO and president of Financial Dynamics, and Gloria, who founded Di us Communications in 1993, spoke about the two firms’ decision to unite. THE GUESTS Reps. Jennifer Dunn and Chris John, Kellyanne Conway, Mike McCurry and Grover Norquist.

Graham Ingham and Charlie Armitstead

Kellyanne Conway and Grover Norquist

Julia Payne and Barry Scanlon

Stan Collender and Maura McGinn

Mike Waldon, Jenn Sollars and Jason Van Buren

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US Trade Rep Rob Portman

John Fox Sullivan, Gregg Ward, John Mikely, and Sen. John Sununu

O F T H E PA R T Y

S TAT E O F T H E U N I O N RECEPTION January 31 • Library of Congress Great Hall PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Nini Ferguson and Rachel Pearson Bill Harris and Mark O’Riley

THE EVENT A reception at the Library of Congress hosted by Atlantic Media for members of Congress, journalists and diplomats prior to the President’s State of the Union Address. THE SCENE More than 500 largely bi-partisan guests enjoyed a lavish buﬀet and prognosticated about politics to the sound of a live jazz duo. THE GUESTS Sens. Patrick Leahy and John Sununu and Roberta McCain, mother of Sen. John McCain, Jordanian Amb. Karim Kawar, Korean Trade Minister Hyun Kim, Bitsey Folger and Nini Ferguson.

Ed Dagno, Sen. Patrick Leahy and Nick Sadoski

Rep. John Boozman

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Carmen Petrowitz, Roberta McCain and Bill Feighen

Charles Capotio, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito and Barbara Washburn

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Rep. Charlie Taylor

Anne Wexler and Joe Klein

Keith Lippert, Ruth Mitchell and Simon Jacobson

John Laytham

Tracy Sturtz Webster

O F T H E PA R T Y Michael Brown and James Carol

PARTY FOR KEITH LIPPERT January 30 • F. Sco ’s

P H O T O S B Y I M M A N U E L J AYA C H A N D R A N

David WIlliams, Dr. Ann Williams, Caroline Boutte, Henry Lloyd and Deborah Sigmund

Billy Martin, Linda Greenan, Ken Robinson, Keith Lippert, Ginger Laytham and Alan Helfer

THE EVENT John Laytham, president of Clyde’s Restaurant Group, and his wife Ginger hosted a cocktail reception in support of Keith Lippert, whose Georgetown gallery (a favorite for special gifts and wedding registries) was recently destroyed by fire. “The party said volumes about what a wonderful community we live in,” said Lippert, who expects to reopen a remodeled gallery in April. “I had an overwhelming ‘Jimmy Stewart moment’ realizing it really is a ‘Wonderful Life.’” THE SCENE Guests enjoyed hors d’ oeuvres and an open bar in what Lippert said felt like, “the community wrapping its collective arms around me in a time of need.” F. Scott’s, part of the Clyde’s group, provided a perfect backdrop for a beautiful evening that reinforced what is special about our Washington community. THE GUESTS Simon Jacobsen, Linda Greenan, Billy Martin and John and Ginger Laytham. Keith thanked Anthony Lanier and Chris Hunsberger from the Four Seasons, who were unable to attend, as well as the Georgetown Business and Professional Association.

Bo Johnson and Beatrice Park

Linda Greenman Ken Robinson and Sally Davidson

Jack Evans

Linda Greenan

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Helen Dubois and Katherine Wood

| SOMEMONTH

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Treats provided by Bistro Bis

Ingrid Valtin and CoCo

Andrea Kundanmal, Ashley Owen and Bubbles

O F T H E PA R T Y N AT I O N A L H U M A N E S O C I E T Y A SUGAR AND C H A M PA G N E A F FA I R January 25 • Ritz Carlton PHOTOS BY ZAID HAMID

Socrates

Todd Gray, Lily Potter with Crumpet and Jefferey Potter

Charles Toftoy and Ashley

THE EVENT The fourth beneﬁt for the Washington Humane Society raised over $22,000 for the Humane Law Enforcement Program–which brings animal abusers to justice–at Equinox restaurant. As hosts, Todd and Ellen Gray, owners of Equinox, sought out 30 of the area’s top pastry chefs and champagne purveyors plus restaurants Inde Bleu, Citronelle, Galileo, Zola, Marcel’s, Ten Penh and Market Salamander. THE SCENE About 400 animal loving guests packed the Ritz-Carlton’s grand ballroom along with 200 of the city’s most stylish dogs, wearing designs from Ralph Lauren to Burberry. Owners and pets alike gobbled up scrumptious dog-shaped deserts. THE GUESTS Mike Ziskind, Annie Louis, Marie Drissel, Erika Kelton, Joan Jackson and Howard Nelson.

Executive Chef Vikram Garg from Indebleu, Iya Akanke Garg and Abhilasha Garg

Eileen Choi with Coco and Babi

Andrea Rodgers and Gatsby

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Kris Arnold

Christina DePaul with her son Ryley McCarthy

Katherine Keane and Carl Colby

Gregory Elam and Nancy Paul

O F T H E PA R T Y C H R I S T I N A D E PA U Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S B I R T H D AY February 8 â&#x20AC;˘ Levy Residence PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

(Clockwise from left) Richard Marks, Michael Pierson, Carol Joynt, Izette Folger and Nora Maccoby

THEEVENT Ize e Folger, David Levy and Carole Feld threw an intimate and entertaining birthday party for Corcoran College of Art and Design Dean Christina DePaul at the Levyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Massachuse s Avenue townhouse. THE SCENE Friends enjoyed birthday cakes of all shapes and ďŹ&#x201A;avors a er dining on pla ers of Chinese food and â&#x20AC;&#x153;lots and lots of champagneâ&#x20AC;? while Madonna tracks played in the background. Then everyone levitated to Georgetown to party until closing at Bistro le Picâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s upstairs bar. THE GUESTS: Dodge Thompson from the National Gallery, Nora Maccoby, King Mallory, Rob Shapiro and Septime Webre.

Carole Feld and Annie Maccoby Berglof

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O F T H E PA R T Y “ G I R L S L U N C H E O N C E L E B R AT I O N ” FOR LETITIA BALDRIDGE February 4 • Home of the Hon. Carol Schwartz PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

THE EVENT D.C. Councilmember Carol Schwartz’ luncheon to celebrate Letitia Baldridge’s 80th birthday. Etique e guru Baldridge served as Jacqueline Kennedy’s chief of staﬀ and in embassy postings for Claire Boothe Luce and Evangeline Bruce. THE SCENE Guests enjoyed hors d’ oeuvres and a sit-down luncheon of salads, cheese and Pinot Grigio. Following the meal, Baldridge was honored with two birthday cakes and champagne toasts. . THE GUESTS Be y Beale, Julia Coleman, Kay Evans, Sherry Geyelin, Mary Ha , Lucy Moorhead and Maggie Wimsa .

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March 30th - April 2nd saks fifth avenue • Chevy Chase

DRESS-UP Thursday, March 30 • from 6 to 9 See the latest spring dresses at this fashion show while enjoying happy hour cocktails from BlueGin, appetizers by CABANAS & Tony & Joe’s Seafood Place and VitaminWater & SmartWater as the dj spins in the Artefacto lounge. You can also change your outlook with a Chanel or Giorgio Armani makeover after an Elizabeth Arden manicure and a Bliss hand massage.

DENIM DOCTORS Saturday, April 1 • from 1 to 6 Get your personal denim prescription and free alterations on any pair of jeans purchased. Our specialists will personalize and embellish your favorite jeans while you get tips from the Sports Club/ trainers on how to ﬁt into that favorite pair. You can also watch a live demo of the coolest classes the club oﬀers at the top of every hour from 1 to 4. Don’t miss the Candy bar and Robeks smoothies, Bliss hand massages, Bobbi Brown & Laura Mercier makeovers or Arden manicures and massages.

WHITE HOT TRENDS Friday, March 31 • from 5 to 7 See spring’s great whites at the white cocktail party as our experts take you trendspotting as you enjoy Chloe cocktails and Saki Sushi. NARS and Dior cosmetics will round out the sizzling looks while you sample our fragrance bar or get a complimentary Arden eyebrow waxing.

CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME Sunday, April 2 • from 1 to 6 You’ll be California Dreamin’ when you see the latest sun and swim looks. Get that sun-kissed glow with a Bliss Express facial and Clarins and Armani cosmetics. Refresh and rehydrate with Robeks smoothies, SmartWater, VitaminWater and Redbull energy drinks. Book an appointment from 1 to 3 to experience a pilates reformer stretch from the Sports Club/ and enjoy an Elizabeth Arden massage.

For further information or to RSVP for the Thursday fahsion show or the Friday White Party, email us at WL@WashingtonLife.com

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An aerial view of Bermuda

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BERMUDA SHORTS Escaping never seemed so close…or fun

Bermuda lies 500 miles off the North Carolina coast, and in places, this island of pink-hued beaches and turquoise waters seems like a world away. In other ways, it feels like home...

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A couple enjoys a private meal on a secluded Bermudan beach

ermuda, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has long been a seasonal retreat for America’s bluebloods–American tourists began visiting the island to escape the winter in Victorian times. Known for its outstanding golf courses and 17thcentury architecture, Bermuda remains a preferred getaway for vacationers like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Getting there is easy, with U.S. Airways running direct flights (2 hours) from National Airport. But before you leave, don’t forget to pack the official uniform of this British Commonwealth country: Bermuda Shorts.

to the Pollock Shields, a sunken shipwreck near the resort. For a more pampered experience, treat yourself at the Spa at Elbow Beach, which can accommodate individuals as well as couples. Complete your day with dinner at one of resort’s several restaurants, but be sure to dine on the balcony of the Seahorse Grill (one of island’s most prestigious restaurants) before your stay is over. Rates: $285 to $745 for double occupancy rooms depending on the season; $285 to $1,700 for suites depending on the season; Penthouse suite and cottages also available at varying rates. For reservations call (441) 236-3525 or (800) 223-7434, e-mail ebbda-reservations@mohg.com or visit www.mandarinoriental.com

A GRANDE EXPERIENCE ELBOW BEACH Located on a stretch of pink sand beach on the island’s south shore in Paget Parish, this 235-room hotel reflects Bermuda’s traditional architecture of pastel yellow limestone exteriors with white-tiered “cake icing” roofs. Only a 25-minute ride from Bermuda’s airport, Elbow Beach features a cottage colony as well as butler-serviced suites with modern Asian inspired décor. With its 50 landscaped acres and a half-mile of shoreline, the resort offers a wide array of beach and poolside services. If you’re feeling adventurous, rent mopeds onsite for island exploration or schedule a tennis match with a Davis Cup team member on the hotel’s pro staff. Divers can arrange to dive 60-feet below the Atlantic’s surface

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LOVE IS IN THE AIR CAMBRIDGE BEACHES “Anyone can be on a honeymoon,” is the motto of Cambridge Beaches. And while that might be debatable, one thing is not...you can’t help but fall in love with the resort’s sparkling Gulf Stream waters and distinctive architecture.The hotel inhabits a pristine 30-acre private peninsula near the western end of Bermuda. It is dotted with pink cottages with white roofs and boasts five private beaches, a spa and a variety of activities, including reef snorkeling, sunset and moonlight cruising, as well as access to every golf course on the island, including the exclusive Mid Ocean Club.

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THE DRESSCODE

IT WAS A DARK’N STORMY NIGHT...

Business men and civil servants still wear Bermuda Shorts as a formal fashion. Officially, Bermuda Shorts fall two inches above the knee, are worn with Bermuda Hose (long white or black socks), a shortsleeved white or blue oxford shirt, a tie and a single or double-breasted navy blue blazer.

If unique dining experiences are your forte, this is the ideal place. The resort offers visitors everything from gourmet meals in the elegant Tamarisk Room overlooking the water, to the new Star Dock Dinner, where guests may dine on the Cambridge dock, surrounded by Mangrove Bay. For couples looking for romantic magic, we recommend Private Island Dining. The meal includes a boat ride to the “Isle of TT” where a butler serves champagne and a made-to-order dinner, and then quietly slips away, leaving you and your partner to enjoy ultimate privacy. Cambridge Beaches also offers a “Heavenly Honeymoon” program where newlyweds can enjoy seaside picnics, his and her massages at the Ocean Spa, and a sunset sail. The package includes daily breakfast, high tea, and gourmet dinners at all of the resort’s restaurants. Rates: April through October $475 to $790 per night per couple. November through February $335 to $670 per night per couple. For reservations call (800) 468-7300, e-mail cambeach@ibl.com or visit www. cambridgebeaches.com

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Visitors can make any trip to Bermuda Dark’n Stormy by trying the national drink, named just that. „The Dark’n Stormy“ is Black Seal Rum over ice, topped with ginger beer and garnished with lemon.

ANOTHER BUSY DAY IN PARADISE If you are looking for action beyond the confines of your resort, Bermuda is ripe with opportunities, particularly in Horse Shoe Bay. Located in South Shore Park, this wide crescent of pink is arguably Bermuda’s most beautiful and popular beach. Vacationing shopaholics need not worry about feeding their habit while away from home.Visit Hamilton, the island’s capital, and pick up a Pucci scarf at Cecile or shop MaxMara at prices 20 percent lower than those in the U.S. For men, A.S. Cooper Man and Aston & Gunn are two upscale department stores not to be missed. Bermuda is renowned for its top golf courses. Besides the Mid Ocean Club, other great membersonly courses to explore are Ridell’s Bay Golf and Country Club and Tucker’s Point Golf Club. In addition, the Royal Golf Course is ranked among the world’s best public courses. Since there are no car rentals on the island a moped is the best way to go if you want to explore Bermuda’s 155 miles of roadways.With less than 21 square miles of land area, you can see a lot in a short amount of time–just remember to stay on the left side of the road!

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BERMUDA: QUICK GUIDE ö Locals predict storms and other severe

weather with a shark-oil based barometer

ö May 24th is the traditional “first swim date of the year”

ö Bermuda has more golf courses per

square mile than anywhere else in the world

ö Bermuda’s landmass is almost equal to that of London’s Heathrow Airport

ö Bermuda is the oldest British colony

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H OT E L WATC H

LONDON CALLING Checking in to the Athenaeum and Cadogan hotels

One of the luxurious rooms at the Athenaeum Hotel

HOME AWAY FROM HOME ATHENAEUM HOTEL AND APARTMENTS Located in the heart of London on Piccadilly, the Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments offer five-star service with a family-friendly atmosphere. Named a Conde Nast Traveler “top London hotel” five years running, the Athenaeum features 111 guest rooms and 12 luxury suites, in addition to 30 apartments that occupy a row of Edwardian townhouses adjacent to the main hotel.

THE GUESTS Business travelers and spa day-trippers are constants at the hotel, while families and professionals looking for extended stays wrapped in luxury frequent the apartments. As such the Edwardian townhouse clientele could best be described as both busy and “homey.” It’s not Romper room by any stretch—it’s simply a family-friendly.

THE ROOMS Kitchens and individual entrances for maximum convenience and privacy. Rooms and suites provide English elegance coupled with modern conveniences. Reserve a suite overlooking London’s Green Park for best views.

WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK Leave the kids with the nanny and reserve a table at Bulloch’s Restaurant, which

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serves “modern British” cuisine with an elegant Mediterranean twist using such ingredients as homemade Italian mozzarella, organic produce and grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef. The Windsor Lounge, open 24-hours-a-day, offers light meals, cocktails and tea. For rainy London nights (of which there are many), visit The Whisky Bar. It offers more than 250 varieties of the spirit from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, America and Japan.

WHAT TO DO Forgo the fish & chips and dig into a body wrap with enzymatic sea mud or a mineral salt scrub instead.The hotel’s spa is run exclusively for Athenaeum guests. For travelers looking to explore the city, the hotel is a short walk from such London mainstays as Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown and the theater district. Nearby Soho is a cab ride away, where if you know the right people (or you’re a member in New York), you can sample martinis at the exclusive members club, Soho House. Rates: $515 to $1300 per night for rooms and suites; $870 to $1,300 per night for apartments. For reservations call (800) 335-3300, e-mail info@ athenaeumhotel.com or visit www.athenaeumhotel.com

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One of the luxurious rooms at the Cadogen Hotel and dining room and bar at Mes’Anges

OLD EUROPEAN CHARM CADOGAN LONDON Built in 1887, the Cadogan retains the feel of a private townhouse with the kind of charm associated with old-world Europe. The hotel sits on Sloane Street in Knightsbridge, providing easy access to the luxury shops and Haute Couture fashion, making this district London’s fashion hub.

THE GUESTS The hotel has had its share of notable guests, including poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, who was arrested in his room in 1895. The event was immortalized when John Betjeman wrote a poem titled, “The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel.” Chances are guests are better behaved these days—most are travelers looking for an intimate and historic experience in central location.

THE ROOMS You have a choice between rooms with contemporary or classic English Décor—either way, plush furniture is de rigueur. Many of the highceilinged rooms feature rounded alcoves leading to private balconies, and all provide standard modern conveniences such as cable TV, WIFI and air

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conditioning. The Oscar Wilde and Lillie Langtry suites are particularly well appointed.

WHERE TO EAT Yes, there is gourmet English cuisine. Mes’Anges, the Cadogan’s luxury restaurant, boasts glass chandeliers, intricate ceiling designs and a marble fireplace. The menu is equally lavish, showcasing steak, seafood and chicken dishes with imaginative ingredients.

WHAT TO DO Guests access to the private gardens at Cadogan Square, directly across from the hotel. If you are looking to work off those extra pints, have the concierge book a tennis court for you—the hotel will provide the rackets and balls. After stretching your black card to the brink shopping, catch a double-decker bus (they run by the hotel’s entrance) to the Natural History Museum. Rates: $280 to $1,040 per night depending on room. For reservations call (888) 452-8380 or visit www.cadogan.com

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Open kitchen concept by Poggenpohl.

What’s Cookin’

WHIPPING up the KITCHEN of your DREAMS BY C H R I S TO P H E R BA R S O N I N T E R I O R D E S I G N E R

eople ask me to renovate their kitchens for a number of reasons. Some have kitchens as out-of-date as “I Love Lucy” twin beds, others want to merge their kitchens with a family or living area, some have to renovate because their ovens don’t stay warm or their dishwashers have ruined their 20 year-old tiled floor. Here’s what I suggest.

maintain the integrity of the house. Poggenpohl in Georgetown and Bethesda uses the concept of integration to incorporate kitchens and dining areas into one entertainment space. Through cabinetry and other custom furnishings, they are able to tailor their designs. The company also offers a variety of top-of-the-line brands such as Viking, Miele, Subzero and Gaggenau.

MIX AND MATCH Don’t try to put a square in a circle; work with what you have. If you have a brick colonial with shutters, or your furniture style leans towards Queen Anne, refrain from highly-stylized modern cabinetry and mirrored back splashes. On the other hand, if you have a contemporary space, avoid raised-panel arched cabinets with brass knobs and faucets with criss-cross handles. Renovations to an existing structure should

KEEP IT OPEN In new construction, kitchens are incorporated into family or living areas. Most homes or condominiums feature open floor plans with family or living areas separated by kitchen islands. Consider removing a wall and expanding your concealed kitchen. Think about how you live. Most guests congregate in the kitchen when they attend a party. Take advantage of that and allow them to seat themselves in a beautiful space in

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view of the kitchen. It makes entertaining more relaxed. Select cabinet finishes, appliances, and lighting that complement the adjoining areas. WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Select kitchen finishes that will blend with your home furnishings. Seek out cabinets with a warm wood finish: think maple or cherry wood with a medium stain. Steer towards a refrigerator and dishwasher that can be concealed with decorative cabinet panels. Visit your local granite yard and hand pick a set of slabs that have beautiful swirls of amber, rich plums or soft grays. Adorn your countertop with a backsplash of hand-made glass tiles or marble, and illuminate all of it with halogen under-cabinet lighting or track lighting. Use separate dimmers to create unique lighting patterns. Focus your attention on the dining room by dimming the kitchen lights

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QUICK RECIPE FOR KITCHEN REMOLDING WITH

AMIR FARAZAD

Poggenpohl’s +INTEGRATION range is intended for an open space concept. ISLAND OASIS An island usually can be designed with pendant lights or mini chandeliers. Install those lights on a separate dimmer as well so your guests won’t be blinded. Invest in barstools upholstered in fabric that coordinate with a nearby sofa, dining chair or window treatment. Another idea: consider selecting a complementary cabinet finish or accent color for your island, something that sets it apart from the other cabinetry. PROPER PLACEMENT To maximize counter space, place tall cabinets and refrigerators towards the ends of the kitchen. Counter space will be lengthier and more usable, decorative backsplashes will be fluid, and the overall area will be more linear. Avoid placing a cook top in the island; instead, a sink and dishwasher will create less heat and less visible mess. WHERE TO PUT YOUR MONEY It’s possible to create a beautiful kitchen on a budget, but you need to prioritize. Stick with a good stock cabinet, such as Merillat. The Culpeper-based company puts out a quality product. (With good installation and a finished crown molding on top of the wall cabinets, no one

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Adorn your countertop with a backsplash of hand-made glass tiles or marble, and illuminate all of it with halogen undercabinet lighting.

will know you saved a bundle of cash). Avoid the paneled built-in appliances and stick with good quality from a company such as Viking. If you purchase appliances in a package, you can typically get a group discount or rebate. Invest in high quality granite counters, but paint the backsplash instead of having a decorative tiled backsplash. Use recessed lights on dimmers, but forget pendant lights. Install fluorescent instead of halogen task lighting. Select neutral classic finishes instead of sophisticated color schemes.

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Poggenpohl/AAI-Kitchens Managing Director (Mid-Atlantic) WL: How long should remodeling take? AF: Usually about four to five weeks for a small kitchen. If you have specialty lighting, that requires another week. For a large kitchen, plan on six to eight weeks. WL: How do you find a good contractor? AF: Always look at their background, and make sure they come recommended. It’s also important that they have the proper licenses. Never make a large deposit up-front, and make sure you know what the steps are from A to Z when you sign a contract. It’s not science, just logic. WL: How much does a kitchen cost to remodel? AF: Depending on the size of the project, it could run anywhere from $35,000 on the low-end to over $70,000.You have to factor in the cost of materials; what you choose for wood, countertops, etc. Always make sure you know what you are getting in your bid. For more information on Poggenpohl’s innovative designer kitchens contact Amir Farazad at (202) 342-9111, or go to www.poggenpohl-usa.com.

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O P E N

H O U S E

HITT AVENUE IN MCLEAN VA COLONIAL QUARTERS

Sitting on a picturesque corner lot, this lightfilled Colonial is located in the heart of McLean. An apartment-sized master suite features a gas fireplace, grand bath, three walk-in closets, sitting room and cathedral ceiling. The open floor plan features a gourmet kitchen with cherry cabinets, formal living and dining rooms with Palladian capped windows and detailed millwork and custom finishes throughout.With a two-story family room, two expansive outdoor decks, fully finished lower level with forty foot recreation room, billiard room and fenced backyard, this offering is a perfect family home.

This stunning new home is located in the prestigious “Oaks” enclave in North Bethesda, near I-270, I-495, major shopping venues and restaurants. Three living levels provide five bedrooms, five baths and two half baths–all with exquisite finishes and built to the highest standards of quality. The house boasts all brick construction, wide plank pecan hardwood floors; a gourmet stainless & granite kitchen; 10-foot ceilings; ample entertaining space; and a three car garage. The creative design includes everything today’s modern home buyer is looking for.

Asking: $1,730,000 Listing: Lilian Jorgensen, (703) 790-1990. Long & Foster Realtors, Inc.

Asking: $2,099,999 Listing: Christine McGuinness, (301) 404-3145. Weichert Realtors.

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ROSEMONT CIRCLE IN NORTH BETHESDA MD A MODERN CLASSIC

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| MARCH

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S STREET N W

TRACY PLACE N W

KALORAMA CASTLE

BUY GEORGIAN!

Located in the heart of Kalorama, this stately urban residence has a limestone façade complemented by beautiful architectural details. The finish throughout includes ornate moldings, custom millwork and spectacular floor and window treatments. Highlights include a second floor that includes oversized living and dining rooms as well as a bar area and powder room; a state-of-the-art kitchen with professional-grade appliances; a “French Polish” mahogany English library; several oversized bedrooms; and five gas fireplaces. The master suite runs the width of the house and has “his” and “her” baths. Additional features include a “parlor” or second living room, a sun-filled breakfast room, an oversized stairway with a sculpted banister and mahogany railings, faux marble risers and Starke runner, mahogany doors and brass handles throughout, commercial grade Otis elevator with mahogany cab, and parking for four cars. The exterior has limestone planters with landscaping, a small side yard, charming enclosed patio and two decks, one with a view of the Washington Monument. Asking: $6,750,000 Listing: Mark McFadden, (703) 216-1333. The McFadden Group

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This renovated brick Georgian home is located in one of Washington’s most prestigious addresses, Kalorama, and situated on one of the neighborhood larger lots. It features a spacious floor plan with four bedrooms and four and a half baths. The classical layout revolves around a center hall with a period staircase, which flows into a light-filled living room with a fireplace and custom built-ins. The gourmet kitchen features granite countertops, top-of-the line stainless steel appliances and an oversized marble-topped breakfast bar, as well as two sets of French doors, which lead to the professionally landscaped rear garden, terrace and pool. The custompaneled public and private rooms, with halogen lighting and wired/wireless network make this home perfect for a family as well as entertaining. Asking: $3,450,000 Listing: Matthew B. McCormick, (202) 243-1651, L. Patrick Chauvin, (202) 243-1621 and Ellen M. Morrell, (202) 243-1616

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R O U N D TA B L E

Forget the Bubble

Intelligent HOME PRICING, the Condo Market and Real Estate Etiquette are what buyers and sellers should foucs on this spring Penny Yerks Penny is the #1 Weichert agent in America out of 13,000 agents. With over 25 years experience selling homes in Northern Virginia, Penny consistently sells well over $100 Million of residential real estate each year. William Moody Holding an MBA, Bill joined Sotheby’s International Realty in New York in 1986, and then in 1989, earned the number one position as a first year licensee in 1989 with Pardoe Real Estate. He has since consistently maintained a reputation as one of the best in the industry. Mark McFadden Licensed in Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland, Mark specializes in the sale of upper bracket properties throughout the Washington Metropolitan area. Mark works with the area’s top CEOs and political leaders. His attention to detail, total discretion and negotiating skills contribute to his success as the Washington area’s premier realtor. In 2005, Mark was the #1 Agent on the East Coast for Coldwell Banker. Mark Bisnow Mark has been a lawyer, politico and businessman in Washington for nearly three decades and publishes a growing series of electronic newsletters, including Real Estate Weekly, which features interviews with top Washington-area experts. He also writes a column called “BizKnow,” a weekly personality column in the Washington Business Journal.

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t’s been a buyers market in recent months, but sellers can still get close to their asking price if they choose to educate themselves about the market and take a few words of advice. Top real estate agents Mark McFadden, Penny Yerks, and Bill Moody discuss the realities of the new market.

Acclimating Sellers with Pricing

Mark Bisnow: Is the real estate market slowing in the region? Interest rates are climbing, there seems to be some consumer edginess. What has changed since last November’s Real Estate Roundtable? Mark McFadden: As listing agents we are spending time acclimatizing sellers with pricing. Many are trying to sell their homes at last January prices in a May marketplace.The market has slowed down since January, and across the board, I think we would all agree that there has been a 5 to 15 percent property adjustment. Penny Yerks: I agree Bill Moody: So do I. MB: What exactly do you mean by “property adjustment”? MM: It means a home in the McLean that we would have priced at $3 million in the first part of last year is now at a price closer to $2.75 million.

“It’s all about location and convenience.” —BILL MOODY

MB: Are you further advising sellers that they should hurry and sell because maybe in a few months you will be suggesting an even lesser price? PY: Mark McFadden and I have a co-listing

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COLUMN NAME

BM: Scary, It’s a supply problem. a couple of condos pre-construction, and together, and we have told the sellers that we thought we were going to sell for $100,000 would like them to position themselves for the more than I paid, and now we can’t even get new market. In order to get the property sold, The Condo Market what we paid for them. we want their house to be the top house, the MB: Is there reality that is scary or is there just MB: And these are luxury high-end? best priced house, a threat? BM: Luxury high-end, priced from $800,000 that shows well. Yerks: I think it’s a threat to $1 million. MB: And what right now and not a lot PY: If they can’t rent them, which is exactly kind of reaction of people have come what happened ten years ago, then they drop are you getting to the reality of what’s their price in order to get them sold. from the sellers? happening. MB: Is there going to be any parallel to previDo they listen MM: With the develous experiences we’ve had? to you? Or do opment in the condo BM: No, the economy is too good. they say, “no, my market of Washington PY: Exactly, so we don’t think it’s going to be neighbor got $3 and North Arlington, as bad as 15 years ago. We are expecting 80,000 million?” there are going to be new jobs so we are hoping that will offset PY: Some will many projects coming problems. listen to you and online in the next three MM: In the high end market the key term is trust you while to six months, and that “specialty properties.” I don’t think that the others insist on will create a huge flood specialty properties market will be affected at pricing it where of inventory. all. For example, I put a penthouse for sale at they want and BM: And all the pre-con$4.5 million, last June. All of the agents asked seeing where the struction buying is gone. —MARK MCFADDEN me what kind of medication I was on? It’s market takes them. Skipping the agent and taken a long time, but we just got a contract MM: While others going directly to the sales last week very close to asking price. I think will list with an and marketing departthe high-end market is still going to do well at agent who tells them what they want to hear, ment is non-existent now. every price range. and then let the house sit for three or four MB: There will be a lot less speculative purMB: Who is interested months before they finally come to us to price chasing, especially in in those “specialty it properly. condos? properties?” BM: I think that the market has done most of BM: Yes, especially McFadden: People its adjusting, so I’m not encouraging people to because the investors with multiple resiurgently put their home on the market now. are gone and interdences who are going Unfortunately, too many people read press est rates have gone up. to be in Washingpublications that talk about the bubble, and Interest rates affect the ton six months, and that encourages them to discount prices. condo market a lot. in Palm Beach six MB: Why has been a slowdown? PY: They’re gone. months, or people BM: The reason the market is down a little bit MM: A lot of invesfrom overseas. is because basically, a year ago there were a lot tors who invested in MB: Why are people more buyers than sellers. Then last January March, April, May, from overseas sudpeople who had to sell competed with sellers June, and July are —PENNY YATES denly deciding who didn’t want to sell but felt their neighbors going to deliver over Washington is an were getting so much for their properties that the next 6-8 months. interesting place? it would be better to sell now than wait for Those investors are MM: They know it’s two years. going to try and flip a very strong economy, and they’re bringing PY: The National Association of Realtors just them. their businesses here. They want to open up came out with statistics that the inventory for MB: And if they can’t flip them what’s going to offices in the U.S. and other regions. single houses is up 225% and sales are down happen? 26%. Condos are much worse, I think they are BM: Rent them for write-offs. Right downup 360%. town at Pennsylvania and 25th, I bought

“I think with development in the condo market of Washington and North Arlington, there are going to be many projects coming online in the next three to six months, and that will create a huge flood of inventory in the market.”

“The National Association of Realtors just came out with statistics that the inventory for single houses is up 225% and sales are down 26%.”

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Bidding Wars and Real Estate EtiquetTe

on the open market, and having everybody in high-end properties is low right now. Hightheir house. But it does not work that way. end buyers coming into this market place, let’s BM: I’ve sold three houses between November say between $5 and $8 million, are looking at MB: Are you seeing any bidding wars anymore, and January in that high-end price range, and eight to twelve properties in D.C., Potomac, any instances where the price sold is higher the only reason I’ve Bethesda and Mclean, than the asking price? been able to sell them Great Falls in NorthBM: Most of the time there are two separate recently, is because the ern Virginia, in a two offers coming in from two different agents, owner was willing to day weekend process both under the asking price. But a comprice it right in the and calibrating what pletely renovated ready to go urban 100-year beginning, open his is out there before old house is virtually non-existent and will home to the market, they make a decision sell at any price. It’s all about location and and negotiate. He on something. Some convenience. got 90 percent of the of the sellers are MB: Are you seeing sales on average 8% lower asking price. putting their homes than the asking price? MB: What is the cutoff quietly on the market, PY: We’ve seen contracts come in $1 million price for the highmeaning if they get under the asking price. high end properties? their number they’ll MB: Is it different in Virginia vs. D.C. at the $1 MM: I think $4 or $5 sell. million levels vs. the $4 million level? —BILL MOODY million and it has to MB: You mean no BM: I am intrigued by Penny’s comment about be turnkey fabulous. sign outside, no listing $1 million under asking. In New York they’ve PY: Anything over $4 in the paper, no thought nothing of offering $2.5 million million usually sits for picture anywhere? dollars on a $4.5 million listing. In Palm Beach a while and anything MM: They’re pocket and Beverly Hills it works the same way. But over $5 million is very listings within the in Washington, either good manners or ego hard to sell. broker community. stop buyers from making an offer unless they BM: If they want it they’ll pay for it. It’s really PY: That does not work well in Virginia, think they’re really going to have that offer all about the buyer’s perception of getting good though. accepted. I had a property that started listing at value. BM: We don’t encourage it. $5.2 million, and then made two interim price MB: What’s the turn around time for selling MB: What is their reductions to $4.9 $2.5-$3.5 million homes? hesitation, ego? million, then to $4.4 PY: If it’s priced correctly, you can sell it within MM: Sometimes million, and then it the month. there is an ego factor sold. I couldn’t get any MB: Looking at Potomac vs. Mclean vs. D.C., and they don’t want offers, until someone can you isolate some areas as being “hotter” the house to go on felt that they could than others at the moment? the market and fail. make an offer and PY: Washington is hotter than Maryland or The problem is, it’s have it accepted. Virginia. the worst way to sell MB: Where as in New BM: It’s not just about location, location, locaa home because we York and Beverly Hills, tion but also convenience, convenience, concan’t expose it to the it’s sporting to lowball venience too. What I have found is that people general market, and offers. want to simplify their lives. They want a quick word of mouth works BM: It’s OK to lose walk to restaurants or a quick cab ride to work. occasionally but because all your —BILL MOODY MB: Are they looking for a condo or a house? it’s not a very good friends lost too. It’s BM: They think they’re looking for a condo, option. OK to be insulted but when they get there and realize the tradePY: Well, they’re because all of your offs and the prices, they end up in a house. private people, and friends have already MM: That’s exactly right. they assume that you been insulted. MB: And what reduction in square footage are have somebody in your hip pocket that can MB: How about Maryland? Who has a sense of they willing to accept in order to fit in their come and buy their home. They also don’t what’s happening there? new lives? want to go through the hassle of putting it MM: Inventory for what Bill calls “ready to go”

“Most of the time there are two separate offers coming in from two different agents, both under the asking price.

“In Washington, either good manners or ego stop Washington buyers from making an offer unless they think they’re really going to have that offer accepted.”

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BM: They think it’s going to be about a quarter but it usually comes down to being about half. MB: If people are downsizing from Great Falls it is approximately fifty percent in size to come in to the District…, how much are they expecting to downsize in price? BM: They start at fifty, but they quickly change. MM: Once you educate the buyer and show them properties in the district then do they understand that it’s a lateral move. MB: What specific properties do you have on

“If it’s priced right and then it sells.”

Price: $5.5 million Address: 1315 31st Street Agent: Bill Moody Comment: “This property appeals to the individual coming in to D.C. from the suburbs, but who is not willing to make the trade-offs of city living. With an interior garage, fabulous vistas and four outside walls this property has a similar floor plan to that which they might have had at any suburban home.”

—PENNY YERKS

the market right now that might be of particular interest? PY: I have a property on Crest Lane that is coming onto the market. It’s about $6.4 million. It’s decorated by Thomas Pheasant and has been in Architectural Digest. The amenities are phenomenal. Everything has been redone. There is a new kitchen and new bathrooms. It’s just spectacular. MB: How about some other examples? MM: We have a wonderful property for $7.2 million in Mclean. It’s on 4 plus acres and I think it’s the nicest home on the market in Mclean right now. It’s also decorated by Thomas Pheasant and has spectacular finishes throughout and beautiful grounds. We also have another great property of over 10 acres. It’s $12 million. There are beautiful river views, a lot of Potomac frontage. BM: We’ve just been talking about convenience, so I’ll talk about a property I have in Georgetown at 31st street. It’s been completely restored. It greatly appeals to buyers who are coming in from the suburbs because it has a garage within the house, four walls and has fabulous vistas and light. There is a family room, a big kitchen, the garden is off of the private room, not the living room, and each bedroom has its own bath. This property overcomes all of the normal tradeoffs to an urban property. It’s priced at $5.5 million and it ready to go.

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Price: $6.4 million Address: 1009 Crest Lane, McLean, Virginia Agent: Penny Yerks Comment: “Located at the end of one of McLain’s most prestigious streets, with a fabulous interior decorated by Thomas Pheasant, this home has been in architectural digest and is an exceptional property.”

Price: $7.2 million Address: “Tall Oaks” 925 Towlston Rd, McLean, VA Agent: Mark McFadden Comment: “Tall Oaks is an exquisite fenced and gated estate sited on 4.3 rolling acres in McLean. Cast stone porches, slate and copper roof surfaces, mahogany wood doors, and French casement windows are some of the many fine characteristics that distinguish this nearly 15,000 sq ft home as a rare find.”

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R E

N E W S

1405 34th Street, N.W.

THE DISTRICT â&#x20AC;˘ MARYLAND â&#x20AC;˘ VIRGINIA THE DISTRICT In Northwest, S Street is under contract with an asking price of $1,999,900. The completely renovated five-level brownstone is the former home of the Geoffrey Diner Gallery. It boasts four bedrooms, four full and one half baths, a chef â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kitchen, hardwood floors, an in-law suite, a great room with a wet bar, and a roof top terrace with terrific views of the city.There is also parking for two cars. Geoffrey Dinerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gallery which sells 19th-21st century furniture and artwork, is now located at st Streetďš? Nďš&#x2019;Wďš&#x2019; The listing agent for the S Street property is Jim Bell, who now operates out of a new venue. Bell, who had been with Coldwell Banker, has joined Washington Fine Propertiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Georgetown office. Washington Fine Properties also has enviable Georgetown listings in the Alfred Friendly House at Streetďš? Nďš&#x2019;Wďš&#x2019; with a price tag of $7.8 million, and the late hostess Evangeline Bruceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former home at th Streetďš? Nďš&#x2019;Wďš&#x2019;ďš? which includes a thirty-four foot ballroom that was the scene of some of Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most successful social

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Can the rumor really be true that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been househunting off Connecticut Avenue recently? BY MARY K MEWBORN soirĂŠes.The present owners of the Brucesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; historic home are newspaper heiress Clara Bingham and her husband, author David Michaelis who have listed the Federal mansion with Washington Fine Properties for $6,200,000. Can the rumor really be true that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were house-hunting off Connecticut Avenue recently? With Angelina

expecting and Brad making plans to adopt her children, speculation continues about where the new family will call home. While Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daily Mirror has reported that Angelina is selling her Buckinghamshire estate in the United Kingdom in favor of returning to the U.S., Us Weekly claims that France and Italy are more likely choices on Jolieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s list of places to live. Long and Foster realtor Terri Robinson has found a buyer for the Corinthian Baptist Church located at I Streetďš? Nďš&#x2019;Wďš&#x2019; The new owners of the impressive edifice near Chinatown and the Convention Center is the Chinese Community Church, the oldest Chinese church in the metropolitan area and the only Chinese church in the capital. The building was put up for sale in 2003 and has now sold for $4.6 million with the help of listing agent Denise Warner with Begg, Long and Foster. An historic site, the local landmark was once home to the Ohev Sholom Synagogue whose original congregation were immigrants from Czarist Russia. The groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founders included such commercial powerhouses

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| MARCH

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2113 S Street

1645 31 Street, N.W.

At almost $10 million less than the original list price, the estate is considered enough of a “good buy” that Robert Kennedy’s widow may soon have to say “good-bye” to the stately home where she raised their eleven children. as Herman Sachs and Morris Garfinkle, who in 1906 helped purchase the property.The site would remain a synagogue for the next fifty years.

MARYLAND

In Chevy Chase, James and Mary E. Donnelly have sold their five- bedroom white brick Colonial at E﹒ Lenox Street for $1.6 million to builder/developer, McCullough Companies. Long and Fosters’ Nancy Itteilag listed the Montgomery County property for the Donnellys and also served as the selling agent in the couple’s purchase of a new $1.385 million, classic Colonial at E﹒ Kirke Street. James Donnelly is one of our area’s most renowned residential real estate appraisers. His wife Mary Elizabeth is vice president of government relations for Newmont Mining, the nation’s premier gold mining company. In the Avenel area of Potomac, Itteilag represented Arnie and Holly Popkins in the sale of their Natelli-built home at Abbey Terrace for $1,775,000. Arnie Popkins is an attorney. Holly is a well-known doll collector who owns an antique doll dealership in Montgomery County. The buyers were Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Cathcart. John C. McKnight, a wealth management advisor with Merrill Lynch, and his wife Mary Alice, have received $1,295,000 for their home at Autumn Gate Lane in Avenel’s awardwinning community The Gates.The couple listed their Bethesda property with Long and Foster’s Nancy Itteilag, the same realtor who helped them

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purchase the property in 2002 for $869,000 from Merrill Lynch vice president Randall Avey and his wife Linda.The four-bedroom home has four and a half baths and was built in “Old World” tradition by Rocky Gorge Communities. It sits between Rock Run Stream Valley Park and Avenel’s 13th fairway in Bethesda.

VIRGINIA Thanks to Long and Foster realtor Sharon Hayman, Kimberly Lindley of Price,Waterhouse, Coopers, has a new home in the Clarendon area of Arlington. Custom built and sold by The Informal Group, the property listed for $1,195,000 yet Ms. Lindley reportedly paid $1,391,591. Still, that’s not a bad deal considering that The Informal Group’s homes have received eleven “finest living” awards over the past three decades. Speaking of deals, Ethel Kennedy’s historic Hickory Hill mansion in McLean is now being offered at $16.5 million by Washington Fine Properties after more than a year on the market.At almost $10 million less than the original list price, the estate is considered enough of a “good buy” that Robert Kennedy’s widow may soon be saying farwell to the stately home where she raised their eleven children. Meanwhile, The company’s has already said good-bye to its six-year affiliation with Sotheby’s. The company’s decision to sever ties with the auction house came less than a year after Sotheby’s sold its luxury real estate brand for $100 million to Cendant Corp., which owns Century 21, Coldwell Banker and ERA. As of January

2006, Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Real Estate, LLC. became Sotheby International’s new metropolitan area affiliate. Clay T. Whitehead, the telecommunications expert and billionaire entrepreneur who served as President Nixon’s director of telecommunications policy and was instrumental in helping to encourage the decision to build the Space Shuttle, has purchased a five-bedroom Colonial with a heated pool on Harvey Road in McLean’s Langley Farms neighborhood.The Fairfax County property was listed for $2,150,000 and Whitehead paid $2,075,000. In Arlington, N﹒ Highland Street, listed by Ingrid Wooten of Long & Foster, now belongs to Michael Villado and Michelle Sitrin Villado, who previously lived at N﹒ Richmond Street in Arlington. The couple spent $1.16 million for their new residence. The sellers were Internet guru/visionary Roger H. Harvison of SHo Me Technologies and his wife Alexandra A. Harvison. Please Send Real Estate News Items to: Mary_Mewborn@washingtonlife.com

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ÂŠ MMV Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Les Bords de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Epte a Giverny, used with permission. Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International RealtyÂŽ is a licensed trademark to Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except Offices Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated.

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I N T E R I O R

D E S I G N

The Real “D.C.”

Local designer DARRYL CARTER—on the move from NYC and London to the banks of the Potomac BY D E B O R A H G O R E D E A N

any designers move to Washington to be near the rich, famous and influential, but D.C. resident Darryl Carter was born to “capitalize” on his famous initials. Although he is known for his Transitional Design, a new project has taken him out of the area and out of the mainstream to complete a Tribeca loft which formerly housed a munitions factory. The space called for midcentury Danish and an extraordinary collection of modern art. Closer to home, he is completing a 200-acre farm on the banks of the Potomac that is full of regional and continental antiques.

HIGHLY DECORATED Who’s desinging…

Carter has been recently seen in London on the hunt for a project at the Ritz. Perhaps those trips will give him inspiration for the book we know he is writing, scheduled for publication in 2007. Neiman Marcus has already snapped up his furniture line and we understand that a lighting collection will be available in 2006.

We asked Darryl our own version of the Bernard Pivot Questionnaire: WL: What is your favorite color for 2006? DC: Chalk Pales Line with a faint suggestion of color... any color. WL: What color will you never use again? DC: Spring crocus, but it suited the twelveyear-old in question. WL: Which is more important in a house, a good kitchen, or good art? DC: Great art, and the number of a good restaurant that delivers.

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WL: What is your favorite object in your own home and where did you find it? DC: The ‘Wegmanesque’ triptych of my dog Otis. The photography was a gift and has found many incarnations. WL: Give us your favorite ‘style’ spot... the place you go for inspiration? DC: Home gym - stair climber - 6:00 a.m. Darryl Carter Inc. | 2342 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20008 | www.darrylcarter.com

Marcus and Kenerley Bennett have hired Robert Shields to decorate both their Potomac and Boca Grande homes… For Christmas, Frank Randolph did woodsy forest-themed Christmas decorations for Vice President Dick and Lynne Cheney that had everyone who attended their A-list holiday party talking for weeks afterward… Of course, it will always be hard to top the urbane Texan designer Kenneth Blasingame, who escorts First Lady Laura Bush as she decorates the People’s House… On the diplomatic front, Aniko Gaal Schott is just finishing the Turkish Embassy which promises to be exotically glamorous… Nothing could match the enthusiasm of the guests at Rosanne and Patrick McGeehin’s Potomac home at a Jubilee Housing fundraiser when they saw what Barry Dixon had done on the former Marwood property... Lastly, much feted Wolftrap fundraiser Robin Heller had a new home redo by Lisa Vandenburgh with mellow shades of melon and lilac.

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| M A R C H | washingtonlife.com

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His Excellency the British Ambassador and Lady Manning, Honorary Patrons Carolyn W. and Robert E. Falb, Gala Chairs invite you to

The 19th Annual Shakespeare Theatre Company Gala featuring the presentation of the

William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre Saturday, May 13, 2006 Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium 1301 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC For more information, please call 202.547.3230 ext. 2330

T E N

T O

D O BY MICHAEL WHARTON

REDISCOVER BALANCHINE See the

New York City Ballet under the direction of Peter Martins as they perform works by Mr. B and other great choreographers at the Kennedy Center. www.kennedycenter.com, (202) 467-4600. March 1

WARM UP TO COLDPLAY Be charmed by Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband Chris Martin and his mates when they rock the MCI Center. It mayb be your last chance since the band is rumored to split up soon. www.cellardoor.com, (202)397-7328. March 2

BLESS THE BLARNEY

Watch bagpipers strut and colleens prance down Constitution Avenue as the District celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. www.dcstpatsparade.com, (202) 619-7222. March 12

DINE FOR LIFE Nosh at restaurants

all over town to help Food and Friends feed those in need. www.foodandfriends.org, (202) 269-6826. March 9

BE LIKE ALEX

PAINT WITH WORDS Hear the verses that inspired the paintings which hang on the walls of the Foundry Gallery. www.foundrygallery.org, (202) 463-0203. March 18

Root for Russian superstar-in-training Alex Ovechkin when he leads the Capitals against the Montreal Canadiens at the MCI Center. www.mcicenter. com, (202) 628-3200. March 20

BLOSSOM FORTH Marvel at the cherry

GO FLY A KITE

trees as they bloom all too briefly along the Potomac. But don’t blink or you’ll miss them. www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org, (202) 619-7222. March 25

Gaze at the colorful contraptions as they float aloft during the Smithsonian Kite Festival on the National Mall. See which ones win prizes for design and performance. www.kitefestival.org. (202) 357-3030. March 25

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PUCKER UP Taste the lime at Lima, a new

restaurant/lounge serving Latin-influenced cuisine. Chef Raynold Mendizabal, recently of Pesce, is a wizard with citrus. www.limarestaurant.com, (202) 789-2800.

COWBOY DOWN

Get twangy with Kris Kristofferson,Vince Gill, the Judds and Loretta Lynn at “Country:A Celebration of America’s Music”at the Kennedy Center. www. kennedy-center.org, (202) 467-4600. March 31

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| MARCH

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