San Francisco Film Society Oral History Project Interview with ...

MARGARITA LANDAZURI: Oh, you had Lucía. Was that the first time you had a Cuban film?
CLAUDE JARMAN: I believe it was.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: Were there any problems getting it?
CLAUDE JARMAN: No. We also had Mean Streets that year. And Scorsese was here.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: Yes.
CLAUDE JARMAN: One of his first films.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: He must have loved the Festival, because he’s such a film nut.
CLAUDE JARMAN: Yes, he did.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: Did people like him and Truffaut and various filmmakers go to see other
films? Were they interested?
CLAUDE JARMAN: Usually they didn’t stay. Usually they came for that day. And Truffaut was going
on to Los Angeles. Warner Brothers was coordinating it. And I don’t think he spent too much time at the
event. Some did later on, like Jeanne Moreau. She came and spent a week. And Yves Montand spent a
lot of time here. We encouraged them to. We said, “Come and stay. We’d love to have you. Enjoy the
city and enjoy what you’re doing.” OK, now I remember, ’74 was the first year that Nancy Pelosi and
Kay Woods did the Opening Night party.
MARGARITA LANDAZURI: OK. What kind of impact did a film like Mean Streets have? Was this
something that audiences went, “Oh ho!”
CLAUDE JARMAN: No. It wasn’t that—I didn’t think it was one of Scorsese’s better films, but it was
an interesting film and showed a lot of talent, and obviously he confirmed that later on.
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