Comedian Wayne Federman on the International Film Festival that Bears His Name

What’s it like to have a film festival named after you? Not many folks know, but stand-up comedian Wayne Federman does. Running now through Sunday, April 3, The 5th Annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival combines comedians and their favorite films which makes for a great night out that benefits a nonprofit in the process.

While he’s worked as a stand-up comedian for over 30 years, Federman is also a self-described “film buff.” (Federman recently released The Chronicles of Federman, a three-volume set of albums that contains his stand-up from 1984-2015.) He’s even been in a few flicks you may have heard of: Legally Blonde, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Funny People and Step Brothers, among others. But you don’t see him for very long.

“I’ve been in a number of movies, but not big parts. I call it the ‘Federman-and-out.’ You see me. I do my scene. I’m done,” says Federman.

Besides being in films, Federman loves watching them—but in the theater as opposed to on TV. One of his favorite places to frequent is the Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles, operated by The Cinefamily, a non-profit organization. The old-school movie theater shows everything from classics to independent films. When he came up with the idea for the film festival, Federman approached them, and they were on board.

“I just thought it would be a great idea to have comedians presenting movies that they love or were inspired by and that would be a fun evening at the movie theater,” explains Federman.

Here’s how it works: each night of the festival features two comedians presenting films they’ve chosen—there’s an early show and a late show. Not only do the comedians talk about why the films mean something to them, they also perform and participate in a Q&A session after each film.

“It’s usually packed with a great combination of film fans—because we show 35 mm prints of these movies—and comedy nerds,” says Federman. “Comedy fans get to see their favorite comedians be a fan of something else.

“It’s a multi-level event. It’s not just seeing an old movie projected on the screen, and it’s not just seeing a stand-up do comedy. It’s like learning about this comedian through his choices.”

This year is different in that Patton Oswalt will present a double feature—the first time any one comedian has done so. On Sunday, April 3, he’ll be part of an evening featuring Walter Matthau with the original versions of the films The Bad News Bears followed by The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three.

This year’s comedians are Tig Notaro, Matt Besser, Zach Galifianakis, Keegan-Michael Key, Rob Corddry, John Mulaney and Doug Benson. Previous festivals have featured Margaret Cho, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Anzari, Kathy Griffin and Sacha Baron Cohen, among many others.

The late Garry Shandling showed the first movie at the first festival held in 2012. His choice was The King of Comedy. “Garry was a key supporter of the festival from the get-go,” says Federman. “Garry came and he talked about that movie and how it helped him form The Larry Sanders Show. He was very important. That was a great start to the whole thing. He got the idea of it right away. He said Yes [to participating] when we didn’t even know what we were doing.”

The comedians can show any movie—they don’t have to be comedies. In the past, Margaret Cho showed a movie called Darling, which isn’t a comedy at all. Kathy Griffin showed The Dead Zone. This year, Zach Galifianakis has chosen the thriller Blue Ruin.

Despite all he’s done in starting the festival, there’s one thing that Federman won’t do—pick a movie of his own to discuss. Why? “Because I get enough attention—that’s the honest answer,” he laughs. “I’m there. I’m in the reflected glory of the whole thing. It’s named after me. It’s enough–enough of Wayne.”

For more information about The 5th Annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival, go to http://www.cinefamily.org/films/the-5th-annual-wayne-federman-international-film-festival/