This block began with a beautiful short based on a true story, called Una Vida Mejor. The films simplicity in its telling is what impressed me the most. The main actors (3 children) did a magnificent job as Mexican children struggling to cross the US border in hopes of a better life with their father. Truly a heartbreaking short that hopefully will receive the acclaim it deserves on the festival circuit.
This short was followed by a documentary called S.O.B and the Legend of Alan Schafer made by two young local men for a documentary project at their school. They picked a very interesting topic for their documentary and I learned a lot more about South Of The Border than I ever thought I would in this lifetime. Unfortunately, their student status was very apparent throughout the documentary (which seemed to be lost on the audience, most of whom were friends and family) with out of focus interviews that continued throughout the entire documentary and no obvious thought for camera position or placement. Sometimes the interviewees sat with their hands in front of their faces for entire segments in which they were speaking. A gallant first try by the two students and definitely a screen worthy subject.
There was definite possibility to be had in this doc and in the filmmakers, but the fact that the documentary ended up winning the audience choice award for Best Doc just proves how sold-out and international this festival was in comparison to how the festival was portrayed in the publicity surrounding it, i.e. - hardly sold out and international only in the fact that I was present. That's my spin on it anyway.
I decided to follow this first block of films with the South Carolina Production Fund and the State of Film in South Carolina panel, which turned out to be very interesting. The two men leading the panel were both members of the South Carolina Film Commission and while lacking a general knowledge about that actual film making process they were extremely knowledgeable about the Film Commission and the state of film making not only in SC, but also in the surrounding southern states and further afield. I had no idea that local filmmakers could post their resumes up on the Film Commission website in order to attract productions to South Carolina. I must admit that my knowledge of Film Commissions is lacking now that I see how much they have to offer and how much can be learned from them in terms of where jobs can be found. A lot of this information can simply be deduced from the different incentives state Film Commissions are offering and what this means to independent and Hollywood productions. This hour long panel was very informative and definitely a highlight of the festival - and I got a free t-shirt!
I closed out Saturday with film block 3. This started with a short called Born of The Metropolis IV, another local spoof production based on an advertisement promoting the work of highly trained female assassins. It was cute and attention grabbing for the most part.
This was followed by a Kung Fu Comedy from North Carolina called Golden Blade III: Return of the Monkey's Uncle. While not my cup of tea normally and difficult to sit through in it's entirety it was extremely well done and executed by a cast and crew of filmmakers who really knew what they were trying to create. The stunts and martial arts in the film were excellent and completely believable (even forgetting the film is a comedy). The jokes were hardly rip roaring, but every detail was thought of and anyone who enjoys Kung Fu movies will love this parody of the genre. We were even treated to an impromptu martial arts demonstration by the films lead actor after the screening and then encouraged to buy merchandise associated with the film from a van outside the theater! These filmmakers really know their audience and do a great job of guerrilla marketing. Kudos to what they are trying to do with their film.
From then on, nothing in the schedule caught my fancy so I headed back to my hotel to enjoy the end of the weekend and await the award ceremony results.
No comments:
Post a Comment