(Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce)True/False Film Festival 2007 (or should that be T/F Zoso?) was an absolute blast. I thought it was going to be hard to top the 2006 festival, but this year more than exceeded my expectations. Time literally flew by; and that's a very good thing, seeing as I got hardly any sleep during the festival... which I made up for today with a 3 hour "I'm completely indistinguishable from coma patients" nap. Ahh... those are the best kinds of naps. I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did, and hopefully you can take solace in the fact that T/F is not like the Olympics: the next one is only 365 days away.
On to the recap-
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Filmmaker Fete - In a sea of madness and film flinging chaos, the fete was a welcome respite. The food and drinks at Sycamore were absolutely exquisite. I really have to thank the bartenders for mixing some incredibly good drinks (and pull a David/Paul and thank Belvedere Vodka). I'd never had Belvedere before, and this may seem like a shameful plug, but it was pretty good. And the red wine fit in very nicely with the finger-food appetizers. They had great grilled chicken strips on skewers with a tangy, spicy sauce. My mind is drawing a blank as to the name of the sauce, but my stomach knows it was keen. I had a wonderful time talking with directors and festival goers alike. I saw many more recognizable faces than I expected (not to mention the directors that were on stage), and everyone seemed in the mood for good conversation. The director of Banished, Marco Williams, is an extremely nice guy and very easy to talk to. Dinner was especially nice, as I spent the first half talking with long-time T/F fans (the Munstoes), just chatting about life in general. Some of our conversation centered on the festival, but we also trailed off on life's little intricacies. Dinner really got swinging when the Munstoes and I got to talk to our table partners about their film "Buddha's Lost Children". I unfortunately was not going to see the movie, but Mark Verkerk and Ton Okkerse were more than happy to talk about their film. I don't know if it was explained in the film, but the kick-boxer received most of his tattoos after he became a monk. They also said that several other monks had tried to do what the "Tiger Monk" accomplished, but failed. The "Tiger Monk" was well received by the people because of his interesting background and non-traditional style.
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Gimme Truth - Ok, so Jeremy and I didn't win. I'm not the least bit depressed though, because the show was AMAZING. John Gotsick aka "Johnny St. John" aka "John Sawyer" (American Shopper) did a supreme job hosting, but the contestants really stole the show. Marco Williams (Banished), Annie Sundberg (The Devil Came on Horseback) and Gary Burns (Radiant City) all came straight from the open bar from the Fete, and spirits were high. The event showed us supposed vegetarian dogs, a quarter scandal, the artfully composed film "lights", submarine-phobia, and others, all interspersed with reactions to Gary's off-the-wall question "what color was the dog's stool?" in response to the vegetarian dog short. When you see it in writing, it might seem more toilet humor than comic genius, but it played throughout the show to a crowd of laughs. I think it was Gary's genuine thought that he could trick the filmmaker with the question that gave it charm. I missed the Trebek intro from the inaugural year, and was initially confused by the printed brochure that announced Doppler Dave would be hosting part of the show, but all it all it was a warm-hearted, comedic, and memorable event.
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Manda Bala - I'll be the first to say that I was disappointed in this film. I have to clarify that I had to leave the film about 20 minutes early, so my judgment is not based on the whole. I highly enjoyed the non-linear storytelling element that Jason Kohn used in his storytelling, but that enjoyment was short-lived. I felt that the film made light of kidnap victims, and some of the images shown were unnecessarily grotesque. If Kohn was attempting to capture the chaos and juxtaposition that is Sao Paulo, he did an excellent job. But it was clear that this chaotic storytelling confused the audience, as I would occasionally hear audience members laughing and then stifling their laughter. I'll admit that the interview with the bulletproof car owner had its comical moments, but you'd quickly see video of yet another kidnapping. Crane shots and Hollywood style character intros were interspersed with less than dramatic interviews, followed up by archival video that would never in ten thousand years be shown on broadcast television. Maybe I need to give the film another look, but I left trying to focus more on the interesting storytelling style (like Mulholland Drive or Memento) than the film's content.
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The King of Kong - Wow. Just WOW. This movie deserved the standing ovation it received. If the crowd is any judge of the public's taste in movies, this is sure to be the next underground hit documentary. It takes a relatively simple story of the World Donkey Kong Champions, delights you with characters that truly are stranger than fiction, quotes much, much funnier than any "Napoleon Dynamite", and leaves you wanting more. It was a real treat to have Steve Wiebe and Steve Saunders in the house to answer questions. I really want to find out if Steve made it to Gunther's games for a game or two... so I might have to make some calls. If this movie comes back to RagTag, you need to see it. And if it doesn't, at least it'll be remade into a movie and have a major theatrical release. I'll be seeing the theatrical version, that's for sure, but I'm buying Seth Gordon's documentary. This is one of those films that you could watch at any time and just smile the entire time. And aside from a small section with "Mr. Awesome" the film should be fairly appropriate for just about any audience. Human triumph, tragedy, small children, and video games. What more could you ask for?
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Secret Screening Green - I think I'm under oath not to talk about this film. I will say that the soundtrack was sold out very early after the showing, we had a wonderful show after the film, and the film's principal subjects were very humble and interesting. Check out the message board for more interest on the soundtrack. The message board thread about the soundtrack
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The Devil Came on Horseback - I have to take a slightly different stance on this movie than Jeremy does. While I agree with him that the title itself (symbolizing the definition of the Janjaweed) gives you the idea that the film is more of a generalized story, I think it's an acceptable indulgence. The title really did cause me to be instantly interested in the film, more so than a title such as "Darfur: The Brian Steidle Story" would have. (That's a horrible example of an alternative title though). Aside from that slight bit of misrepresentation, I have to applaud what Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg did with this film. I had the fortune of taking a class on the history of modern Africa that was taught by a professor from Sudan. As such, I came into the movie having a good amount of prior knowledge about the horrors of Darfur and war in Africa. What Stern and Sundberg did for this film was tell the American version of a genocide that is affecting the world RIGHT NOW. This isn't a film like "The Invisible Children" or even the big-budget "Hotel Rwanda". Focusing on the life of Steidle and his efforts to educate America about the horrors, the film did more than show that there is genocide; it showed that people in America have only been marginally stepping up to combat it. It's my own belief that when a film is incredibly graphic, people can be very affected and moved by it, but take comfort in the assumption that people in power were also as moved and disturbed, and that it's only a matter of time before the situation is righted. Steidle himself held this belief, thinking that it would only be a few weeks before hundreds of American troops were in the region to play the hero’s role that the people of Darfur need so desperately. By focusing on what has happened since the initial declaration by Colin Powell that Darfur was indeed genocide and noting the failure to provide assistance, I think many more people will be moved to write their senators and act, (that's the belief anyway).
I'd also like to say that Jeremy forgot to mention that the grotesque images were limited almost entirely to still photos. The video could easily have shown much more gruesome video (like Manda Bala) but instead focused on much more emotional interviews with refugees and survivors. Coming out of Manda Bala, using still photos rather than video to show genocide seemed like a conscious thought on the directors' part to highlight genocide in a view much more palatable to viewers, (while still not making light of the situation).
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Raiders: The Adaptation - “They did it.” This film recaptured my childhood the way that memories and time never could. Forget the fact that I wasn’t born when Eric and Chris started filming. Forget the fact that I wasn’t in Mississippi. Forget the fact that I never tried to remake Indiana Jones. In another life and another dimension, I was in this film.
Seeing the film after interviewing both Chris and Eric was a treat. They really did an amazing job with the film; I can see why Spielberg was flattered. True performers and genuine good-guys, the Q&A afterwards was one of the most memorable and lighthearted experiences in my life. It’s not often that you get to talk to fully-grown men about how they remade Indiana Jones as kids right after you watched their version in full BetaMax glory. I really do think that Chris and Eric are some of the most humble, dedicated, and interesting people I’ve ever met (you’d have to be touring around showing a film you made as kids, living the cult hero life). If you get a chance to see this film and talk to Eric and Chris, take the opportunity. You’ll be glad you did.
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American Shopper - “Holy cow, I SHOP there!” Interestingly enough, I was standing in line chatting with the Schnucks’ Manager before the film, blissfully unaware of his role in the film. I have to say that this might be my favorite film of the festival, but it gets major bonus points for being based in Columbia and featuring people and places I’ve met and frequented (met the people, frequented the places, just to keep things straight). Like David and Paul said, it would have been very hard to reject this film, but I don’t think the directors gave the pair much to reject. A perfect blend of fact and fiction in a reality show-meets-“Supermarket Sweep”, the film showed off the best of Columbia. It could have easily made light of the quirky characters and taken advantage of what was on the surface a comical ideal, but masterfully gave the piece deeper meaning by allowing the characters to tell their own stories. Mike, Grace, Wes, the winning couple… everyone in the film had humorous moments but instead of being stereotypical characters (the artsy one, the actor, the cowboy, the Trekkie, the redneck, the drama queen, etc.), we were introduced to the beautiful tapestry of individual lives and the charm of small-town meets big-city Columbia culture. The one question I’ve been asked about this film almost incessantly is “Can it work as a film outside of Columbia?”. This is a hard one to answer, but I think that the directors, producers, and characters in the film really do have a winner here. I don’t think that this will see the success of a “Bowling for Columbine”, “Fast Food Nation” or “An Inconvenient Truth”, but it will grow wings and fly on its right. What is sure to become a cult classic and at least a must-have for all Columbians, this film brought T/F 2007 to close as no other film could have. Everyone keeps talking about how T/F is such a great festival because of the town and the people, and this film captures that belief for all to see on the big-screen of the Missouri Theatre.
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It has been a joy working with True/False this year. Everything happened and ended so quickly, but the memories will be with me for years to come. I’ll be back next year, that’s for sure. And thank you Columbia, for capturing my heart and giving me some of the best experiences of my life.
-Mark
