Where Movie Critics Get A Taste Of Their Own Medicine
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Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival
gets better each year
by Herb Kane
April 2006
The first time I ever attended the "Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival." was back in 2002. Since then, everything about the film festival has improved each following year.
Festival screenings once took place in a college auditorium and all movies were played on a big screen for digital projection. Thanks to Bruce Taylor, owner of Collins Road Theatres in Marion (just on the edge of Cedar Rapids), the festival now has a permanent home with three full theater screens playing each day.
The festival awards ceremony that takes place in theatre "A" is broadcast simultaneously in Theatres B & C. The utilization of three screens is very nice because now you have the ability to pick and choose what movie you want to see from the festival program or watch all of them due to the convenience of flexible showtimes. It also leaves some breathing room - not having to be in single packed theatre for several hours.
Collins Road Theatres owner Bruce Taylor said at the festival, "When we opened about two and half years-ago, I promised I was going to bring movies to Cedar Rapids that otherwise wouldn't be shown here. The event that we have this weekend is the epitome of films that would never be shown in Cedar Rapids." There is a definite focus on screening independent films year-long at this theatre - setting it apart from all other theaters in the area. Oh and let's not forget what else sets this theatre apart from the others - REAL BUTTER!
Believe me you, if you are not aware of this fact by the time the festival is over, you apparently were not in the presence of Bruce Taylor. During every presentation Taylor was involved in, the word "butter" eventually surface and justifiably so. We all know what most theaters serve these days and it's not real butter. In fact, nothing about it is real. The real butter available here is an extra benefit for theatre-goers.
I personally like the buckets this theatre uses instead of those flimsy, greasy bags you find at other venues. And the best part? It's not only less expensive than other theatres in the area, but you can take your bucket of popcorn to the butter machine and put the butter on yourself! Need I say more? Of course not! Taylor will have plenty more to say about it next year.
Taylor, along with CRIFM (Cedar Rapids Independent Filmmakers) board members Scott Chrisman, Eric Dean Freese, Christina Miller and Carrie Miell have created a fun venue that allows filmmakers to showcase their talent to the general audience and make connections with others in the industry.
Over 50 films were screened this year at the "Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival" and based on the screenings I saw in previous years, the films have not only increased in quantity, but quality. I also like seeing the program filled with mostly short films - allowing us to see artistic work by more filmmakers.
I was not able to see all films this year, but I was quite impressed with the ones I did see.
"Aimee
Price" (Joel Sadilek, producer) is a short film starring
Anastasia Drake as Aimee Price, a 25 year-old woman who signs
a contract with a mysterious antiquarian to exchange one year
of youth for a life of happiness. Though skeptical, she signs
it. Now 25 years later, a successful 50 year-old Aimee Smith finds
the man of her dreams, but he is 28 years-old. She thinks beauty
and youth will make him interested in her, so she contacts the
antiquarian to demand her year of youth back. Drake's performance
is convincing as she switches back and forth from old to young
and young to old throughout the movie. By the films end, you realize
how lucky we are just to be alive. A very interesting piece. (40
min)
"Six
Feet Frozen" (Joe Boyle, Lemonus Productions) is a heart-tugger. Buddy
(Travis Shepherd) works as a grave digger at small-town cemetery
and meets Grace (Amy
Cronkleton), a nice girl who recognizes the kindness in Buddy.
Though her boyfriend enjoys being cruel to Buddy, he later pays
for it. When Grace's cat gets lost, Buddy searches high and low
until he finds the animal and returns it to Grace. This good deed
turns into tragedy. Shepherd and Cronkleton give a heart-felt
performance. "Six Feet Frozen" will thaw your heart
and make you think about relationships and how they affect us
all in the end. (33 min)
"Generation
Mason" (Tommy
Haines & Uptown Media, Inc) is about Mason (Spencer Gillis)
who has bright future and is on track for a very happy life. This
twenty-something is college-educated, has a good job and a beautiful,
loyal girlfriend Angie (Brittany Benjamin). However, the more he hangs
out with his old college friends who live for partying, he spends
less time with Angie. As I watch this story unfold, I just wanted
to reach into the screen and slap Mason for throwing away his
future with this girl. I enjoyed sitting through all 85 minutes
because of the chemistry between the actors - the characters portrayed
were simply fun to watch. It was real. When the film ends, we
can only hope for the best for Mason.
"Souvenir"
(Insane
Mike Saunders & Jason Bolinger) is the perfect date movie
- it's scary and short. You know how girls spend all that time
in the bathroom applying make-up just to impress us guys? Well
Christine is doing just that in her boyfriend's bathroom. While
freshening up, she carries on a friendly conversation with him
as he stands outside the closed door. Everything is fine until
she opens up a drawer. Though they never show what's in the drawer,
the horror on her face indicates there is nothing in her make-up
bag that could make it better. When the boyfriend suspects she
is on to something, he decides its time to go to the bathroom.
I like the way the dialog becomes more intense each and every
minute as the boyfriend discovers his girlfriend stumbled on his
mysterious drawer. (8 min)
I watched several other cool films including "The Haunted Guitar" (Lee Buchenau, 7 min), a black&white silent that provided a nice, ghostly story depicting how a one musician is not ready to leave his stringed instrument behind after death. Another creepy movie was "Movie Night" (Vincent Brown, 7 min)) about a girl who is chased by a supernatural entity in her own home. Ever see something move in the corner of your eye? This thing might be it. "The Large Mouth Frog" (Spencer James Park, 1:26 min) was absolutely hilarious! This animation depicts a frog going from place to place asking various species what to feed her babies. The credits are equally funny as we watch the man behind the voice talk like the frog.
I missed
some movies that I really wanted to see such as "Eliot
Ness: An Untouchable Life" (Max Allan Collins, Philip
W. Dingeldein, Michael Cornelison, 103 min) based on a play by
Max Allan Collins (his graphic novel was adapted into the Academy
Award-winning film "Road To Perdition" with Tom Hanks
and Paul Newman). I was told this Eliot Ness depiction gives a
non-Hollywood version of showing how Ness fought gangsters, cops
and even America's first serial killer. I hope to see this one
in the near future.
There
was a documentary called "Villisca: Living With a Mystery"
(Kelly Rundle, Tammy Rundle, 116 min) that I really wanted to
see. The story was about an exe murderer who wiped out an entire
family in June of 1912 and how a small Iowa town erupts into chaos.
Another one I will add to my "must see" list.
Seminar presenters this year included John Houghton (Director of Photography), John Reasoner (Multi-Media Director, Rockwell Collins) and Bettendorf, Iowa filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods. I did attend the session with Beck and Woods and they are very excited about filmmaking and for good reason. In 2005, the two 21 year-old filmmakers won MTVU's "Best Film on Campus Contest." What does this mean for them? For starters, they won a home theatre system (which they sold on Ebay to put the money toward future filmmaking) and a development deal with MTV Films.
Beck and Woods (Blueboxlimited.com) discussed a variety of filmmaking topics including how to make movies at a very inexpensive price. "Making films today is not expensive. It's cheap because of digital," said Woods. "Most of the budgets for our films have been $50 to $300." Casting people to work for free certainly helps, too..
Film is generally too expensive for the average independent filmmaker - and much more difficult to edit. Digital allows almost anyone to make a movie on some level. In fact, Woods encourages anyone with a digital camera to start now. "Just keep making as many movies as you can and you'll learn from experience," said Woods.
Experience, for Beck and Woods, is the what got them where they are today. Taking on multiple tasks such as editing, directing, sound, cinematography, and writing is not only cost-effective - it will benefit you in the long-run. Beck said, "When you're working with a larger crew, you can understand what each person is doing and appreciate what they are doing."
When the festival concluded, all was invited to the LongBranch restaurant/bar for the post-festival party. I figured we would all go there and relax and talk about how wonderful this year's festival turned out. Nope! Let's just put it this way. When you invite a bunch of filmmakers and actors to a bar on Karoke night - look out! Check out the Critic Doctor Photo Gallery and you'll see what I mean.
The "Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival" is getting better and better with each year. Of course, Bruce Taylor might say, "It's getting butter and butter each year." Either way, we're right!
Ok folks, I'm now off to "Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival" for a full week of films. Critic Doctor will examine each of Ebert's film reviews he wrote for the movies he hand picked to show at this year's festival. Will I agree or disagree? Stay tuned for full coverage.
Until next time, Critic Doctor is out. See ya!
- Critic Doctor
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Student Gold Eddy winners received a $200 scholarship. Non-student Gold Eddy winners received Gorilla Pro production management software from Jungle Software.
Student Documentary
Gold Eddy – “C.H.I.L.D.,” Mika Kiburz, Ariana Gum
Documentary
Gold Eddy - “Villisca, Living With a Mystery,” Kelly
Rundle, Tammy Rundle
Silver Eddy - “Tracing a Journey,” Craig Schaefer, Chris
Lenart, Paul Kohl
Student Freestyle
Gold Eddy - “They’re Coming,” Ben Hill
Silver Eddy - “Deserted,” Nathan Matta
Freestyle
Gold Eddy - “Northern Exposures,” Kevin J. Railsback
Silver Eddy - “Time; Misstated…,” Alex Skitolsky
Student Narrative Short Film
Gold Eddy - “The Girls of Elizabeth Street,” Tad Davis
Silver Eddy - “Lemonade,” Brad Hansen
Narrative Short Film
Gold Eddy - “Aimée Price,” Joel Sadilek, Julen
Roussel, Anastasia Drake
Silver Eddy - “Stolen Poem,” Mike Green, Austin Grady
Student Narrative Long Form
Gold Eddy - “Six Feet Frozen,” Joe Boyle, Lemonus Productions
Silver Eddy - “Where’s Waldo,” Sam Caster, Patrick
Crumley, Ben Thompson, Magee John, Tim Hau
Narrative Feature:
Gold Eddy - “Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life,” Max Allan
Collins, Phillip W. Dingeldein, Michael Cornelison
Silver Eddy - “Two Harbors,” James Vculek
Audience Choice Eddy:
“Generation Mason,” Tommy Haines and Uptown Media Inc.
Cinequipt Iowa Connection Eddy Award (winner of $500 credit
toward equipment rental at Cinequipt):
“The Assassinator,” the Cousins Brothers
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
http://www.crifilms.com
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