Today we introduce the feature My Columbus Film Beat wherein area film types have 100 words to introduce themselves. Jim’s entry is especially pertinent given his big premiere tomorrow. Stay tuned for a new bio at least once a week.
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I write, direct, and produce feature length movies.
My first feature, Passing the Bar, won second place, out of thirty five entries, in the comedy division at the Indie Gathering Film Festival.
My second feature, Six Days, will premiere on November 1, 2008. The movie tells the story of a pizza maker who has six days to pay off a five hundred thousand-dollar debt to the mob. Six Days features many talented actors from central Ohio and was shot in Columbus, Cleveland, California, and Las Vegas.
In our northernmost foray to date, the CIF+VF travels to upper Clintonville on Wednesday night. Join us for the film and a Q&A with one of the main characters, local artist Janis Wunderlich. Here is the official description: In a half-changed world, women often feel they need to choose. “Who Does She Think She Is?”, a documentary by Academy Award-winning producer Pamela Tanner Boll, features five bold women (including local sculptor Janis Wunderlich) who navigate some of the most problematic intersections of our time: parenting and creativity, partnering and independence, economics and art.
DETAILS:
where: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 93 W. Weisheimer Rd., Columbus, OH
So it seems we have to live with electronic voting machines, at least for now. And we usually have to live with people in power lying to us, from time to time. But do we have to live with murder? Seriously?! The main character of this upcoming documentary, the computer programmer Clint Curtis, alleges that the story surrounding our electronic voting machines involves not just hacking and Republican shenanigans, but the “m” word, as well.
Murder, Spies, and Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story is the third and final film in our Political Series that has kicked off festival season. It is definitely the most wild of the three.
Here’s the official description: How can you be certain if you vote on a computer whose software is owned by a private corporation and which leaves no paper record? Clint Curtis, a computer programmer, recounts how Congressman Tom Feeney, (R-FL) asked him to create vote-rigging software for electronic voting machines, way back in 2000. This provocative and timely new documentary, profiles the seamiest side of our democracy: the creation of vote-rigging software and the wholesale transfer of control over local, state, and national elections to the Republican-dominated Diebold Corporation. Look for cameos from Bob Fitrakis, Gore Vidal, Cynthia McKinney and Diebold hacker Harri Hursti. Guaranteed to have you running for paper ballots.
DETAILS:
where: Drexel Theater, 2254 E Main St, Bexley, OH 43209
The other night Columbus saw yet another example of music and film coming together in a single event. Sunday night’s concert at the Wexner Center featured members of the Elephant 6 collective’s various bands (Elf Power, The Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control, etc.) in what was expected to be a loud and rocking show. So it was unusual when the lights went down, a band member came to the mic, . . . and he introduced a short film; and not a 4-min. music video or anything but a 30-min long wacky narrative film that some of them had made. (In a rare act of crowd wisdom, everyone figured out they should just sit down for the film.)
Anyway, at the risk of sounding like I’m in 2002 or something, it really seems like the music/film fusion is happening more and more. We know of some good efforts in this area in Columbus, including the Gateway’s Cinemusica, but I expect we’ll see more soon.
The CIF+VF will probably even put something together in the next year, just to test the bounds of the possible. While we’ll never be leaders in this area, since we’re not heavy into experimental film, we have plenty of local musicians in our ranks and more ideas than time. The possible juxtapositions seem too tempting to pass up.
SIDE NOTE: That show turned out to be semi-historic. The next day the Internet was aflutter with the fact that, at the end of the show, the reclusive Jeff Mangum appeared and played a song. Mangum was the driving force behind Neutral Milk Hotel and a co-founder of Elephant 6. He disappeared after recording two brilliant albums in the mid/late ‘90s, and I think you can count on one hand how many times he has appeared in public since. I’m sure it was unplanned, but this was a huge get for the Wexner.
We’ve taken a bit of a breather between our first two screenings and the upcoming film frenzy in late Oct. and Nov. But we wanted to send a quick note about the next event.
Due to the success of HOW OHIO PULLED IT OFF the first time it screened at Studio 35, we’re doing it again, Sun., 10/19, 5:30pm.
Join us in learning how to cage voters, purge registration lists, intimidate voters, and disenfranchise Americans in ways you never thought possible!
How does the current right wing outcry over vote fraud relate to what happened in 2000 and 2004? Come find out.
DETAILS:
Date: Sunday, October 19, 2008
Time: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Location: Studio 35 Cinema & Draft House
Street: 3055 Indianola Ave
Recently Chad Dull wrote a piece about the CIF+VF in The Other Paper. I want to paste here his unedited text because it makes a smart connection that was cut from the published version: he draws a nice parallel between the CIF+FV’s new direction and other grassroots trends in politics and media. (We still like The Other Paper, though, especially last week’s story on the political battleground that is the King Ave. UDF.)
CIF+VF: An Old Festival for a New Era
New board members and new marketing bring North America’s longest running film festival to the people Since 1952, the Columbus International Film and Video Festival (CIF+VF), which culminates with the doling out of its Chris Awards, has enjoyed world-wide recognition from independent filmmakers as a vehicle by which their films could gain wide distribution. So why is it such a secret in its home town? (more…)
A big crowd turned out Thursday night to watch the documentary HOW OHIO PULLED IT OFF at Studio 35. The Columbus International Film + Video Festival is not known for its raucous events, but with so many changes happening around here, we might be up for that mantle, too. (Raucous people probably don’t use the word “mantle,” do they? Hmm.)
Anyway, I’ll let J.R. McMillan, a juror for the Festival, do some of our work, here. He was on duty Thursday night as a writer for the Huffington Post and wrote the full story for the world to read. He nailed much of the early audience as “graying former hippies and freshly minted hipsters.” As the line continued to stretch out the front door, you could tell people were fired up. Bob Fitrakis held court with some burly revolutionaires near the bar, while Rock the Vote handed out buttons and squeezed the crowd for its unregistered voters.
After the film, several speakers got up front and talked about participating on Nov.4, but it was hard not to be distracted by the throngs pouring into the theater for part two of the event—the VP debate. Before long, all of the seats were taken, the aisles were full, and the theater was on the cusp of a fire marshal issue. The crowd was especially rowdy in the minutes before the debate. At one point, the candidate for the 15th Congressional seat, Mary Jo Kilroy, got up to address the crowd, but, aside from some polite applause, it seemed most people were not interested in listening.
You can read J.R.’s full report on how the debate went down. Apparently Sarah Palin’s folksy and reliable lexicon inspired both BINGO and drinking games (“maverick”? drink!). Almost everyone stayed until the end. It definitely felt semi-historic.
Our next event is in three weeks, but stay tuned here for near daily updates on the Festival, the Columbus film scene, and random filmic ephemera.
“We’re pleased to release the screening schedule for the first annual Mid-Ohio-Con Indie Film Festival (MOC-IFF), which will be held in conjunction with Mid-Ohio-Con 2008. This year’s slate of films submitted to the MOC-IFF include fantastic new work from film makers spanning the genres of action/adventure, animation, comedy, fantasy, horror/suspense, and sci-fi. In addition to the films in contention for awards at the MOC-IFF, we will be screening new movie trailers courtesy of Trailer Park as well as a number of recent fan favorites during the weekend.”
Films will be screen Saturday Oct. 4th from 10:30 AM thru 3:45 PM. And on Sunday, Oct. 5th from 10:30 AM thru 3:00 PM. For the complete line-up, location, and other MOC events, visit: www.midohiocon.com
