Cowtown Film Series

Hey, gang, don’t miss the Cowtown Film Series!

Beginning this Thursday night, September 11th at 7 PM, and continuing every Thursday night until November 13th, eleven Ohio made feature films will be screened at The Screens Movie Theater at The Continent in Columbus Ohio. Each film is followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Tickets are available for $3 each, or a $10 pass for the whole series of films at the box office.

The series will be hosted by Sunny 95′s Dino Tripodis, and the series is produced by Peter John Ross. The series kicks off this Thursday with GOODNIGHT CLEVELAND, and the classic horror of Bob Kurtzman’s THE RAGE will be screened in time for Halloween on October 30th.

Check the official Cowtown Film Series web site for a complete listing of the features being screened.

A Teaser for Our First 2008 Event

Here’s a teaser preview for our first screening event of 2008. John Ellis’s film “Free for All!” brings the national debate over our elections to one of its flashpoints, central Ohio. Upset at the 2000 election and then apoplectic over the scandals of 2004, John brought his free-wheeling documentary style to the Heart of It All in 2006.  If you currently live in Ohio, the film quickly becomes “too close to home.” Between the countless shots of Columbus and the exploration of Ken Blackwell’s modus, one gets the idea that Columbus was the GOP/Diebold Death Star of vote rigging. But John didn’t just bring his cameras to Columbus:  he was converted from filmmaker to activist. He helped create Video the Vote, the grassroots effort to document the 2006 election. At the end of the film, predictions are made for 2008.  No wagers, please.

DETAILS:  Friday, Sept. 26^th, 7pm, CSCC Center for Workforce Development Center, 315 Cleveland Ave., admission free!  John Ellis will present his film and hold a Q&A afterward. 

Jury Duty, film style

Before we start posting news about upcoming screenings, rallies, parties, and drag shows (no joke), I wanted to give a quick report on another amazing juror meeting I was at the other night.  A few of us met over pie to hash out the winners of one of the Festival’s hotter film divisions.  I won’t be giving too much away to say that we got a lot of films about Iraq this year.  And talking about a heated documentary subject while also weighing all of the cinematic merits of various films is some of the most fun a film lover can have.  (I made sure to hide the knives, first.)

The group was diverse, the film subjects varied (beyond the war, of course), and there were plenty of disagreements.  But by the end we scraped out a consensus. Everyone seemed pretty happy, and we were all excited about giving some recognition to an independently made film that was mindblowingly realistic. 

Every winter we add new jurors to the Festival, and I highly recommend the experience.  The Festival has always been closely tied to the Columbus community, and the juror pool is no different: jurors come from the area and are experts at one relevant thing or another.  If you think you might be up for it, make a mental note and keep in touch!