Limes with Orange

Well, I emerged into the world last night to go to the second evening of the $100 Film Festival. I forgot, when I posted that I would be crazy busy until February 15th, that I also had a deadline on March 1st. (I also forgot to update that I got an extension from the 6th to the 27th, extending my time to write but also extending my misery.) Anyway, the extra deadlines combined with my annoying habit of getting a migraine the instant I finish whatever is stressing me out, has led to me being a bit of a hermit of late. (It would not be an exaggeration to say that the instant I got home from mailing my script to Sundance, I got hit with the migraine.) So after an 8-day migraine (yes, if you do the math, the last grant was written mid-migraine), I decided to venture forth into the world and see some short films.

Why, out of everything that's going on in this city, is this what finally got me out of the house? It's not like I had entered a film this year. And it's not because it's programmed by the Calgary Society of Filmmakers, my local film co-op. It's also not because I know many of the people organizing, volunteering and screening films at the event. It's the inspiration that I get from watching these low-budget, independent and wildly creative films. Now that's not to say that I enjoy all of them, some of them make me want to cover my eyes because the images are flickering so, some of the sound is either badly recorded or simply experimental (which is often hard to listen to). But… and it's a really big but (as opposed to big "butt")… the gems that speak directly to me leave me floating out of the theatre thinking about my next film idea.

So what did I consider the gems of the night? For starters, the special anniversary screening of Don Best's "Damaged Goods" was a wonderful example of different styles of animation. "Vote Reagan" by Charles Chadwick was quite amusing but actually gave me a great idea for a vaguely related but slightly more serious film. "That's Why I Like Film" by Roger D. Wilson is a film that I think many low budget filmmakers will be able to relate to although it didn't necessarily inspire me. "Mind(stat)" by James Reckseidler was a lesson on avant-garde filmmaking all on its own, with visual references to Marcel Duchamp, Maya Deren and Deco Dawson. "Bumblebee" by Eric Ostrowski was a clever little experimental animation. Visuals within "V=d/t" by Amanda Dawn Christie, "Sleep Lines" by Kathleen Mullen and "Lilly" by Jodie Mack also stirred my imagination although the films as a whole weren't favourites. My favourite film of the night (and I would be very hard pressed to explain why) was "Running Time" by Helen Martin. Her use of found footage was stunning and showed me an example of techniques I would definitely like to try. Those visual techniques came together in my mind with the idea generated by "Vote Reagan" to create a fully fleshed out concept for my next film. Definitely worth leaving the apartment for, even if I do feel a little worse for wear today.

Labels: film