So, now begins my recollection of my San Antonio Film Festival experience. From June 18-24 I sampled a few movies. A little different that the very popular and fun Wisconsin Film Festival, which I attended from 2008-2011. First of all, hardly any details of the scheduled films were released beforehand. The theaters weren't very full. During the short film showcases I had to wait minutes at a time for the projectionist to load up the next 2 minute film. These films were often student films of varying quality... some had very local colors and themes. So, it is not something that I would jump at the chance to go again. It's not an immerse film experience, and not a user-friendly festival to say the least.
BUT, what was interesting about this festival was ACCESS to the filmmakers. One movie had it's world premiere and the filmmaker came up to greet me and remembered my name. The cast and crew were available at most screenings. I'm now facebook friends with two of the filmmakers. What made this special was that by seeing the physical people that attempted to make their cinematic visions with a limited scope and budget it really personalizes the experience in a whole new way. There were some real technical and thematic faults with these movies but you can tell there was a passion behind them, and it convinces you that with enough drive (and the willingness to commit money of course) anyone can make something, and it can have many redeemable qualities. It was a real insiders experience. I just wanted to watch some unique movies, but I was surrounded by aspiring filmmakers who talked about the business of making movies and using this fest as a forum as a testing ground to get their careers started.
Trash Dance was my first film screened during the three days that I attended the festival, and while the theater was empty and the film was only 60 minutes long, it actually probably had the most compelling theme of the festival. A choreographer in Austin specializes in creating pieces that make blue collar activities artistic. She wants to create a performance using real trash workers. She is a real Austin weird artistic type but through patience and understanding recruits folks that don't seem to have any interest in interpretative expression begin to rehearse for her work. You feel that tension.. that feeling that this is really out of place for her to be doing this. But the life stories of the workers and the way she crafts something that respects what they do shows that you can't judge anybody at face value or working class level. From the lady's spacey eyed thoughts on dance you think you'll have maintenance workers dancing around in leotards but it's pretty magical what she pulls off.
More entries from the San Antonio Fest forthcoming!
Jonah
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