The Mother’s Day weekend was dedicated to the Maryland Film Festival for as long as I can remember. I think only once it took place a week earlier or later. I have been lucky because my mother lives in Germany and six hours ahead of our time-zone. But not everybody is so lucky. Other people have mothers here, who may want to spend their day with their children, and who may not be interested in movies. This has always been a problem…it never felt right to ignore Mother’s Day in favor of our movie habit.

So this time we made a compromise: We skipped our first movie and had a nice Mother’s Day breakfast instead before we started our festival day in the early afternoon. We missed our traditional silent movie with live-music — this time it would have been probably the most important film of the silent era: Man with a Movie Camera — but I think we made the right decision and it all worked out very well. I have seen this film several times before anyway, with Cinematic Orchestra’s soundtrack being one of my all-time favorites.

Our first screening was a short film program called These People Have Issues [MFF] including:

• Butthole Lickin by Kanako Wynkoop
• Cold Turkey by Kyle Spleiss
• Countertransference by Madeleine Olnek
• FaceMouth by Dave Kratz
• Hungry for Love by Ruckus Skye
• Imminent by Randall Good
• Power Mini Ultra Flex Turbo by Better Hollywood

All of these short films were amusing to some degree. Some were funnier or sillier than others, some were darker than others, some were more dramatic than others, but I thought they all were solid and pretty well done. I did enjoy watching them to some degree, but I have to admit that I found none of them really that outstanding, extraordinarily great and groundbreaking. Something was missing in this short film program…but I’m not sure what.

Maybe the title promised more than the candidates were able to deliver? Maybe I expected something like the On The Edge shorts we saw last year or something more dark-comedic? I don’t know. The films presented in These People Have Issues had a few humorous moments, but they didn’t grab me that much. Compared to other short film programs we have seen in the past regardless of whether it was comedy, narrative, animated or documentary, this selection felt incomplete, unfinished or perhaps just uninspired. At the same time it wasn’t bad either! I have seen a lot worse before. Perhaps I just entered this screening with the wrong expectations.

Our next screening was The Overbrook Brothers, directed by John Bryant, starring Nathan Harlan, Mark Reeb and Laurel Whitsett [IMDB][MFF]. The screening took place in the large theater 1 of the Charles which usually finds a rather large audience. The Overbrook Brothers, however, didn’t seem to attract a large audience at all, which really surprised me. It’s possible that it was because of Mother’s Day, or a lot of people were already done with the festival, or those who were interested already saw the first screening on Friday.

The Overbrook Brothers are Jason, a sensitive writer and Todd, who is cruel, immature, abrasive, and pretty much the opposite of Jason knowing just how to push his buttons. When they find out why they have always been the least favorite children of the family they both go on a trip to find their true origins.

This movie is a feature adaptation of John Bryant’s earlier short film, Momma’s Boy, which screened at the 2006 Maryland Film Festival. I haven’t seen it back then but I would be very curious to find out how they compare. I loved The Overbrook Brothers, Todd’s character and the dynamics between him and Jason. I have rarely seen a character that is so sinister, manipulative and at the same time very cool and likable. The only one I could think of is Rob Lowe’s character in Bad Influence, but they don’t really have that much in common. Mark Reeb who played Todd was really wonderful bringing this character to life, but I kept wondering: “Is he somehow related to Eric Roberts?”. Haha, of course he isn’t, but I felt like there was a slight resemblance. With a really nice mix of dark comedy and drama I absolutely enjoyed The Overbrook Brothers! Unfortunately, there is no trailer for it yet.

Matthew Modine and Jed Dietz

After a short break it was time for the last movie of the festival and the closing night party. The movie and its director were introduced by Matthew Modine who played Pvt. Joker in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket back in the 80s. I saw him earlier in the filmmaker’s lounge — dressed in all white he lightened up the tent — but I couldn’t place him at all until his introduction when he spoke about filming Full Metal Jacket. Wow… that’s so long ago. After I checked his long film career on IMDB and noticed that I’m not familiar with any of the movies he was involved in since then… no wonder I wasn’t able to recognize him first! Hm, so I was in the same room with somebody who worked closely with Stanley Kubrick, the master himself? What an awe-inspiring moment!

But it was not him who was involved in the following movie, but Kathryn Bigelow who created with The Hurt Locker [IMDB][MFF] a war action-drama about a bomb expert and his work in the chaos of the Iraq war. Constantly living on the edge and having his hands on explosives that could go off any moment while often under sniper fire from insurgents, he not only remains calm, collected, curious and easy, but also develops a resistance against and an addiction to the unimaginable dangers that surround him on a daily basis.

I liked about this film that it mostly focused on an individual and the nature of his job, and how this war affected him or not. Thanks to an extraordinary camera and editing job it also illustrated how everybody lived in a constant state of alert and uncertainty, surrounded not only by bombs but also people in every angle who may or may not pose a threat to them. In the wide open landscape she managed to create a very claustrophobic atmosphere as if you were locked in a small room. This was captured very well and something I don’t think I have ever seen in a movie before.

Having said that, I felt it lacked some depth portraying the characters, especially Saff Sergeant William James. It fell a bit flat for me. I was hoping to get more insights about him, how the war affected him and how his brain works. I’m not a huge fan of war films, but I remember some great films with Oliver Stone’s Born on the 4th of July or Heaven and Earth that succeeded in this regard. But maybe there was not more than we were supposed to see. After all he was addicted to war and rather divorced from the normality of a safe and secure life.

Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and the press

If I take this film as a war drama and action thriller I think it was a good and solid film for its genre. It’s not a movie I normally would have chosen to watch, but once I was in, I stayed interested from beginning to end and didn’t get bored. I liked that this film stayed non-political, non-propagandistic and not overly patriotic unlike some other movies or Army commercials. Kathryn Bigelow, by the way, also directed Strange Days and Wild Palms back in the nineties, both of which I loved.

After The Hurt Locker we spent a few minutes at the closing night party and headed back home. That was the end of an exhausting but very wonderful and exciting movie weekend.

It was a wonderful year for the Maryland Film Festival. The line-up included so many great movies. I especially appreciated the foreign movie choices even though we were not able to see all of them. I hope we will find such a nice selection again next year.

The filmmakers lounge was moved to the tent village across the Charles again like once before. I love this location. I liked this setup much better than the other venues of the past few years.

I loved the opportunity to purchase the All-Access passes at a lower price this year. Overall, this festival felt very close to what made me fall in love with it back in 2002 when I visited for the first time.

I like some of these equally as much, so it was nearly impossible to give them a fair spot in my list, but here it is! My top-11 of all the feature length movies seen on Friday and Sunday:

1. Modern Love is Automatic
2. Love Songs
3. Invisible Girlfriend
4. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
5. Strongman
6. The Overbrook Brothers
7. Stingray Sam
8. Lake Tahoe
9. World’s Greatest Dad
10. The Hurt Locker
11. Seventh Moon

The MFF2009 Crew

Last but not least I would like to thank everybody who made this festival possible! We had a fantastic time — thanks very much!!

Maryland Film Festival 2009

Lake Tahoe [IMDB][MFF], directed by Fernando Eimbcke, starring Diego Catano, Hector Herrara and Daniela Valentine…a story of Juan, a teenager who crashes his car on the outskirts of a sleepy Mexican town and tries to find a mechanic. During his quest he doesn’t seem to find what he is looking for, but meets an old paranoid dog owner who wants him to walk his dog, a young punk mother who is looking for a babysitter and a Kung Fu fanatic who’d like to watch a Bruce Lee movie with him. Their relationship to each other is quiet, perhaps as sleepy as the town, but during his mission to get the car running again he slowly finds some friendships and people he hesitatingly begins to care about.

Lake Tahoe was a genius mix of deadpan humor and drama that kept me interested from beginning to end. I loved the overall mood and atmosphere, the characters and how they interacted with each other. It was slow and quiet, but in a very good way. Very nicely paced, beautifully photographed, it managed to say a lot without using many words or music. Watching this movie reminded me of spending a relaxing vacation in another country…and I could have stayed a bit longer.

Our second screening was Stringray Sam, directed by Cory McAbee, starring himself, Crugie, Joshua Taylor, Willa Vy McAbee, Bobby Lurie, Frank Swart, Caleb Scott, Jessica Jelliffe, Ron Crawford, Michael DeNola, Michael Wiener and David Hyde Pierce [IMDB][MFF]. It actually was a story split in six Youtube-friendly parts…a sci-fi-western-musical. Another musical?! Yes! When I looked at the film-descriptions all it took to make me want to see it were Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and “homage to the cinema, rock & roll, comic books, and everything else cool from our childhoods.”

I didn’t expect it to become our second musical this year…and what a cool and fun musical! I absolutely enjoyed the songs, I loved director Cory McAbee in his role as Stingray Sam and guitarist Crugie as Quasar Kid, the Monty Python’esque collage-art…and how it managed to speak to the kid inside of me. During the Q and A Cory McAbee told his story when he was interviewed in Europe about one of his previous features The American Astronaut. The interviewer explained to him that many people in Europe were very angry with the American government and what they were doing at that time…that they feel like they don’t like Americans. His movie, however, included many things Europeans always loved and enjoyed about America and American culture. With this conversation in mind he wrote Stingray Sam including the Wild West, Cowboy, Sci-Fi, Musical, Space-Travellers that Europeans (or Germans in my case) always loved about American culture, but also highlighted the dark side with Tobacco and pharma companies, the privatised prison system, etc. Being European myself I can confirm that in Stringray Sam you can find the “cool” things we love about America, without ignoring the not so cool things.

It felt a bit strange to see six separate episodes in a row and not one full-length feature, but these episodes had cult-potential, were a lot of fun and I absolutely enjoyed them. I haven’t seen American Astronaut yet, but will have to check it out sometime.

After a short break we saw a documentary about Stanley “Stanless Steel” Pleskun in Strongman [IMDB][MFF] by Zachary Levy. A man strong enough to leg-press massive trucks and bend pennies with his fingers reaches his middle age and struggles with difficult personal relationships and a number of career disappointments. This documentary was filmed over the course of several years and presents a close portrait of Stan who wants to prove that he’s still got it, and that he is more than a kids’ party-attraction. Life, however, presents him with another reality…other strong men who bend bolts with much less of an effort or pull nails with their teeth…problems to stop smoking, breathing issues…family and relationship problems…and an alcoholic brother who developed a crack habit.

This film moved me on several occasions. It seemed obvious that Stan invested a many years and a lot of discipline to train and build up his strength, to become “the strongest man on earth”. I had the impression he might have found his motivation in an attempt to find a better life for himself than what his background was like growing up. His brother was presenting him an example of what not to become. I felt reminded of my own background… I, too, put a lot of work, time and discipline into my education to break out of my working class background and find a better living for myself. I don’t think I’m the strongest man, but there was a time I felt like I was the best software developer on earth. After a few disappointments I had to realize that was a big mistake. There were a few other moments in Strongman that reminded me of my own history in one way or another, turning this documentary into more of a personal experience than I ever anticipated. I really enjoyed this film.

Your Humble Narrator

In a slightly different matter: The film description in the festival booklet calls Strongman a cinéma vérité portrait. I think the director mentioned this documentary style during the Q and A as well. Not familiar with this expression I looked it up and found that it combines “[...] naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camera work, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects.” I might be wrong but I didn’t feel this applied to Strongman. Direct cinema on the other hand seemed to be a better fit. I read that both cinéma vérité and direct cinema have in common that they don’t use voice-overs, they both try to let the subjects speak for themselves, avoiding to make them dependent on the filmmaker’s interpretation, and they both try to avoid assigning social problems to a larger political or cultural context. Instead, they both try to capture truths and the everyday reality.

Furthermore I read that the difference between cinéma vérité and direct cinema is that direct cinema tries to put the camera and film maker as far into the background as possible. The camera is as a “fly on the wall” supposed to be as unnoticed as possible. Camera and crew should try not influence the situation at all to capture the “privileged moments” in which the person forgets about the camera’s existence and reveals truths you otherwise wouldn’t get to see.

Cinéma vérité, so I read, follows a different strategy…instead of being a “fly on the wall”, the film maker becomes a “fly in the soup”, actively participating in the situation and trying to provoke those “privileged moments”. Some examples would include reality-television or interview movies. Even fictional movies like the Blairwitch Project used this technique. I wonder if I understood it right… how would you as educated film people define the difference between cinéma vérité and direct cinema? It has nothing to do with Strongman, but I was curious because I wasn’t familiar with this word before.

Off to the next and last movie of the day, presented by director Bobcat Goldthwait himself: World’s Greatest Dad [IMDB][MFF] with Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, Alexie Gilmore, Geoffrey Pierson, Henry Simmons, Mitzi McCall and Tony V. It’s the story about a middle aged author and poetry teacher Lance who fails to find somebody to publish his writing. He also seems to fail as single father of an abusive son Kyle. After an abrupt turn of events, Lance faces new challenges, fame and respect approaching from all directions.

Bobcat Goldthwait and Jed Dietz

Bobcat Goldthwait originally planned somebody else for Robin William’s role, and his character as poetry teacher was not at all related to the old Dead Poet’s Society at all, he explained during the Q and A. I enjoyed this film. It was very entertaining, funny, and sometimes also very dark which I always appreciate in a comedy. Similar to Sleeping Dogs Lie (a screening we saw a year or two ago), he managed to play with a darker, unspoken side of an individual’s psychology or social/cultural standards as a whole, while giving it all a very entertaining, lightweight appearance.

The following list is in order from my top pick down for both Friday and Saturday:

1. Modern Love is Automatic
2. Love Songs
3. Invisible Girlfriend
4. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
5. Strongman
6. Stingray Sam
7. Lake Tahoe
8. World’s Greatest Dad
9. Seventh Moon

Our day started with Modern Love is Automatic [IMDB][MFF], directed by Zach Clark, starring Melodie Sisk (as Lorraine) and Maggie Ross (as Adrian).

Modern Love is Automatic was a dark and dry comedy-drama about nurse Lorraine who, bored with with her environment and the people in her life, detached herself emotionally and socially from everything. Controlling every detail in her life it doesn’t seem surprising when she finds interest in a dominatrix magazine. When she finds her boyfriend cheating she decides to look for a new roommate and becomes a dominatrix at night. She finds aspiring fashion model Adrian, whose emotionality and bubbliness very much is Lorraine’s total opposite. But just as opposites attract, they very slowly develop a friendship in the background of their individual lives and Adrian’s boyfriend Mitch who is uncontrollably obsessed with Lorraine.

Zach Clark, Maggie Ross, Melodie Sisk, Daryl Pittman

This movie was easily one of my favorites this year. I not only loved the great performances, cool sets, colors and costumes, but also the pace and quiet as well as Melodie Sisk’s facial expressions that said more than could ever be said with words. Modern Love feels like a nice companion to my other favorites from the last two festival years when I saw Ronald Bronstein’s Frownland and Mary Bronstein’s Yeast. In these movies I was able to identify with the characters and their paralyzed social lives and relationships to an unusual extent. What can I say, I loved everything about Modern Love is Automatic. Even the bursts of doom metal worked really well in there. Definitely a movie I would like to see again sometime, and one I can highly recommend.

David Redmon

Our second screening this Friday was Invisible Girlfriend [IMDB][MFF], directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, with and about Charles Fihoil, a bipolar paranoid schizophrenic who lives in Monroe, Louisiana with his parents and children. He is in love with his invisible girlfriend, the spirit of Joan of Arc, and decides that DeeDee, his pen pal and New Orleans bartender, might be Joan of Arc in the flesh. The filmmaker follows him on a 400-mile bicycle journey to find DeeDee.

This was a wonderful documentary about a man who may be a bit crazy, but also very intelligent, insightful and caring. During his journey through rural Louisiana, which lasted about 12 days, he met several generous, kind and very down-to-earth people who gave him a ride or shared food and stories with him. I found it interesting how this journey was accompanied by a number of moments of death and decay that foreshadowed what he would find at his destination. Beautiful, sometimes funny, but also very sad, this film managed to create a non-judgmental portrait of Charles Fihoil and the people he met on his way. I really liked this film. I was also very impressed by some of the music choices.

Another documentary we saw this Friday was Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, directed by Jessica Oreck. This film portrayed a part of Japanese culture I was completely unfamiliar with before: Japan’s love and fascination with insects that is inherent in the whole society and all generations from young to old age. Insects are collected like trading cards or comic books, are part of quite a significantly sized industry of collectors and breeders. Insects appear in shape of dolls, toys, video games, candy, but also inspire art and literature, dating back to the beginning of Japan’s history.

Jessica Oreck and Sean Williams

Beetle Queen was partially in English, partially Japanese with English subtitles and filled with a great amount of insight, history and poetry about an ancient and still mysterious culture that may mostly be known to the Western world for their car and electronic brands, fashion and pop culture, their tv-shows or cuisine. I can highly recommended it to anyone who is interested in learning more about Japan from a slightly different angle. The cinematography comes from Sean Williams who also shot Frownland and Yeast I mentioned above. I would love to see it again and follow the history and poetry in more depth than I was able to comprehend upon my first viewing.

I have to admit: A few days ago, if someone had told me to watch a romantic musical, I probably would have would have smiled and dismissed it without giving it a chance. The musical genre was not one I was particularly interested in before. The few musicals I have ever seen were entertaining to a degree, but they didn’t manage to grab me. Why? I’m not sure… perhaps it’s something I wasn’t properly introduced to growing up in Germany. About every movie made in Germany of the 50s and 60s was incredibly silly and featured a lot of bad German Schlager music. Television was practically non-existent, and eventually the popularity died off and no musical films were produced anymore for a very long time. I can’t really think of any musical film produced in Germany since the days of the economic boom.

In the mid to late 80s (stage) musicals became very popular with Cats. Many others including Starlight Express, Phantom of the Opera followed later, and they are still popular in Germany, but as far as I know, there haven’t been any movies to speak of. Every time I saw a movie with dancing and singing people they appeared very foreign to me. Something I couldn’t connect to.

Perhaps the setting and background were too artificial…perhaps the music was too methodical or constructed…perhaps I was thrown out of the story every time one of the actors starts to sing instead of keeping his character. How believable is the evil villain, mad professor or action hero who suddenly begins to dance and sing?

John Waters and Jed Dietz

Being a romantic musical I never would have volunteered to pick Love Songs [IMDB][MFF] if it hadn’t been the John Waters pick this year. The annual “John Waters Pick” has been one of our traditions since we started attending the film festival. His movie selections did never disappoint in the past few years. Most of his selections, including Story of Women, Dog Days or Head-On offered an extraordinarily realistic view on love, people and the complexity of their emotional, social, sexual, human interactions…reflecting what life is really like, challenging what most movies try to suggest as reality.

Love Songs was directed by Christophe Honoré and stars Chiara Mastroianni, Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier and Clotilde Hesme. It’s a romantic musical, yes…but one I actually enjoyed very much! It felt very current and natural, the songs and music were beautiful and were very elegantly woven into the story. So fluent, it almost felt as if these moments could have happened in real life… although I have never seen someone walking down the street singing, have I?

Everybody looked great, very natural and likable, the story was beautiful, so was the atmosphere and mood. I still find myself surprised how much I enjoyed this movie. Another contemporary musical film I saw a while ago (Sweeney Todd) left me with the same impression I had of other musicals before, not so Love Songs. Perhaps it worked so well because it was in French and playing in Paris? I don’t know, but I really enjoyed its pace and rhythm. I think I might have to correct some of my views I used to have about musicals. Perhaps there is more out there I would enjoy if I gave it a try.

After Love Songs we had our first break of the day and we used the opportunity to celebrate our 5th filmfest membership anniversary with a pitcher of sangria. I should have eaten something first, because the wine quickly made me feel a little fuzzy-headed.

Of course this didn’t help when we entered our fifth and last screening of the day: Seventh Moon [IMDB][MFF] directed by Eduardo Sánchez, starring Amy Smart, Dennis Chan and Tim Chiou. The story takes place in China where Melissa and Yul enjoy their honeymoon. Their visit coincides with the sacred Seventh Moon festival, celebrating the full moon of the seventh lunar month, which, according to a Chinese myth, is a time when the dead are free to walk the earth. The couple, drunk after celebrating, start a late night cab-drive to Yul’s grandmother’s house in the countryside. This trip will of course end somewhere lost in the middle of nowhere where the horror is about to take place.

Directed by Eduardo Sánchez who with Daniel Myrick also wrote and directed the Blair Witch Project, Seventh Moon felt a lot like Blair Witch Project including its shaky camera work. Even without sangria I got motion sick when I watched the Blair Witch on the big screen. The same happened Friday night during the Seventh Moon. I survived about three quarter of the movie, but I had to close my eyes because I felt increasingly dizzy. A few minutes before the movie was over I had to leave the theater to breathe some fresh air and get stable ground under my feet which made me feel better. Unfortunately I missed the ending of the movie and the Q and A afterward, but my stomach wasn’t ready for it. Next time I should probably take some pills for motion sickness before I watch another shaky movie.

The following list is in order from my top pick down for Friday, May 8:

1. Modern Love is Automatic
2. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
3. Invisible Girlfriend
4. Love Songs
5. Seventh Moon

PS: Sorry about the bad quality of these photos. My camera didn’t take the low-light too well. I hope I got all the names right. Please correct me if I made a mistake.

One house: one revolutionary; two open straight marriages; three gay people (maybe four); three children; two carnivores and eight vegetarians; there’s only one way they’re going to make it… together.

Last Thursday we saw Lukas Moodysson’s “Together”, a funny and beautiful story of a Swedish commune in the 1970s. To keep it short, I just loved it…for all the individuals and their differences, troubles, compromises, solidarity and being real. Although I’m normally not a fan of happy endings, I thought it worked really well in “Together” considering how they all influenced each other and developed over the course of this film. The American trailer I found on YouTube is really bad and doesn’t reflect what I have seen on Thursday at all, but I can highly recommend it.

Unfortunately, it was the last of the free movie series at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Despite two years of great screenings of visionary films from all over the world with an average attendance of 150+  people, the BMA has decided to stop the funding. Anyone who enjoyed this series in the past and wants to ask the museum to reconsider their decision can reach them at: programs@artbma.org

The winners are announced today at the awards ceremony and party that begins at 7pm. Unfortunately we won’t be able to attend because we had the car for only one day, but we watched all 20 candidates yesterday, most of which I enjoyed a lot. Before getting to my conclusion I can already say upfront that this was a fantastic little film festival with a really nice and diverse choice of short and medium length films. We both were glad we could come. All of the films were nice for one reason or another, so I will try to make it shorter this time. :) I especially liked the “deeply personal” and the “unusual funny” candidates of the following films we saw yesterday:

Cause

Documentary (57 minutes) by Denise Prichard – Washington DC

Meet four Americans who have dedicated their lives to a cause — putting their ideals on the line, every day, every hour.

Britt, the Minuteman, living his life out at the U.S.-Mexico border, defending his America from invasion; Kayla, the PETA Activist, exposing the plight of animals, while sometimes exposing herself; Dennis, the Pro-Life Minister, crisscrossing his way through the country spreading his truth about abortion; and Concepcion, the Peace Activist, maintaining her twenty-six year long anti-nuke vigil just steps away from the White House.

This film, entitled “CAUSE”, peels back the layers to uncover the personal histories and motivations that make these individuals who they are, and what drives them to behavior some would call extreme. Going beyond the labels and what initially meets the eye, their stories weave together to form a collective thread and reveal that they have more in common than one would think. (from the official website)

Vignette

Experimental narrative (17 minutes) by Dustin Thompson – Forest, VA

Quick Feet, Soft Hands

Drama (25 minutes) by Paul Harrill

Set against the backdrop of our national pastime, Quick Feet, Soft Hands follows a young couple trying to pursue the American Dream.

Greta Gerwig (Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes the Stairs) stars as Lisa, a young woman whose hopes of moving up are tied to Jim, a minor league baseball player.

As Jim falls deeper into a batting slump, the couple must cope with the day-to-day realities of being young and poor. And they must confront the prospect that they may never make it to the big leagues.” (from the official website)

I was quite amused to find that we actually missed only a minute or even less when we had to leave the screening back at the Maryland Film Festival. It was nice to see this film again, and I still have the same good impression. It’s a sad but very realistic slice of life applicable to many individuals, couples, relationships, hopes, dreams and failures.

Rogue Gnome

Animated music video (5 minutes) by Stephen Guidry – Arlington, VA

Richard Wants a Nickname

Drama (9 minutes) by Julie Haberstick – Arlington, VA

Nunna Mia e la Barca

Documentary (13 minutes) by Jacob Dodd – Richmond, VA

Nunna Mia e la Barca is a short film about an Italian grandmother, Nunna, who endured the sinking of the Andrea Doria in 1956. Despite living 50 years in the U.S., Nunna continues to preserve her Italian heritage. Through the act of preparing a meal and selflessly giving of her time, Nunna passes on the heritage to her grandchildren.” (from the official website)

Alchemy

Experimental (2 minutes) by Victoria Hanabury and Joshua Rachford – Charlottesville, VA

Birds

Drama (17 minutes) by Mark Betancourt and Marc Ryan – Washington, DC

I really liked this short film and its conclusion. They packed quite a large emotional spectrum into the 17 minutes. It was humorous and thrilling, personal and serious, and also very wise at the same time.

Mexico Painting

Video art (3 minutes) by Vin Grabill – Ellicott City, MD

Lustig

Drama (16 minutes) by John Black – Gainesville, VA

Lustig, set in the years after the end of WWII, tells the story of a man’s solitary journey for redemption. Carrying haunting memories from time spent in a concentration camp, the man seeks out the family of a friend he knew there. He brings a secret to their doorstep that only the strength and courage of the deceased allows him to reveal. In admitting his own cowardice, he creates the heroic legacy of a man. A man a young son will always remember.

The title “Lustig” is not the German word for “funny” here, but the name of the main-character in this film. It actually is a true story about Branko Lustig, a Croatian Jewish survivor of Ausschwitz, who produced a number of movies including Schindler’s List. He was the inspiration for this short film. I liked this film which was very moving, personal and very well made. John Black chose to have all dialog in German, but only the mother (played by Ilka Fischer) spoke German fluently without an American accent. While I could believe that the Croatian visitor wasn’t fluent, I didn’t buy her son’s and the Nazi commander’s accent. I found this a little distracting. That’s a shame because I really liked this film otherwise. I thought it might have been a better decision to keep the dialog in English instead.

Dance Party: The Teenarama Story

Documentary (57 minutes) by Beverly Lindsay-Johnson – Washington, DC

Untitled No. 9

Comedy (5 minutes) by David Butler – Annapolis, MD

This short film shows where you might end up if you let your life be guided the philosophy found in pop lyrics. Some of the philosophers quoted in this film include Paul McCartney and Wings, Janis Ian, Elvis Presley, Paul Simon, Don McLean, Bob Dylan, Three Dog Night, Melanie, Simon & Garfunkel, Don Henley, Carole King, Bread, The Rolling Stones, The Romantics, U2, The Beatles, Petula Clark, The Talking Heads, 10cc, Elton John, ABBA, Tracy Chapman, Bryan Adams, John Cougar Mellencamp, Jimi Hendrix, Harry Nilsson, Bruce Springsteen, The Drifters, Billy Idol, Rappers Delight and Baha Men.

Oh how I loved this film! It was one of my very favorites of the day. What a fantastic idea to tie all these song lyric fragments together to a “lyrical meditation on life”. And what a brilliant camera-work and delivery. I really liked Mark Redfield in this and would love to see more of him. It made me think of Bill Murray in Lost in Translation and Spalding Gray in Steven Soderbergh’s Gray’s Anatomy which I loved. But Untitled No. 9 was still different and very clever. I wonder what Untitled No. 1-8 may be like? David Butler’s site is butlerfilm.com.

My Best Friend Mark

Personal narrative (5 minutes) by Renee Shaw – Washington, DC

Las Historias Mas Sexy del Mundo No. 2

Comedy (15 minutes) by Eric Cheevers – Washington, DC

This was another of my favorites. Brilliant, funny, cool, hot, surreal, mesmerizing, fascinating, sexy…a kind of 70s Swedish soft-core porn meets Quantum Physics meets Matthew Lesko (the infomercial questionmark-suit-man played in this film) meets David Lynch’s red room meets a weird but great music performance by The Raveonettes. I read that the predecessor, Las Historias Mas Sexy del Mundo No. 1, won the Rosebud Film Festival in 2004 and I think No. 2 might win again this year. Unfortunately I didn’t find a clip on the web, but here is an an interview with Eric Cheevers and Scott Mueller, also also a few pictures. I loved it.

Unraveling Michelle

Documentary (85 minutes) by Michelle Ann Farrell – Bel Air, MD

I loved Unraveling Michelle. I haven’t read any reviews or watched any trailers before we watched it at the Rosebud Festival. I didn’t know anything about it at all. So the documentary started with a very funny guy working on indie-horror-comedy type movies. He just announced something like “I want to be a female filmmaker” and it sounded as if he wasn’t really serious about it. It could have been just another example of his wicked humor. The clips that portrayed the old filmmaker Joe O’Ferrell and his history looked too crazy and unbelievable to be true. There you saw the athlete, the addict, the film-maker and businessman, the dude and manly man. At first I wasn’t even sure if I was looking at the same person or just different actors representing him in his different life stages. I thought it was all staged, and that what we were about to see was a funny kind of mockumentary, but not a serious documentary about a sex change.

The first facial surgery approached. It was again very funny, in a similar dry Tom Greenish humorous kind of way, as he leaves the hospital looking painfully awful and his head wrapped in bandages, but still making jokes about it. When they lost their way he moved over to the driver’s seat in the state he was in, with bloodbags hanging off his face… and I still thought, that has got to be a joke… after all he is in the horror-comedy industry.

But as the story continued it became more and more clear that his/her journey was very real, and that the male Joe O’Ferrell was really about to become the female Michelle Ann Farrell. The documentary followed the transition from the beginning to the end and revealed so much in addition about her past and present life, the problems and challenges without losing a healthy sense of humor. I couldn’t believe how many really extreme changes she went through in her life. If I trace back my own life of the last 20 years I can find many drastic visual and physical changes that make it sometimes hard to believe the person from back then was really me. But Joe’s and Michelle’s roller coaster history exceeds everything I could ever imagine. I have to admire the strength and courage she was able to bring up and transform her life through all these stages.

This documentary was about a journey of a sex change, but there really was so much more. It was a very personal portrait of an extraordinary, interesting, humorous and very likable individual. It was also a milestone for both: Joe’s final masterpiece and best work in his filmography, as well as Michelle’s debut, marking the beginning of a great future. Very impressive — I just loved everything about this film… the film itself and its flow…it was really well done…the deeply personal portrait…the very unusual history with all transformations…the humor, and of course, last but not least, Michelle herself. :)

Headache

Experimental (8 minutes) by Robert Parrish – Arlington, VA

This film was entirely made with public domain clips taken from archive.org. I loved how cleverly it recycled old footage to tell a completely new and different story. We once saw a short film at the Maryland Film Festival that made use of public domain footage and thought it was such a great idea. Headache was very well done, but unfortunately I couldn’t find anything on the web.

Signage

Drama (12 minutes) by Rick Hammerly – Washington, DC

A receding hairline, the beginnings of crow’s feet, and a chance meeting with a young shirtless deaf man in a bar, force Lex to confront getting older in a youth-conscious world.

I loved signage — “when life calls the last shot” and the way it touched this internal battle of aging, self-doubts and insecurities that tend to increase proportionally with the gap between oneself and the youthful generation you still might like to be a part of or at least connected with. I loved how main character/writer/director Rick Hammerly made his story turn even more personal and internal, as there really is nothing wrong with him. He looks just fine and not old at all, and yet there are these self-doubts.

Freedom Dance

Animation (28 minutes) by Steven Fischer – Crofton, MD and Craig Herron – Baltimore, MD

A cartoonist keeps a diary in cartoon form during his adventurous escape from the deadly 1956 Hungarian Revolution. (from the official website)

tar guys

Video poetry (5 minutes) by Cathy Cook – Baltimore, MD

Widow’s Meal

Drama (8 minutes) by Arnon Shorr – Baltimore, MD

Conclusion:

When we arrived in Arlington Alice and I both were very surprised to find a very empty and dead-silent building. The garage was empty, all stores inside the building were closed, and at first we seemed to be the only visitors to a private viewing. Eventually a few more people showed up, but the theatre never filled up. I thought it was a real shame. The Rosebud Festival has already been around for almost two decades. The film selection was wonderful, and I couldn’t see why it couldn’t attract more independent film lovers. At only $8 for an all-day pass it was a real bargain and I’m already looking forward to Rosebud 2009. Thanks to everyone who made this festival possible, and thanks to Paul for the recommendation.

I’m curious to find out who won this year, but the winners haven’t been published yet. I will follow up with another blog as soon as I find out.

Goliath was next and I just loved this film. I loved the main character and the story. I loved the movie’s full range from deep sadness to hilariously funny moments, from desperation, isolation, anger, pain, to luck and happiness. There were so many strong and wonderful moments. The divorce signing scene was brilliant in how it it portrayed both husband’s and wife’s state of mind toward each other without any dialog or interaction whatsoever. The electric can-opener… which was so sad and funny at the same time, especially when he took it out with a battery/generator to search for the lost cat. The silly looking tree-pruning tool he used as a weapon of destruction against the sex-offender in the neighborhood who he believed killed the cat. The whole fight scene produced such a set of mixed emotions, too: one could feel all the pain, desperation and anger of the main character, feel very sorry for the neighbor who really didn’t do anything, and at the same time laugh out loud about the ridiculousness of the whole situation and his neighbor’s helpless electronic larynx voice. Brilliant. Goliath was one of my favorites this year [imdb].

The unnamed, everyman hero of Goliath is struggling to keep his head above water. A messy and protracted divorce?– okay, he can handle that. A demotion at work, putting him back on the floor with a motley crew of jokers and slobs who’ve nicknamed him “Bitch Tits?” — that too he can stomach (barely). But when his beloved cat Goliath disappears — the most beautiful, most wonderful, most cherished cat in the world? Now you’ve crossed a line, Life.

Austin-based filmmaking team David and Nathan Zellner have staked out their own exciting comedic turf with a series of wildly inventive short films. Now with Goliath they’ve taken their unique brand of deadpan humor to the next level, crafting a feature that sustains a painfully hilarious mood as it mines the pathetic little insults of daily modern life — rocked by occasional explosions of ecstatic slapstick humor worthy of Jacques Tati.

Goliath comes to us after winning over crowds at the 2008 Sundance and SXSW fests, and stars writer/director David Zellner, with a hilarious supporting role from his brother, producer/editor Nathan, as one of the few people situated further down life’s totem pole than our star. The film’s wonderful supporting cast includes two-time Richard Linklater star Wiley Wiggins (Dazed and Confused, Waking Life) and Andrew Bujalski (director and star of MFF 2005′s Mutual Appreciation).

Goliath‘s hearty laughs come with little winces — and feel that much more cathartic for it. (Eric Allen Hatch) (from the filmfest-guide)

Impressed by the small successes of a local, low-budget filmmaker, four struggling actors decide to head for a cabin in the woods and write their masterpiece — with juicy roles for themselves, of course. Standing in their way? Shortages of just a few things: talent, motivation, energy, and inspiration. Oh, and a surplus of two — hormones and alcohol — as multiple romantic entanglements and a fridge full of beer take the friends further and further away from a completed screenplay.

Jay and Mark Duplass’ prior feature The Puffy Chair established them as filmmakers interested in genre-defying, big-hearted storytelling that manages to put believable, earnest romance on the screen in ways American films so rarely do. Baghead continues that trend, taking us on an unpredictable ride that touches down in drama, romance, dark comedy, and thriller without committing to any one — and yet still feels confident and centered throughout.

Anchored by strong performances — including Greta Gerwig (who also appears in three other films in MFF ’08) as Michelle — it’s a strong film from a team clearly committed to telling the stories they want to tell in the way they want to tell them. For all its genre-hopping, Baghead (which premiered at Sundance and thrilled hometown crowds at SXSW 2008) operates as both a fun popcorn movie and a winning ode to celluloid dreams. (Eric Allen Hatch)

About Greta Gerwig:
Greta Gerwig is an actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director based in New York City. She starred in MFF 2007′s Hannah Takes the Stairs. With Joe Swanberg, she co-stars in and co-directed Nights and Weekends; she co-stars in Yeast; and she stars in the short film Quick Feet, Soft Hands — all of which are also playing MFF 2008. She is currently at work on a script with Alison Bagnall (co-screenwriter on Buffalo ’66). (from the filmfest-guide)

The following is another video-clip by the Creative Alliance with a few shots from the festival Friday. Check out our bikes at 0:11-0:15!

In 1972, a flamboyant producer’s Hollywood party takes a strange turn when an uninvited guest comes for more than sex and drugs. Consider your mind blown! (from the filmfest-guide)

It was quite a shock to switch from the serious, moving, quiet and gentle narrative shorts program to something like Far Out. Bold, bright, sexy, stoned, funny, stupid, hilarious, bloody and tarantinoesque. I think that says it all. It was so bad it became really great because of it. This was far out, man, so far out! :-) [imdb

There's a Werewolf in my Attic

Sasha and Billie just moved into a great house right next to their favorite coffee shops and thrift stores. They soon realize why the rent is so cheap -- when a malnourished and feisty werewolf is found living in the woodwork. (from the filmfest-guide)

This was another stupid, but very funny short that made me laugh. It deserves extra kudos for the creature! I enjoyed this film.

The Animals All Are Gathering

When a father goes snooping with his camcorder during a family picnic, he captures an awkward and disturbing moment. (from the filmfest-guide)

How I loved the humor of this only 4 minute short film. Just brilliant! One of my favorite shorts this year.

Attackazoids!

When colossal war machines launch a merciless invasion, one woman struggles to survive in a world that isn't what it appears to be. This science-fiction nightmare combines live action, stop-motion animation, and sound design to create a haunting vision of an alien invasion. (from the filmfest-guide)

I enjoyed this film and thought it was very well done. I don't know if the filmmaker intended to hint at the WWII era, but the song reminded me of a nazi-anthem. But maybe I'm reading too much into this. [imdb]

Fantaisie In Bubblewrap

An animation/live-action hybrid in which the audience is offered a glimpse into the lives of a society of vocal bubblewrap. (from the filmfest-guide)

Does a sheet of bubblewrap have the potential to make you cry? You bet it does! This was so sad, so cruel… and so funny, so simple and clever, just fantastic! I loved this 5-minute piece, another of my short favorites this year!

Asclepius Fandango

To quote Voltaire, “doctors are men who prescribe medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.” This stream-of-conscious cartoon takes comedy writing to new levels, and animation to new lows. (from the filmfest-guide)

This cartoon took about everything to new lows. Phew… hm… to be honest, there wasn’t anything I enjoyed or understood about this short film. I neither got the comedy/humor in it nor any other message it might have tried to bring across. Perhaps it required a certain mindset, relationship or involvement, but I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Karaoke Show

At the age of 14, Karl Tebbe badly wanted to be able to dance like Michael Jackson — but you either have rhythm in your blood, or you don’t. Now, 22 years later, stop-motion animation has allowed him to finally fulfill his lifelong dream. A mix between sauna and disco. (from the filmfest-guide)

Wow… I never thought I would be thrilled and intrigued about watching a naked man dance and “sing” in front of me and man sleeping on a couch. But Karaoke Show was so fascinating, mesmerizing, unreal, and at the same time so incredibly funny and cool/hot. His performance, his face, the music, this voice… the funny voice reminded me of the adult voices in the Peanuts, and even the sleeping man on the couch amused me. Everything was great. Bravo–what a wonderful film! Were we the only ones who liked it so much? The audience was rather quiet, and I am surprised that this film was accepted to the film festival despite its nudity. I’m very thankful I had the opportunity to watch this film and very curious what Karl Tebbe might create next. Another very favorite short-film this year. [imdb]

The Rambler

A stranger takes to the lonely highway with his guitar and traveling sack. Every rambler’s got a story; this one’s pretty strange. (from the filmfest-guide)

The Rambler was quite a strange trip, which in its peak moment it briefly reached the edge of tastelessness, but dosed very well without becoming a pure gore and vomit fest. This film reminded me a little of the earlier work of David Lynch including Eraserhead or The Grandmother. Not sure if Calvin Reeder was really inspired by Lynch, but I enjoyed it. [imdb]

The History of America

Centuries of campfire stories have spun America’s history into a fanciful tale filled with myths and half-truths. MK12′s History of America is here to set the record straight. Set against the warm sin of Las Vegas and the cold vacuum of space, this is the true story behind the story — one which chronicles the epic struggle between the Astronauts and the Cowboys as they fight for life, liberty, and justice for all. (from the filmfest-guide)

This really was quite a weird film… Cowboys versus Astronauts? Although this idea seems so absurd I really enjoyed the plot for about half the length of the film. It opened with very beautifully designed opening credits [extra kudos for the graphic designer], started in the dawn of cowboy-kind and jumped into the space of astronauts, which reminded me of the jump from prehistoric to present day in Kubrick’s 2001. At least until I realized that both astronauts and cowboys actually share the same space in time.

The film was executed very well, but eventually it started to feel too long and uninteresting, as if somebody too much fell in love with the beauty and technique and lost the focus on the story. If History of America was edited down to perhaps 15 minutes and if the stoned narrator was removed [I thought he was quite unnecessary], then it could have been a really good piece. [imdb]

With Reece Daniel Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D’Agosto, Vincent Piazza, Margo Martindale, Aaron Yoo, Josh Kay, Stephen Park, Maury Ginsberg, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Denis O’Hare, Lisbeth Bartlett

Website at www.picturehouse.com

Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) attends a high school that prizes its debate team the way some schools prize a top sports team. The coolest guys and the most knockout girls participate, talking at blinding speed. Hal confines himself to that corner of the high-school world where observation is safer than getting involved, thinking that you can’t get hurt if no one knows you’re there. His family doesn’t offer much help, and his older brother Earl (Vincent Piazza), while pretty lost himself, gives Hal a lot of bad advice. Oh, and one more thing — Hal stutters.As he takes solace in his usual secret place (the janitor’s closet), Hal is attacked by debate superstar Virginia Ryerson (Anna Kendrick). She is ferociously competitive and WILL NOT let the debate team lose another state championship. She’s decided obstacles help hone the best debaters, so Hal and his stutter are perfect for her purposes. Since Ginny’s as attractive as she is aggressive, Hal decides her plan is worth trying. (from the filmfest-guide)

Next to John Water’s pick of the year, the 3-D movie pick and the silent film with live music another of our must-do traditions of the Maryland Film Festival is the closing night party with a screening of a movie that was shot entirely or in large parts in Baltimore or Maryland. This year’s closing night screening was Rocket Science, a film about high-school loves and dreams, nerds and friends, debates and overcoming fears and limitations. The story plays in Trenton, New Jersey, but it was predominantly filmed in the Baltimore area.

The story seems simple, but it was very well written and brilliantly told with many unexpected moments and twists that kept you interested from beginning to end and that made every single minute very enjoyable. All the actors were outstanding and impressive, creating convincing stutter problems, incredibly fast paced debate speeches or bringing the characters to life in a very fluent and natural way. Overall quite a fun movie.

Back in my German highschool days I never witnessed and had no idea there were debate competitions in which the candidates squeeze whole books of arguments into a speech of a few minutes. I have never seen or even heard of them before and couldn’t believe it wasn’t just a fun fictional subject for a movie. I still find it very fascinating. America never fails to surprise me…very impressive, I have to express a special praise to the actors.

I just looked at the IMDB user ratings for this film and was again shocked at how other people voted. There are unbelievable 45 votes (of 160) with a rating of 1 and 2! That’s outrageous and insane—nothing about this film deserves such a bad rating. The unbelievable amount of hate and unfairness of people really sickens me. And every day there seem to be more of those in our society, not only the movie database.

With Mike Brune, Anna Chlumsky, Katie Bowlett

Website at www.bloodcar.com

In a future world not far removed from our own, gas prices have rocketed to $40 a gallon, converting any guy who can afford to fill his tank into an automatic stud. Yet eco-minded elementary teacher Archie Andrews’ has the purest intentions in his obsessive quest for an alternative fuel source — a quest that has him making bulk wheatgrass purchases at a health-food stand run by the bookishly cute Lorraine (My Girl’s Anna Chlumsky), who thinks Archie’s a dreamboat. An accident in Archie’s makeshift lab reveals that his experimental motors hunger not for wheatgrass, but for human blood — a discovery that lands Archie in the sack with the vampishly attractive woman who runs the meat stand across from Lorraine. But sex and bloodlust are a volatile mix, and drive the once-vegan Archie to murderous lengths he never would’ve dreamed possible. (from the filmfest-guide)

What a wonderful way to conclude a wonderful festival-Saturday! There is not much to analyze about Blood Car. It simply was completely well-done, great all around, hilarious, a silly and fun movie with a lot of blood, horror, humor and satire. I loved the actors and characters, and everything just worked perfectly together. Finally, a bloodthirsty horror-film I could totally enjoy! Really funny, and so sad at the same time considering today’s society already is one of murdering, blood driven cars. This film has cult-potential!