13

Having most of my classes cancel because of the festival was an excellent addition to the fun packed week of Cucalorus 13. A step up from last year, the unlimited student pass let us get into any film and tons of other events so that we could take full advantage of everything Cucalorus had to offer. Attending Ten screening blocks and many festival events and functions, as well as using the shuttle, I am proud to say that I used my pass to its fullest.
The Veal Shorts block on Thursday afternoon contained five short films in which I noticed a common theme of “Location”. I picked the Veal shorts because of my immense love for the meat of a slaughtered baby calf. Well, not so much. I actually wanted to see Shannon’s film 29 places I Once Called Home and because I had seen Fridays at the Farm before and wanted my girlfriend to see it. She cried. Fridays at the Farm stuck out to me because the medium in which he told the beautiful story was uncommon and I can imagine very time consuming. The film also had some very amazing time lapse images of plants growing and leaves changing. I had so many questions for the film maker, it was a shame he wasn’t there. Well actually, even if he was there, I probably wouldn’t have been able to ask them anyway. The host/MC probably would have asked all the questions he wanted asked then talk about himself for the rest of the Q and A session. He did this with many other film makers who wanted questions from the audience. From this film I learned that just because you have access to certain things, doesn’t mean you should use them. Really examine your subject and determine what would capture the essence of it the best, then use that method.
Shannon’s films I also enjoyed. It was interesting to hear the recollections of memories by different family members accompanied with images of the locations. The fact that there was a timed aspect to how long each location stayed on screen added to my enjoyment. I like secret elements to films. A film that I did not like too much was Occulted. Almost 20 minutes of shaky camera street shots in London, it had no apparent plot, or goal while also being aesthetically ugly and way too long. The only reason I know anything about what it was about is because I read the description in the film festival book. This is exhibition that the film shouldn’t rely on, but should only compliment the audiences’ understanding of the film.
When I heard Control was playing at Cucalorus I immediately marked it on my calendar, because of my great love for Joy Division and also because I had read about some of the awards it had won at Cannes film festival and also about the filming process of the feature film. The film is about the life of Ian Curtis, singer for Joy Division, who hung himself at age 23. The creators of the film did a wonderful job at casting and creating a film that looked like the 1979. Many of the locations and band performances looked like band authentic band photos of Joy Division. I read that they shot this film in 35mm color film to achieve a smooth non grainy look, and then digitally rendered it to black and white to capture the time era. Although the outcome of Ian’s life is well known thus making the film ending predictable, the film kept my attention until the end by using artistic shots, and wonderful musical performances. It was a good homage to this great band and confused front man.
The experience of this year’s festival was awesome. Graciously someone gave my girlfriend a student pass so that we could go to all the screenings together. Like last year, I thought it would a be fun time of seeing films and hanging out, but this year was a step above last. The films seemed to be very exceptional this year. I liked the films I saw more than I like those I saw last year. Along with an opening festival, I was surprised that there was a shuttle from UNCW to the venues. Lucky for me I live at UNCW so I had a free taxi downtown all weekend. We went to the opening festival and played on the bouncing slide several times to keep warm. We also spent several nights at Jengo’s playground where the free open bar made us appreciate the free shuttle even more. It was there that I met a few film makers who had films in the festival. I watched Monster Camp and was able to talk with the director briefly afterward. Dancelorus was fun and inspiring for both the upcoming installation project and my life in general. I would love to create something like that with my girlfriend and submit it next year. My least favorite part of the festival was the fact that so many of the films sounded so good, and I wanted to see them so much but could not because there was so many screening at one time. I like the new addition of Lumina to the screening venue as it made it easy to view a film close to home.
Overall, I am very happy with my experience this year and am very inspired to create my own films. In fact, my mind has been thinking of new ideas since the festival, its been hard to sleep. I very much hope to submit a film to Cucalorus next year so that I can feel as though I contributed to the magic of the festival. Or at least volunteer and become part of the network of friends that seemed to be running the show. Advice to festival goers next year; spend all day there. Pack a lunch, dress warm, and cancel all plans for the week. Print out business cards and be ready for fun. For the festival runners, I think everything went very well, however some of the screenings had limited seating. Is it time for some larger venues or floor seating?