DCIFF - Misfits

I just attended another session of the DC Independent Film Festival last night. This time, the theme was "misfits," and it was a truly wonderful session. It's no secret that I like dark and sad films, and each of these films had something unique to say about the dark place in men's hearts. It was a successful theme and another successful night at the DCIFF.

Movie: Norman Normal
My Rating: 4 stars

This is a very fun, storybook tale by Suzanne Sitelman about the darker side of societal norms. It is a mixed-media short film about how quickly the world will turn on a member of society once they cease to conform to the conventional model. Deviation from the norm makes people very uncomfortable, and they often react to this discomfort with cruelty. This film could be about any number of abnormalities that make people uncomfortable, from mental illness, to physical deformity, to even simply deciding that you don't agree with society's values. I enjoyed how this film told this story. It created the atmosphere of a parable by presenting the story as the sort of morality tales you tell children before bed. When you are in pre-school, every book that is read to you is trying to teach you a lesson, whether it be to treat your classmates nicely, or to go to sleep without a fuss, or to simply shut the heck up. This film reminded me of those days. When you could be shamed into behaving yourself. I liked this film very much and can't wait to see what Suzanne Sitelman does next.
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Movie: BORF!
My Rating: 5 stars

Such a wonderful film! It is filled with such joy and tremendous sadness. It's the kind of story that has you splitting your sides with laughter one moment, and then leaves you with a lump in your throat the next. This is a short film by Paris Bustillos that tells the story of the whole BORF! graffiti phenomenon in Washington, DC. I'm not sure if they are still there--I used to see plenty of them around a few years ago--but if you walk around certain areas of DC, you can see this strange, mischievous, stencil-graffiti child peering out at you from building walls or bridge overpasses--even freeway signs. I used to see them around Georgetown a lot. Most are hilarious. Some are strangely sad. I didn't know what they were until I saw a Washington Post article about the phenomenon in 2005. People either loved these pieces of art, or saw them as a gross destruction of public property. This short film tells the story of BORF! from the artist's point of view. It introduces us to the spirited, yet troubled kid, Bobby Fischer, though archival footage, and goes on to show how his close friend reacted to his suicide with the BORF! graffiti campaign. An homage to his dead friend. This film is very poignant. Especially since it gets into the topic of psychological pain felt by children and youths. As a society we tend to overlook the emotional problems of children, and we seldom take them seriously. To me, the BORF! operation seems less like wanton destruction of property, and more like a demand that these cases be taken more seriously. This is really a heartbreaking story and a very moving film. The best of the evening.
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Movie: One Nice Family Photo
My Rating: 3 stars

This film didn't really fit in with the dark mood created by the other films of the evening, but it was still fun. It is a little animated short by Tom Senior, and it really captures the bustling chaos of a holiday dinner with all the extended family. It is so short that it is really more of a mood piece, but it is remarkably true to life. There are the nosy relatives prying, the talkative aunts who keep jabbering away, the hosts trying to keep plans on track, and the angsty teenagers who just want to disappear into the wall. All the usual suspects. This film did a really good job of capturing the whole atmosphere of good-natured, familial pandemonium. A welcome addition to the festival.
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Movie: Heads N Tailz
My Rating: 3 stars

This was the feature-length film of the evening. A full-length crime tale by Stephen David Brooks, done in the classic "Los Angeles crime drama" style. It's got the feel of the city with all its sprawl and desperation. This is really a story about the characters--what drives them, what motivated them to get into a life of crime, how they interact with each other. And Brooks really does create some very strong personalities in this film. It's a diverse mix of characters, each with their own quirks and ticks--a loose Wizard of Oz motif. This was a very interesting idea to play around with. Unfortunately by this time in the evening, the audience had already sat through three other films and were starting to fidget. Some people didn't really have the patience for a full feature. It didn't help that the movie really was a bit longer than necessary. I think that in order to get through this film and enjoy it, you really need to watch it all by itself.
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Movie: Orlok the Vampire in 3D (Sneak Preview)
My Rating: 4 stars

This film was actually part of the evening's later session on Open Content--a celebration of the new trend of reworking other artists' creations, or material that has fallen into the public domain, to create new derivative works. This ranges from fan-art to full-blown adaptations. It turned out that Orlok was the only film to play during that session, but it definitely succeeded in highlighting the value of letting people add their own content, and how it encourages creativity. Orlok is a reworking of the classic film Nosferatu by local filmmaker Keith Carter. This was a sneak preview because Carter is planning on taking a more complete version to the Cannes Film Festival in the future. Nosferatu is a very compelling old film and it has attracted quite a number of remixers in the past. The first one that springs to mind is Nosferatu: The Gothic Industrial Remix, where the director swapped out the pipe organ score to create a more modern, horror-film atmosphere. The version I saw at the festival included rearranged scenes, reworked dialog, some recorded voice work, and some really great looking 3D effects. I was surprised by how well the 3D turned out. Usually all I get from wearing those glasses is a headache, but the 3D effects in this version really did create remarkable depth and added horror. The result was very impressive. I fully support the whole open content phenomenon. It is remarkable what people will come up with if they are given the opportunity.