There was no popcorn saturated in delectable globs of canola oil. There were no Sour Patch Kids to throw half-chewed at the screen in the event of boredom. And no one’s feet adhered mercilessly to a layer of slime on the floor.
Instead, hosts and ushers in formal dress greeted the audience members upon arrival at the ICC Auditorium last night, for this was no ordinary evening at the movies. The second annual Georgetown Student Film Festival seeks to emulate more esteemed cinema venues, and the standard of content and innovation to which it aspires is appropriately high.
After all, what is quality film without explicit and provocative scenes that walk a fine line between artistic experimentation and gratuitous controversy? The penultimate film of the evening, In, epitomizes this tension, a tension endemic to this fesitval.
Undoubtedly the best film of the evening, In, produced by Zal Batmanglij (CAS ‘02) and Brian Dodge (CAS ‘02), is unmatched by its fellow entrants in cinematography and also excels in sound editing. Furthermore, the film manages to tell a genuinely captivating story of drugs, sex and mortality even without ordering its scenes chronologically.
Some will argue that the explicit masturbation scene is unnecessary and even crude. But the lack of fanfare around the scene allows it to be inserted quietly and casually, so that it seems natural. Besides, what good does art serve if it doesn’t push the envelope?
One envelope that gets pushed a little too far, however, is the extended close-up shot on roadkill in Squirrel: A Documentary, produced by Bryan Madole (CAS ‘04) and Tyson Wu (CAS ‘04). Although this spoof on nature television shows is generally very funny?and actually demonstrates some excellent camerawork?the grotesque images of flattened squirrels ventures into the tasteless.
A shorter, but wildly entertaining piece called Planteaparty left the audience chuckling well after its conclusion. Produced by Zsofia Jilling (CAS ‘04), Planteaparty shows a girl in a flowing white gown sitting delicately on a picnic blanket in Dahlgren Quadrangle while sipping a cup of tea.
As the girl flashes coquettish and expectant smiles at her companion across the blanket, the viewer comes to realize she is having tea with a potted plant. Her eventual breakdown as she explodes, “Why won’t you drink your tea?!” is a side-splitting catharsis.
Skillful editing helps bring out the hilarity in the absurdity of Planteaparty. Deliberately jumpy camerawork and bright lighting, supplemented by flowing music with a scratchy tone as if to simulate an old record player, make the comedy of the scene possible.
One unassuming film from earlier in the festival deserves special mention. The untitled piece of Sarah Williams (CAS ‘02) is a pleasure to watch, with its montages of nature shots and particularly its attention to beautiful, neglected farm houses. Williams also makes adept use of repitition in her editing.
Despite a fair amount of self-indulgence on the part of the film producers and a couple of instances of gratuitously crude humor, this year’s film festival is a summarily impressive statement to the livelihood of film artistry at Georgetown. And if the huge turnout to last night’s event is not indicative of the quality of the festival, then the lack of Sour Patch Kids stuck to the screen after the showing is.
