BBLIFF

Big Bear Lake International Film Festival is the kind of festival that I like. It was small. It was in two theaters in the Big Bear Lake area and it was pure. I had the opportunity to see a truly independent film. The kind that you watch and never really expected to see. The lighting was bad, the music sucked beyond belief, but it was pure in its simplicity and its ability to tell a story. It was a movie that you see crappy film students make, but it was in the festival because of its story.

The festival featured student films, documentaries, production films, independent films, and even panel discussions with industry veterans. It was a four day event that wrapped with an awards ceremony and an after-party. The last day was a pitching do's and dont's panel. I was only able to catch one film, but I was captivated by the ambiance. The relaxed attitudes of the staff and filmmakers alike. Everyone was a film enthusiast and that's where the line was drawn. There was no politics, red carpet, bouncers, or photo shoots. The Q&A's were personal. I was one of three people talking to the crew that put one particular film together. It was a better hope of festivals.

The movie is called Remembering Phil. Its about a guy who arrives in the airport from a two week vacation, and finds that nobody remembers who he is. There are no records to prove his existence and he battles with the powers that be to reclaim his identity. It turns out that he has slowly compromised his dreams, ideals, and goals over the years working for "the man" and in turn became a nobody. At least he has nothing to make an impression. He constantly put off his aspirations to produce mediocre garbage. He is met by a stranger who walks him through his present life, and the deeper they go into what he has become, the more he discovers he is nothing. It was written by Michael Katz (greenie) and directed by Brian J Smith (first time director/producer of nothing notable), but this team was like a couple of high school kids having fun. The director understood the writers vision, but they just didnt have the funding to pull it off. You can tell that corners were definitely cut, but they kept what was most important...the story. There were some corny digital effects at the end of the film, but it definitely got the message across. I enjoyed the film thoroughly. And I can relate. I think we can all relate to the message of the film.

The BBLIFF is exactly the type of festival I love to attend. The festival presented a special lifetime award to the cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (check out his resume here, its pretty impressive) and showed one of his films, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

These are the types of little film festivals that Im submitting my films, screw Retard Redford and his capitalist swine. Its go time.