Quick Movie Review: Sidewalk Film Festival XII Wrap-Up

It’s a weekend created for movie geeks like me.


The 12th Annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival wrapped up last weekend, and it was terrific. As with any event of any consequence, you’re going to run across some issues here and there – the Sidelot on Saturday was a bust, there were sound issues here and there, there was some odd logistical issues at some of the parties, but for those of us whose idea of a good time is simply sitting in a darkened movie theater, it provided a plethora of options.


On the weekend I saw five full length documentaries, one full length narrative film, eight narrative shorts, four animated shorts, and seven documentary shorts. I did not see anything that I absolutely hated. Below you will find my wrap-up on certain films and shorts.


As with many films that are screened at small film festivals like Sidewalk, the films noted here are not yet available for rent and, unless you live in a large city like New York or Los Angeles, they are not appearing at your local cineplex. So. . .make a note of the ones that interest you and then watch for their release on DVD or look for them on a movie channel like HBO or Sundance or IFC.






Teenage Paparazzo (2009)

This documentary feature opened Sidewalk XII. It was a packed house at the Alabama Theater that watched this doc directed by Adrian Grenier (yes, of HBO’s “Entourage”). It gets behind the scenes with the paparazzi by focusing on a particularly interesting paparazzo – Austin Visschedyk, who is 13 years old. Yes, 13. Austin runs around all over Hollywood at all hours of the night and morning trying to capture photos of celebs. If you get a chance to see this doc (it is showing on HBO), take a look. It’s absolutely fascinating when focused on Austin and his paparazzi friends. The problem is that it gets way bogged down in its own seriousness. Lots of Adrian gazing at his own navel. Lots of Adrian talking. Lots of Adrian talking to other people. Someone needed to tap Adrian on the shoulder and say, “Hey, you need to cut about 20 minutes off this thing.”



The Thing About Being an Assassin

This 9-minute narrative short was directed by Alabamian Chris Hilleke and was one of the best narrative shorts I saw at Sidewalk. I am a sucker for shorts – narrative or otherwise – because of the discipline it takes to make a good one. And this is a good one. It is tense and has a great ending. Visit Chris’ website and see photos of his other work. . . http://chrishillekefilms.com/.

 


Marwencol

This documentary directed by Jeff Malmberg tells the story of Mark Hogencamp. Mark was brutally beaten outside a bar several years ago. He was beaten so severely that his face needed to be reconstructed and he needed to essentially re-learn the most basic of skills. As part of his therapy, he began to manipulate Barbie dolls and other dolls to create his own fictional World War II town. This is one of the most fascinating documentaries I have ever seen. When it ended, I was disappointed. I wanted more. Malmberg directs this doc as a doc should be directed – turns the camera on and gets out of the way. The detail of the town and the dolls has to be seen to be believed. Visit the website for trailers and info. . .http://www.marwencol.com/





Exit Through the Gift Shop

This documentary provides an interesting behind the scenes look at street art. Specifically the film was set out to be developed by a Frenchman, Thierry Guetta, but it eventually was finished by Banksy, the famous British(?) street artist. As everyone knows, you exit through the gift shop after having been taken for a ride at an amusement park. There has been debate about the authenticity of this doc. While I believe that much of what the doc portrays is true, it isn’t necessarily factual. In other words, yes, I believe we have been duped. Regardless, the doc is a good one and worth your time.






The Parking Lot Movie

This was my favorite surprise of the Festival. I was late getting out of one venue and had to trot to the next venue to catch this documentary. I got in there about five minutes late and wasn’t sure what I would find. What I found was an engaging and incredibly funny film that tells the story of the parking lot attendants who manage the corner parking lot in the business and entertainment section of Charlottesville, Virginia. These are mostly male grad students who have to deal with people every day and every night who park on the lot and, many times, argue about paying. What a great and surprising find!






Make Believe

Each year Las Vegas plays host to the annual World Magic Seminar. If you are a magician, this is the place to be each and every year. However, the big event at the seminar is the Teen Magician World Championships. This fascinating documentary takes us behind the scenes by featuring six of the world’s best teen magicians. And when I write “best,” it is not hyperbole. These five boys and one girl are the best of the best and they come to Vegas to be crowned champion. Lance Burton is a former champion. J. Clay Tweek directed the doc and made a point of shooting all of the tricks being performed in one take so that there is no hint of special effects. Each kid featured is interesting in their own way and the tension leading up to the competition is intense. And that intensity only gets turned up to 11 when the competition begins.






Dogtooth

Uh. . .yeah. . .this Greek film is weird. It was one of the Festival’s spotlight films and, most likely, you won’t be seeing it anytime soon at The Rave. Directed by Giorgos Lanthimos the film focuses on a familh living on a fenced-in country estate. You know something’s up from the opening frame when the three children are listening to a recording that is telling them the wrong word for objects. Turns out that the children are not allowed outside the estate, watch only home movies, aren’t allowed to talk on the telephone, and live in an extremely controlled environment – an environment completely controlled by their father and mother. The tension is palpable and then is released more than once with an explosion of violence. Then there is the odd sexual component. In my row at the Alabama Theater, only one couple left – letting us all know that they weren’t watching anymore of this crap. No doubt, it is incredibly different and will leave you scratching your head.

 Sunday Shorts

On Sidewalk Sunday, I spend my time watching shorts. The first set were national and local narrative shorts. The stand out for me on this set of six was “No Mixin” directed by Michael Gordon. The camera work, acting and direction were impressive. I was particularly impressed that all of the filmmakers were on hand for what turned out to be my favorite Q&A session of the whole Festival. The next set of shorts was the National Shorts Block #4 – Documentaries. The stand-out here was “Seltzer Works” directed by Jessica Edwards. It won Best Documentary Short for the Festival and the award was well earned.