Film Fests

So, here I am on the coast. Not only am I screening a huge number of films every month here at the branch but somehow, through luck, through persistent volunteerism and, for a while there, absolute stir-craziness, I managed to secure a spot on the Mendocino Film Fest board. Somehow it seemed fitting, after all these years of enjoying, evangelizing, promoting, exhibiting film, to be invited to join such an august crew. But then I thought, where in the heck am I going to find the time? How am I going to fit in the seeming hundreds of hours required to pull off the festival in the fantastic fashion it was pulled off this year? Will I be able to do this archival thing that I long to do for them, to make sense of all their old papers, posters, film and ephemera? Well. Can't worry too much about the future. Let's see where that goes but I know one thing for certain: this year's festival was a blast!

I was brought on board two weeks before the festival began. Did I have any clue as to what my duties were going to be? Nope, not until almost day of show. Ended up securing a plum duty spot as house manager at the Oddfellows Hall, a sort of combo ticket booth/meet and greet zone/swag spot and check in area for the film makers. All very easy once all the pieces were in place. The hardest thing? Figuring out where all the switches were that lit and powered the hall but after that it was very easy, comforting and lovely, partly due to the book themed art display left around for us to groove on through the weekend. Coffee was provided by Thanksgiving coffee, wine set up by various complementary vineyards, swag bags filled and passed along by our fantastic board members and volunteers. I was graced with working with two very incredible ladies who managed to make all the box office concerns disappear whenever I had questions. I was also pleased to work with a since-the-beginning-days-of-the-fest crew at the hospitality table who seemed to know everyone, greeted everyone and everybody with a smile and helped me get over all and every conceivable rough spot that came my way when I was flying solo on Friday afternoon.

Highlights? Goodness, their were so many! The wide variety of film, the dedication of the crew, board and volunteers, the happy hearts of the community and visitors grooving on the fest all over town. One of the most magical moments was being able to watch movies unspool in the main festival tent where I was lucky enough to catch not only one but two of the Alloy Orchestra shows. They performed music to accompany old silent slapstick shorts as well as Buster Keaton's The General. Incredible! The tent billowed like some sort of animated wild beasty in the gusty Pacific ocean winds but it held and the audience was held in thrall as well. I was also given a ticket to attend a film makers cocktail party at the end of a road there in Mendocino, held in a wonderfully renovated and upscale Victorian home, jam packed with film folk, donated wines, wonderful appetizers, incredible art and a view, well, that view! Wow!

I just can't wait for another pass at working alongside such wonderful folk. In the meantime I hope to archive the works of many years, make sense of their film collection, do volunteer work with them whenever I can fit it in. In the meantime I have three different film programs going on here at the branch which are keeping me busy and happy as well. The license has a lot to do with Measure A but the rest is all about persistence, a love, hell, make that passion, for the art of film and a willingness to be there with film lore and popcorn to dispense to even the smallest of audiences.

Being here on the coast has taken the Futon Cinema to a whole new level and I am beyond pleased. Time for more. Let's go screen some flicks, shall we?

Action!