With a shorts program that organizers promise tops years past and the Little Rock Film Festival’s first 3D selection and screening, Europa, which also happens to have been made in Arkansas, there’s a lot to get excited about on the big screen this week as local and out-of-town filmmakers flock in to celebrate their art.
But as Tuesday night’s tailgate party in honor of opening night film America’s Parking Lot proved, there’s plenty more to this year’s film fest than just film screenings. Sure, the films are ultimately the point, but having a good time isn’t a bad idea either.
And having a good time is entirely the purpose of a new project of festival programmer Levi Agee, who will debut a Mystery Science Theater-esque film commentary series called Mockingbird Don’t Screen at the festival, with plans to make it a regular event.
“I want going to the movies to be fun again,” said Agee of the impetus for the event, which will be held Saturday evening at 5:15.
While MST3K “wasn’t the catalyst for” the Mockingbird program, it did help inform the format, which includes showing a film while Agee and Improv Little Rock members Matt DeCample and Katie Campbell offer commentary, sort of like on a DVD except with comedy as the primary point.
Saturday night’s show will be I’m From Arkansas, part of a brief trend from the 1940s that includes films that lampoon hillbilly culture. Agee said he found the film years ago while working at a movie rental store but “put it out of my mind.” After a visit to Second City’s performance at The Arkansas Repertory Theatre last fall, the idea for an improv performance was seeded, and the film seemed like the perfect choice with its Arkansas ties. Of course, it helped that the film is part of the public domain.
“We’re an Arkansas-based group, so this is perfect,” he said.
True to the improv roots of the group, Agee said there will be no script or rehearsal of material before the show. The comments and commentary offered as the movie plays will be off the cuff. If turnout is good and the performance a hit, the group will look to make it a regular event, perhaps monthly.
Yet, while film is clearly the basis for Mockingbird Don’t Screen, some festival events aren’t about watching a movie at all. They’re just about the party and the company.
Foremost of those is Friday night’s Sync or Swim Riverboat Party. Full disclosure: Sync Weekly is a sponsor of the event, but you don’t have to take this writer’s word for the quality of the event.
“Anybody on that boat can’t stop talking about it after,” said Agee of the late-night Arkansas River cruise on the Arkansas Queen. “That’s the one that gets talked about the most.”
The cruise boards promptly at 10:30 and features live music downstairs, this year courtesy of Velvet Kente, with DJ Poebot and Baldego on the boat’s upper level. There’s beer, wine and a cash bar to keep partygoers afloat as the boat itself heads up to the Big Dam Bridge and back down again.
It’s also an opportunity, said Agee, for festivalgoers to meet and chat with filmmakers — and the filmmakers to rub elbows with each other — in a comfortable, laid-back setting.
The plan is to be docked again by 11:59, just in time for the party after the party at the Argenta Arts Foundation in the heart of North Little Rock’s bustling downtown district, which traditionally promises to be a good time as well.
For another good time in a slightly different atmosphere, Agee pointed to the Oxford American Best of the South Soiree, which is slated for 10 p.m. Saturday night at the new OA offices on South Main Street. There will be fried chicken and fried pickles from Cotham’s as the attendees celebrate Southern culture and hospitality, a hallmark of the festival itself, said Agee. The event will also feature the announcement of the OA Best Southern Film, an award that comes with a $10,000 cash prize.
Outside of parties and screenings, the festival also includes a handful of events for film buffs to talk about the art and the industry. Among those, Agee pointed to “Stories for the Web Screen” (1 p.m. Friday) and “Crowdsourcing Independent Film” (4 p.m. Saturday). The first features Andrew McMurray, Daniel Campbell and Gerry Bruno, all noted for making online videos and series, as well as Maria Diokno, editor-in-chief of My Damn Channel, a popular Internet site for original video content, talking about making content for the Web. The second features a panel with members who have worked through sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo that will address the ins and outs of fundraising through those methods and applying them to the project.
Of course, there are also the notable names talking about their careers, including discussions with Jay Russell (3:30 p.m. Friday), Jeff Nichols (4:30 p.m. Sunday) and Lea Thompson, who will host a panel about women working in the industry (3:10 p.m. Sunday).
Oh, and there are “so many good films to see,” added Agee.
For a full list of events or to use the Little Rock Film Festival’s handy “genius” system that helps configure a schedule with as little overlap as possible, visit www.littlerockfilmfestival.org/.
“There is definitely a technique to getting into a festival and getting in as many good films as you can,” said Agee. “There are just too many good choices.”