So yeah, for those who don't know, I attended the 180 Film Festival (along with the Preview Days) at Southeastern University. It was a pretty cool experience - got to check out a few classes, hang out at the dorms, eat at the restaurant, enjoy the scenery, all that jazz. The professor of film there, Dave DeBrode, was also really interesting to talk with. The dude knows his stuff, that's for sure, and he's really committed to having his students starting filming ASAP. On multiple occasions during the Q&A, he emphasized that he wanted to ensure that freshmen started working and making mistakes, so that they could later be fixed as the students progressed through his classes. This is really great for students, as most film schools forbid their students from touching the film equipment until their junior year.
Anyway, enough about me and wanting to go to SEU, let's move on to the film festival. Each film was directed by one of the students of Professor DeBrode, so don't expect to recognize any titles. I just thought I'd give my two cents on the films shown at the festival.
MOUSE TRAP - A simple experience concerned with cinematography. It's not story-orientated, but the camerawork was fantastic here. For some reason or another, it was able to engross me with a task as simple as setting up a board game. Probably my vote for Best Cinematography.
FACE2FACE - A short film with an old, yet still meaningful, message. I liked the style, the way it was shot, all that good stuff. The editing was a bit sketchy, but it was an overall interesting short film.
THE BRIDE - Ugh, I actually didn't like this one. Not only did it drag, but the twist felt preachy and the last few minutes were just an absolute cheese-fest.
PEED IN MY PANTS - A shot-for-shot ripoff of Jizz In My Pants that's just completely unfunny. 'Nuff said.
3 MINUTES LEFT - This was just ok to me. It was sort of funny, granted, but I didn't really get much out of it.
SHAKE THE DUST - I really liked this one. The cinematography, the editing, it was great. The film didn't have much dialogue, but it didn't need to have that much because of how captivating the visuals and overall message were.
RING OF DEATH - It's over-the-top, zany, and just downright silly. But I still liked it. =P
SPIRIT SPREAD HIGH - I kid you not, the visuals of this film almost felt like a Spike Jonze flick. It's THAT good. Beautiful, cinematic, and artistic, I just loved it.
RUNNING - Made by the same guys who did Ring of Death, I felt this was just as over-the-top as the first. I still liked it, but it got too over-the-top for its own good.
BLIND-DATE GEORGE - The first minute was kinda funny, but it really tanked afterward. That, and the final twist was kinda stupid.
AUDITION - Interesting premise, great visuals, and some nice performances. However, I felt the script was pretty lacking...
AMERICA ATTACKS - Visually-speaking, I really liked this. It almost felt like a student-version of LOST, or something to that effect. Story-wise, though, the film was a mess. It didn't tell us anything about the characters, and the director seemed to confuse development with exposition. By the way, "America Attacks" is one of the stupidest titles I've ever heard of.
ARKACIA - Started out pretty interesting, and I liked the effects, but the end result was disappointing despite how comedic it was.
THE MARGATE EFFECT - Without question, this was the best film shown at the festival. It's a bit cliche, but I commend the director for successfully making a suspenseful, mood-setting horror film despite an extremely low budget.
INSTINCT - Pretty bad. The film was oftentimes so dark that I couldn't even see what was going on. Other than a few good shots, I didn't like it.
THE COVER-UP - Hilarious short film. Great comedic timing and dialogue, this was probably one of the funniest films there.
HOLIDAY BREAKDOWN - As if the previous film wasn't funny enough, this was really good too. The narration, the shots, and the well-developed sense of humor - really liked this.
BALLOON WALK - Eh, it had its moments. The premise was original, but the acting was 'meh' and the film felt weak after the grand-slam double feature before it.
Well, there you have it. A few lame entries, but I really enjoyed the festival and hope to work under Professor DeBrode later on. =]
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