Bringing the Id to EgoFest: Day #2

We went to Brainerd, Minnesota, for the 2nd ever EgoFest Short Video Film Festival hosted by our friend (and TILT collaborator) Phil Holbrook.  There we screened our short films Snow Bunny and Libidoland.  In case you missed it, here’s what happened on Day #1.

DAY TWO, SATURDAY, 2/20

Good morning, Brainerd!

• Woke up. Got out of bed. In Brainerd. I (Julie) hadn’t gotten much sleep for two reasons: one, we were excited about EgoFest; two, Jessica had insisted on keeping the light on all night (if confused, see our first impressions about our hotel from Day #1).  If we’d turned out the light, it would have been her lying awake all night instead of me, so, you know…no big whoop.  Jessica made it up to me by telling me I looked pretty and promising to take me out for a wholesome Brainerd breakfast.

Dogs Love Brainerd!

• Before we left the motel, one of the weirdest sights ever. Just outside of our motel was a man, 2 small children, a big truck with lots of crates, and a million dogs.  If you squint at the picture above, you can see two dogs in the top row of crates, but we swear, there were at least 500 there.  Okay, 400.  Fine, maybe just 50 or so, but it seemed like A LOT of dogs not on leashes.  They all looked happy, though, and devoted: none of them strayed from their owner’s side.

Um, are we at EgoFest or Cinekink?

The Sawmill Cafe

Mmm...coffee

• Scored sustenance at the delightful Sawmill Cafe. Got coffee.  Hobnobbed with the friendly breakfast crowd.  Checked out the menu.  And then Jessica asked me why I was making such a weird face:

What the what?

Best omelet ever.

• My answer: wild rice and mushroom omelet.  With cinnamon coffee cake on the side?  Yes, Brainerd, I will marry you.  Or eat you.  Probably the latter.

Franklin Arts Center

• Time for EgoFest. Just before 9am we arrived at the Franklin Arts Center, which is an old school (the one where Phil went, actually) that’s been converted into a unique, sprawling art space.  Of course, there was a huge EgoFest-sized auditorium, but there were also classrooms converted into studio spaces, galleries, shops, and even artist apartments.  We also spied a small yoga studio.  The whole place, in concept as well as in reality, was incredible.

We're with the band. Or...maybe we ARE the band.

Phil kicks off the show!

• Saw Phil right before the fest started. He was busy doing film festival organizerly things, but he still took time to greet us and make sure we were taken care of.  We met some great people.  We got some filmmaker passes.  Then we headed into the auditorium and settled in for a long winter’s movie marathon. 40 short films by 30 filmmakers shown over the course of 12 hours.  Word.

EgoFest Lunch: Friend, Phil, Jeremy & Jess

Between film blocks

EgoFest meals provided by the E Squared Cafe

• Did we sit there for 12 hours straight? No.  We saw most of the films, but not all.  We took turns checking Twitter, getting refreshments, and stretching our legs.  Honestly, every time I left the auditorium, I regretted it, because there were so many wonderful and unique movies.  So…wanna hear about ‘em?

Where all the magic happened...

• Jessica’s Review of EgoFest – The Films. While I’d love to talk about all of the films we saw at EgoFest, it simply isn’t feasible.  Watching 40 films in one day is one thing;  writing about them all is something else entirely.  The following is a quick look at some of the highlights and gems of the fest – in our humble opinion.

• Highlights:

Alex Lamburini‘s short (Meeting Mr. Williams) kicked off the whole event, and we were happy to see this.  We’d crossed paths with this young filmmaker when we were at the Queens International Film Festival back in November, and we’re happy to see him doing so well.

Brian Durkin’s shorts (Mind Over Matter Man & Don’t Listen to the Cookie Franklin) featured the acting talent of Karen Worden (we weren’t expecting that pleasant surprise – “Is that Karen of Film Courage?  What is she doing up there?!”) and cinematography by David Branin of Film Courage on LA Talk Radio. They all represented LA well.

Jeremy Doyle’s films (Expiration Dates, Consensus, & Bishop: a Tale of Gene Harris) were incredibly well shot and meticulously edited, which was especially impressive because all three were created for 48-hour films races.  Jeremy’s skills are hardcore: we feel fortunate to be working with him on TILT.

4D4 Films‘ shorts (In the Event of a Zombie Attack & Love Sick) were definite crowd-pleasers.  People loved the zombies in the first film and the hyper-masochistic ex-boyfriend drama (this is putting it lightly) in the second.

We also saw shorts by Lee Bishop, Gia Milani, Gregory Pitts. Bishop’s  shorts were super-short and super-sweet.  We’re very curious to see what she’ll come up with next.  Someone called Gia Milani’s A Dark Radius “an alt-alt-Jackie Brown.”  As for Pitts, his short All Rapped Up especially caught Julie’s attention with its use of Pitts’ own family members as actors.  Rapped serves as a PSA for parents who allow tv, movies, and popular music raise their kids.

• Gems:

The Beekeeper by Sean J.S. Jourdan: A beautifully shot, well-paced, and perfectly acted film about a family in crisis.  Jourdan’s ability to portray intense drama with such restraint was impressive.

The Carwash by James Kicklighter: First of all, how did this guy get the best last name ever?  As for the film, this was a timely story about the disconnect between the aging, baby boomer generation and the younger, tech savvy generation.   I appreciated the subtly with which it explored how we communicate, how technology effects communication, and, ultimately, the content of our communications with one another. This was my favorite movie of the day.

To Get to the Other Side by Ted Fisher: This wry documentary explores the phenomenon of people trying to cross the street during the New York Marathon.  Fisher’s eye for detail and sense of humor make this film a poignant and amusing look at human behavior.

Ai by Raffi Asdourian: A technically brilliant and visually stunning film about a warrior and her master.  I was blown away by how well this short simulates many higher budget samurai/martial arts films. Raffi did a livestreamed Q&A with the EgoFest from his NYC apartment, and Ai swept the EgoFest awards.

Speed Musing by John T. Trigonis: A clever blend of the high and the low brow, this old school silent film follows an uninspired poet who seeks a suitable muse in a poetry-generating activity that the surrealists would have loved.  Very funny.

How to Live Better by Mark Ehling: A very funny tale about a secret book, a gang of Mafiosos in fezzes (whose leader did NOT like “tough guy talk”), and an angry group of cooks headed by a sassy waitress.  This beautifully shot film created it’s own quirky universe (one both sinister and absurd) and made us completely  forget where we were for 20 minutes. This was Julie’s favorite film of the day.

Isaac being worshipped by Julie + "Friend of Isaac"

• And finally, an anecdote. The film Dinner Date, a dark tale about a man seeking the perfect female companion for a consensual cannibalistic arrangement, inspired 13 year-old Isaac Overland (pictured above, whose own extremely entertaining freshman film Spy Strike featured his baby sister and brother playing a set of Mothers and Fathers whose babies kept getting stolen) to jump out of his seat (followed by his sidekick, “Friend of Isaac”), trample Julie, and fall down in worship at filmmaker Paul von Stoetzl’s feet.  Von Stoetzl was only too happy to feed the flames of his fan’s instant fandom; he happily signed Isaac’s copy of John Reiss’ new book Thinking Outside the Box Office with the message, “Never, ever, ever give up…and f*ck ‘em if they can’t take a joke,” which also happens to be the motto on his business card.

Phil & Jess at the after-party

Julie + the Brainerd Power Couple

• Julie’s Wrap-Up: The After-Party. At the end of the night, we were all tired but happy.   We’d seen so many fun movies, so many different points of view, so many different ways of doing things.  Each filmmaker had gone through and extraordinary process.  Sure, we each had favorites, but we also had questions.  Where did these directors find their actors?  Where did they get their equipment?  How did they find their music?  Did they enjoy making their films?  Are they going to make more?
• In the end, we just feel lucky to have gotten a seat at EgoFest, and we definitely plan to go again next year.  and we hope you will, too.  And don’t worry, Phil: we’ll save our badges…

That’s it for Day #2.  Ready for Day #3?  It’s a doozy, but we don’t want to give everything away.  What we CAN tell you is that we spent most of the day with Phil and Jeremy.  What we CAN’T tell you…even better.

Jessica loves Brainerd...especially on Day #3!