EgoFest! (or How to Watch a 12 Hour Movie Marathon)
Yesterday we attended EgoFest in Brainerd, MN: 40 short films by 30 filmmakers shown in an awesome auditorium (full-size screen, baby!) over 12 hours. It was awesome. It was inspiring. It was like standing under a waterfall of images and ideas. Most of all, it was something we plan to do again next year (Egofest 2011 or Bust!)
That being said, it wasn’t easy. Sitting in one spot for almost half a day? Yes, there are way worse things to do on a chilly Saturday, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t have to plan ahead. Here’s how we survived EgoFest:
Rule #1 – Stay hydrated and fed. You can’t concentrate on anything, not even awesome short films, for 12 hours if you’re hungry or thirsty. As Bertolt Brecht (almost) said, “Food is the first thing, morals (and everything else) follow on.” The concessions at EgoFest were great. There was water, soda, coffee, and, of course, freshly popped popcorn.
Popcorn + Phil's Mom!
While we didn’t consume any popcorn, there were some audience members who ate 3 or 4 bags full. (Hey, don’t judge, a 12 hour movie marathon warrants a lot of popcorn eating – each block ran the length of a feature film, a long one.) Further, the food was catered by E Squared Cafe , and it was delicious. Hot dogs (and NOT dogs) + vegetarian chili for lunch followed by pasta and asparagus for dinner. Brainerd food = yummy & nourishing. Yes, we might have had seconds.
Egofest: Now with more dinner!
Rule #2 – Don’t be a masochist: it’s okay to get up and move around when you need to. I know our teachers spent 12 years (or more) teaching us to stay in our seats, but at Egofest…that was impossible. Neither one of us sat through every single film, though some audience members did. Sometimes you have to get up, and that’s okay. Go outside, get some fresh air, or do some stretching in the lobby. Our bodies need to move so that our minds stay alert. I even stood in the back to watch a few of the films because at some point I just didn’t want to miss anything.
Exploring the Franklin Arts Center
Rule #3 – Be open-minded. In a 12 hour movie marathon, you’re going to see some films that you would probably flip past if you were sitting in your living room or making a choice at the local cineplex. However, actually sitting through everything (or almost everything) was delightful. Even though I saw some films that, if I were in a critical mode, I might classify as outright bad or poorly done, every film has the capacity to be fascinating if you’re watching in the right way. Every film is the expression of someone’s mind, of someone’s thoughts, neuroses, or point of view. And often it is the most clumsy films that reveal this in the strongest way. Film is fantasy and our fantasies reveal the deepest aspects of our psyches, of what it means to be human. So we’re happy we weren’t allowed to fast forward through anything.
For more on EgoFest, stay tuned. Don’t you want to know about some of the short films we saw (The Beekeeper, Car Wash, Ai, Speed Musings, and To Get to the Other Side)? Don’t you want to find out about The Power Couple of Brainerd? And don’t you want the skinny on fest organizer Phil Holbrook? Of course, you do. So come back soon.