We have asked several filmmakers who have participated in past $100 Film Festivals for some quotes about their experiences. Today’s quote comes from filmmaker Pixie Cram (Pixie screened a film with the $100 in 2010).
“In Calgary I walked a lot, through the downtown grid of streets, passing policemen in black cowboy hats, looking at the big sky that everyone in the east had told me about. It was early March, and the ice was breaking up along the Glenbow River.
I roamed around with my camera – an old 35mm point and shoot – photographing what struck me as beautiful or unusual, curious if the light was different in the west. Suddenly there was that terrible feeling of isolation that comes from this habit of wandering alone – unfamiliar streets, no true destination. I picked up a map and decided to seek out the artist-run centres and galleries that were familiar territory to me. I stopped in at Ed Video and introduced myself as coming from Ottawa and from SAW Video. I immediately felt a temporary sense of place, like an anchor.
The festival was a welcoming place, too. I was impressed by the large number of people it drew; there were around two hundred people attending each night, and this for largely experimental films. The artists and film buffs I met were open-minded and curious, and there was a high level of enthusiasm about the films at the festival. Plenty of buzz followed the screenings in the lobby of the Plaza Theatre and at the bar where people gathered — a healthy dialogue about film as art that had a sense of place and purpose to it. Here, I thought, everyone is encouraged to throw their opinions into the mix. This openness is very refreshing.
The effect of watching films projected solely from film projectors is hard to describe- the colours seem richer, the projector sounds are hypnotic, and there’s an awareness of the fragility of the medium.
The projected image from film is a beautiful thing to look at.
The 100 Dollar Film Festival knows this secret, and may it continue to thrive.
Pixie Cram
artengine.ca/pixiecram”
CSIF
#1 by Pixie on March 10, 2011 - 2:10 pm
I meant EMMEDIA where I wrote Ed Video .