Short Films

Queens World Film Festival Recap (2021)

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The 11th annual Queens World Film Festival wrapped up on Saturday, and we screened “Game Brunch” in it this year. This is my favorite local festival and I’ve written about it many times in the past. So I’m not going to say too much about it in general here, just the highlights of 2021.

Usually held in mid-March, last year’s festival was one of the first to pivot to a virtual version - and just a couple days before the festival was meant to start. They weren’t able to create much of an experience with such short notice, but I appreciate that they didn’t cancel and that I was able to enjoy the full lineup online (and receive nice feedback on “Affliction” from other filmmakers who watched online as well). This year, they did a hybrid version, which included their usual kick-off trailer party a few weeks before the official start of the festival (which Kelsey attended with me), and then simultaneous screenings happening on a virtual platform and live at different venues around Queens.

Because of limited capacity, they didn’t have their usual MOMI and Kaufman Astoria theater venues (aside from their opening and closing night films at MOMI), but instead used more social-distance friendly event spaces, including our old IndieWorks venue, The Local. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t attend any in-person screenings besides my own because of two reasons. One, all the venues require masks and, while I strongly believe in the need to continue wearing masks indoors (unless they’re verifying vaccination status) to protect venue staff, I also strongly dislike wearing a mask while trying to watch something because it fogs up my glasses. And two, Queens World overlapped with the virtual runs of Blackbird Film Festival and Chattanooga Film Festival, (the latter’s program was especially enticing) and I was on a mission to watch as much as possible from all three programs; so watching online from my couch where I could hop back and forth between virtual platforms was the ideal way to “attend” all three festivals. So for this reason, I can’t speak to how the live festival went as a whole. But I really appreciate the team for taking on the challenge of essentially having two festivals running at once and accommodating all comfort levels.

“Game Brunch” first screened online on Thursday, July 1st, in the evening. One filmmaker reached out after to tell me how much she loved it, which was a sweet surprise. Then the following night, Ryan joined me for the live screening at the Local. Since it was starting at 9pm and a rainy evening, I was worried it’d be completely empty. But there were 30 people in attendance, which included one filmmaker whose film was also screening, the family members of another screening film’s director who couldn’t be there, and some other filmmakers whose films weren’t in the block. To be kind of frank, I found the placement of my film in this particular block to be a bit baffling. It was a strong group of films but all were very dark and serious. And while “Game Brunch” definitely plays with horror through its music and suspense, it’s completely for laughs (I’ve been referring to it as a fantastical farce). If the other films were dark but heightened genre films, I’d get it but the “Horrible Happenings” block was straight drama with horror elements. It was focused on the very real horrors of the world and was filled with a lot of trauma. So my silly film being spliced in the middle of some serious social commentary was a jarring experience. When the film started, I could tell the audience was unsure whether or not it was meant to be funny because of how nothing before had any intended laughs, so they were sort of stifling their laughter . But once people realized it was very much a comedy, the audience let loose and laughed a ton. The sound quality was great, since the front bar was fairly empty, and it looked great up on the big white wall. I enjoyed experiencing it with the audience and hearing the beats that made people chuckle the most.

The Q&A moderator did a nice job personalizing questions for me and the other filmmaker in attendance. Afterwards, I got a bunch of nice comments from the crowd about how “hilarious” it was; and there was an especial appreciation for how much “character” the film had in its use of sound. I think people were particularly grateful for how lighthearted it was amongst so many heavy pieces.

All in all, it was a nice night. And I’m glad I also got to enjoy so much of the lineup via the virtual version. I look forward to experiencing the festival in its full glory again in future years.

-Christina

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Blackbird Film Festival Recap (2021)

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I haven’t written a festival recap in over a year! I did write this blog post with highlights of our Q&A’s from Affliction’s virtual run; and I did write this twitter thread about the good side of my virtual fest experiences over the last year. But last weekend screening Game Brunch at Blackbird Film Festival was my first time screening in front of a live crowd since November 2019, so here I am back to recapping! (Thanks to vaccines!)

I don’t want this post to be too long because I feel like it could turn into a stream of consciousness about 2020 and the pandemic we’re still living in. Plus, I’ve talked about my love for Blackbird in my 2018 and 2019 recaps. So I’m just going to share the highlights of my 2021 experience under these pics from the weekend.

  • The festival was held in person from Thursday, June 17th through Sunday, the 20th, via outdoor tent screenings during the day and drive-in screenings at night. It then went virtual from the 21st through 30th. I really appreciate the festival sticking with an outdoor setting because of the concerns I expressed in my IndieWorks Update regarding venue staff safety, an ambiguous honor system in terms of being vaccinated/going maskless, and potentially more contagious variants. I also appreciate the fact that the fest chose to continue offering a virtual option as well, to give more attention to the films beyond the small group of people able to attend in person.

  • I attended with Kelsey, Dani (who acts in the film), and my husband Justin. Because it was being held at a beautiful lodge instead of at the typical university, we decided to make a real vacation out of it - spending time eating out (for the first time in over a year) and enjoying nature (also for the first time in a year), instead of binging films - as I tend to do at festivals. I loved the weekend for this reason, but it also meant I didn’t get to watch as many films and participate in filmmaker meetups as much as I would’ve liked. (Thankfully, I was able to make up for that via the virtual version over the last week. The program was very strong and thoughtful, as usual!)

  • We were able to attend the evening kick-off party and morning movie trivia and we had a blast with the trivia especially.

  • Screening in a tent was fun and felt comfortable for going maskless but also not ideal for picture and audio quality. A white tent kept it cool in the sun but also kept the room pretty bright, so “Game Brunch” didn’t look the way I’d hoped for the audience to see it. And the tent let some noise pollution in, which thankfully wasn’t traffic since we were in the woods - but there was music and chatter from people exploring the (cute but too close) craft fair the festival had also organized. So I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed. However, it was still so nice to be able to experience the film in front of an audience. It was not only my first time doing so in general in over a year, it was the first time seeing “Game Brunch” with strangers at all. I had forgotten how nerve-racking that experience is! But once people started laughing, I was loving it. There were 30 people there; it seemed to be primarily other filmmakers and their families. Considering the volume issues, it’s hard to say whether or not all the context leading to the punchline communicated, but the film got a lot of laughs in all the right places.

  • It wasn’t until I was standing up in front of everyone that I realized it had not only been a year since I last spoke live in front of a crowd, but it was my first time talking in person to even more than a handful of people at a time (and just a month a earlier, it had been a year since I spoke to literally anyone in person other than Justin)! So I was unsurprisingly anxious and realized while awkwardly introducing myself that I need to work on finding my public speaking groove again. (I had definitely grown comfortable in my zoom speaking & teaching zone, where I could be seated in lounge pants and surrounded by my cats and all the various beverages I could want.) Despite my initial unease though, the Q&A was nice. It was moderated by IndieWorks alum Stacey Maltin, who did a great job picking up on the nuances of each of the films. I look forward to finding my groove again and doing more speaking at other live festivals later this year.

  • I got a few nice comments about how amazing the cast chemistry was; and one guy told me it was exactly his type of humor and his favorite of the festival. Also, an elderly woman told me she didn’t understand my film but she thanked me for seeing my vision through - which was endearing and oddly sweet.

  • I was excited to experience my first drive-in but it unfortunately got rained out the night we planned to go. The festival was able to quickly pivot and secure a screening room inside the lodge to screen the night’s films, though. We ended up grabbing dinner while that was being organized, but it looked like a major success from their photos. Overall, the festival staff did a wonderful job making this strange year easing back in a success. They provided a lot of opportunities to safely connect with other filmmakers and experience other local artists through live music and things like the craft fair I mentioned. It was a lovely weekend “in the sticks” (as Upstate-born Justin would say).

  • This post was still pretty long - sorry!

-Christina

Local Vegan Treat:

  • Everything at Brix is delicious!

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Busy June for Game Brunch!

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You have three opportunities to see our short film “Game Brunch” this month: Blackbird Film Festival, Queens World Film Festival, and Chattanooga Film Festival!

  • First up is always fun Blackbird Film Festival in Cortland, NY, which is happening via drive-in & tent from June 17th through 20th, and then online the following week. “Game Brunch” is in the Making Friends block in both, which screens at 10am on Saturday the 19th in-person, and then available on demand in their virtual cinema all week.

  • Then our local favorite Queens World Film Festival kicks off on June 23rd and runs through July 3rd. It's also doing a hybrid model with simultaneous online and in-person screenings. “Game Brunch” is in the Horrible Happenings block, which screens virtually on July 1st at 9pm and then in-person on July 2nd at 9pm.

  • And finally Chattanooga Film Fest in Tennessee, which runs during that same window, June 24th through 29th and will be happening completely online. “Game Brunch” is in the CFF Salutes Your Shorts blocks.

Each fest has a different vibe with a variety of panels and extra events beyond the screenings, and have put our film in a different thematic block. Take your pick for which suits your interests best!