Reconnecting with humanity, a power outage, irrational filmmakers, projection problems and a narrowly averted brawl: The 2007 Longbaugh Film Festival came and went this past weekend with a bittersweet mix of highs and lows.
For five years Longbaugh has worked to provide a showcase of high-quality independent film and a nurturing environment for local filmmakers. The high points of this year's festival can be measured by the success of several films, especially Darius Goes West (see Scoop, page 26) and Brian Lindstrom's Finding Normal, the winners of the Best Documentary and Best Local Production prizes, respectively. Finding Normal, a documentary about the Mentor Recovery program, stands out as one of the finest films to come out of Portland in years, presenting an emotionally complex portrait of the people who populate this city. Meanwhile, SoCal filmmaker Mickey Blaine and his wife Nicole took home Best Feature for Commit, an ambitious, dialogue-driven tale of ill-fated lovers, told in three continuous takes.
The forces that worked to ruin Longbaugh included a power outage on Friday that shut down the Laurelhurst, sending disappointed audiences home early. But the damage wrought by downed transformers didn't compare to the ruckus caused by local actor Ryan Deal and his posse of friends, all seemingly intoxicated at 2 in the afternoon. In Longbaugh's five-year history there has never been an incident as negative as the confrontation Deal and his foul-mouthed entourage of self-absorbed, self-important hooligans started when they were barred from a sold-out screening.
Despite problems and setbacks, the 2007 Longbaugh Film Festival proved once again that there are amazing films lingering in the shadows, just waiting to be discovered. As is the case with most of films screened this year—including Darius Goes West, Commit and Finding Normal—most don't have distribution deals, making it hard for people to see these incredible works outside of the festival circuit. Some of the films may show up in theaters or on DVD, but in order for independent cinema to have a fighting chance, people must be active participants and seek out the films that exist on the fringes. Go to festivals. Buy DVDs from filmmakers who distribute their films themselves. And don't get drunk and try to jump festival directors.
I'll start by saying that I love nothing more than high school essays written by duschbags complaining about "The Man" but in this case red flags are abundant. There were a lot of people at that screening and I bet you anything most of the people there saw things the way Dave did. There were a gaggle of duschbags reeking of Jager and they all did seem like, from a bystanders POV, a "foul-mouthed entourage of self-absorbed, self-important hooligans." It was an overdramatic embarrassment to themselves and the movie they were supposedly there to "support." I am saddened for the director of the film, my friend Nick Hagen, and the Producer, my friend C.K. Lichenstein.
The few of you that cast the ominous shadow over this otherwise note worthy film should be embarrassed and remorseful. Try and find any shred of dignity you might have inside you and ask for forgiveness. If not for yourselves...then for the man who spent countless hours slaving over an editing machine to bring the movie to the masses that faithful day. He deserves your respect and your remorse...and so does Dave. Believe it or not he didn't ask for you guys to be losers...he just reacted to it.
My experience was great because of a little pomp and mugging for the camera. Maybe someone should learn something from it all.
While i'd like to apologise to Dave Walker, Willamette Weekly and the Longbaugh film festival.. I would also like to thank them for giving us (Portland filmmakers) a chance to showcase our talent. I feel that portland is a very talented town when it comes to filmmakers. I also feel that with every negative outcome we can bring 10 times as many positive ones.
I would like to move forward with a positive out look, And perhaps even the possibility to befriend those that I insulted. I'm really a decent guy, I promise..
Thanks Longbaugh and I look forward to next year..