The Video Race is Coming!

Many years ago, Laura Neitzel attended a retreat and returned with a new idea for VideoFest. It was a big hit. It was easier to make a short film with new digital formats. From the beginning, it was a successful venture. The first year, we raced as part of the Dallas Video Festival, but we had way more teams sign up than we had time in the schedule, so the program ran long.

After that, we moved it to a separate event at the Angelika Theater, where it thrived for many years. Many high school and college students competed; there were many bands and professional filmmakers. One team shot 16 mm film, wrote an original song, and recorded in a club, all in one day! Friendships were made, friends became creative partners, and films were made.

Here is a link to a TV segment on the race.

One of the great parts of the race is that it gets artists in gear, and it comes with a great excuse: what do you want? I only had 24 hours. But that excuse, and the chance to spend 24 hours focusing solely on making a film, allows for taking chances, which often leads to good cinema.

Anyone with a camera and nerve can enter. Media makers from elementary-school kids to professional filmmakers can compete in this event.

Requires only 24 hours, creativity, motivation, easy-to-come-by equipment, and a small fee that enables the Video Association of Dallas, a non-profit organization, to make this event happen.

This year, we are making some major changes. Instead of dropping off your films at midnight, they will be entered (with a timestamp) on a website, so there is no need to rush to make the deadline at the theater.

The categories this year are: High School Students, College Students, One Man Band, Old Enough to Know Better, and AI.

There are small tweaks; the really big change is the awards. Instead of a plaque or trophy, this year the winning team in each category will receive a $500 gift card from B&H Photo in NY.

The registration website is not up yet, but it will be soon. This is a new process, and we need to figure it all out, but I think you will love it. Until the site is up, make sure you read our weekly newsletter for updates.

Your task (if you accept it) for today is to build your team!

This will be fun!

If you know someone who should do the race, pass the info along.

This week I have two films to let you know about.

This Friday at 7:30pm, there will be the only screening of the film “Waves” at the Violet Crown Theater. I think this played in Fort Worth, but it has not played here. Jeffrey Brown, who is an expert on Czech cinema, is bringing it here as part of his Czech That Film Texas.

The film is based on a true story of the journalists of Czechoslovak Radio during the August 21, 1968, Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. The screening is in respectful recognition of the events of 1968 and the Dallas premiere in partnership with local Czech groups Dallas Sokol and the Czech school.

See you there!

“The Rivals of Amziah King” is opening in several theaters across this town and across the country. It is directed by Andrew Patterson, whose first film, “The Vast of Night,” has become a minor cult hit. The film features one of Matthew McConaughey’s best performances since “Dazed and Confused.” The narrative and genre keep shifting, but throughout, there is great, joyous music, plenty of beekeeping, and revenge. I don’t think I have enjoyed a film as much in a long time.

Spacy, Dallas’ micro cinema, just celebrated its 3^rd birthday. They now have a membership program. This Tuesday, they have a free screening of “Aventurera,” which I have not seen but looks interesting. This film is co-presented by the Latin America Film Festival of Dallas (which will be in early Sept.). On Wednesday, they are showing a series of short films!

The Texas Theater is showing “The Samurai and the Prisoner” a few times. This is a Kurosawa film but not Akira, nor related to him. Kiyoshi Kurosawa has made some great films, including “Cure” and “Cloud” (both of them are on the Criterion Channel)

Have a great week and get that filmmaking band back together!

-Bart

Howdy,

The recent headlines coming out of the semi-annual Disney fan convention might have you feeling like you stepped back in time. Announcements included “X-Men,” “Frozen,” “Coco,” “Zootopia,” “Tangled,” “Incredibles,” and “Lilo & Stitch.” Aside from a few announcements of new animated films like “Clay” which will be entirely computer-generated to mimic the look of claymation, everything was a sequel to an already successful franchise.

Of course this is Disney’s own convention, a weekend of news and updates where D23 Gold Members (plans range from $49.99 for the essential plan up to $329.99 for the complete plan) pay about a hundred dollars a day to learn about the new movies, shows, and theme park rides. It’s an event made for the most ardent Disney fans who want to sit in a stadium and watch former CEO Bob Iger get a lifetime achievement award, or Legend Award in Disney speak.

I’m not immune to the allure of Disney culture. One of the buzziest reveals was for “Kingdom Hearts 4,” a video game series where character inspired by the very popular Japanese role-playing games “Final Fantasy” cross over with all of Disney’s animated and live action IP. If you ever wanted to know what Goofy looked like in Tokyo street style, boy do I have the game for you.

It’s not just Disney’s own games that are adding in more of their characters. After a billion-dollar investment in Epic Games (about a 9% ownership stake in the company) more characters and worlds are coming to the flagship game “Fortnite.” Characters from across Marvel, “Kingdom Hearts” and Star Wars have all come into the game. Currently, an entire mode is based around Springfield, rendered in a passable 3D version of “The Simpsons” simple art style. They are taking these themed crossovers into the real world too, with exclusive Star Wars themed “skins” or costumes coming to the game, that can only be unlocked by riding a Han Solo spaceship attraction at the parks. This LA times article makes it clear that the ride itself was rendered with tools created by Epic Games. The virtual world and physical ones continue to blur, until Mark Zuckerberg has everyone in virtual reality, Googles, and our day-to-day lives become branded content for the Disney machine.

At the Modern this weekend we are showing the new indie comedy “The Floaters” about a Jewish summer camp. Check out the trailer below and have a great week.

-Elijah