New event to feature six works from regional, worldwide filmmakers
For those who enjoy a night at the movies, the On the Edge Film Festival will bring six short-length and feature-length films to local audiences.
Diane Adams, Falls Public Library director and festival organizer, said she was very pleased with the quality and quantity of the first-time festival entries. For this first run, Adams said all of the submissions will be shown.
“It’s been exciting,” she said. “We didn’t have any idea what the response would be.”
The show will start earlier than previously anticipated on Thursday because of the number of entries received. “The Last Days of Extraordinary Lives,” directed by Randy Bacon, will be shown at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
The video documents the final days of more than a dozen hospice patients in and around the Ozarks. Adams said she scheduled this 90-minute documentary separate from the evening selections because of its heavy subject matter and because of time constraints.
Films continue Thursday night beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The first selection will be a TED Talk called “Use Art to Turn the World Inside Out” by anonymous French street artist “JR.” TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and is a series of conferences on those topics as well as the www.ted.com video website. “JR” uses his camera to give a view of the world by pasting photos of human faces across massive canvasses such as bridges and other public spaces.
“This talk delivered on March 3, 2011, talked about some of what we hope to accomplish with this festival,” Adams said.
Two short, regional submissions will be shown following the TED Talk. “Let Peace Shine” by Duluth artist Wendy Grethen “takes peace and shine literally in a fun little movie,” Adams said.
Falls High School student Rachel Adams’ short film, “The Life of a Relationship Through TXT Message,” will be shown third.
The feature film for the evening will be “Sweet Little Lies.” Bess, a trailer-park teen, seeks out to find her father after her mother’s death. Bess steals a car and takes a journey from Kansas to Las Vegas with friends. Adams notes that this film contains some language and situations that parents may not find appropriate for young children. “Sweet Little Lies” is directed by William J. Saunders.
The program continues at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Backus with the short film “Murdoch.” The comedy traces the story of a misfit named Alex who is obsessed with a fictional western movie character named Murdoch. The character becomes the teen’s conscience and presses him until Alex is faced with an ultimate test. The film was written and directed by students at Southwestern Assemblies of God University.
The two regional shorts will be shown again following “Murdoch.”
The feature film Friday night is called “Johnny.” The movie follows Dr. Drew Carter, who lost his son in a car accident while his wife was driving. His wife becomes emotionally distant to him and his daughter. When another doctor sends Drew a leukemia patient named Johnny, he decides to bring the boy home against his wife’s wishes. “Johnny” was written and directed by D. David Morin.
Each evening will conclude with the audience voting for their favorite among the submissions. Each night, prizes will be awarded to the short and long films selected by the audience. The submission fees will become prize money for the winners.
The On the Edge Film Festival is a joint project of the International Falls Public Library and the Backus Community Center. Adams says she hopes the films will be made available to the public through a special collection at the Falls Public Library by the end of the year.
Adams says she hopes to entice the community to come to the festival with the low admittance price of any donation for the Falls Hunger Coalition.
She is already looking forward to doing the festival again next year, and hopes the community will be encouraged to make their own films after seeing this year’s selections.
“It gives you a different perspective on the world to be behind the camera,” she said. “I hope this inspires the community to make films.”
To that end, the library will host a filmmaking class May 14-16. Those interested in the class should visit the library for more details and to register. The library has two cameras and a computer with video-editing software available for use by budding filmmakers.
For more information on the festival or the class, contact Adams at 283-8051.
If you go:
What: On the Edge Film Festival
When: Thursday, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Who: The community is encouraged to view short and feature-length films
Where: Backus Community Center auditorium
Admission: Donation for the Falls Hunger Coalition
