On Saturday, after working the theater until 2am the night before, I was ready for movies! That was after sleeping until 11am. Ahhh lovely sleep. Before starting my 7pm volunteer shift I was able to catch 2 afternoon showings.

It’s All Gone Pete Tong was shown at a local night club that transforms for the film festival into it’s old role as a movie theater. With the disco ball rolling and the smell of stale cigarette smoke heavy on the air, the venue was the perfect location for this great film about a british DJ in Ibiza, Spain, who goes deaf through loud music and heavy partying. It has a nicely composed story arc, fun characters and a fair amount of whimsy. One of my favorites of the festival. And not because it features a brief cameo by one of my favorite DJs, Pete Tong.

What Remains of Us was the highest security film of the festival. It follows a canadian woman’s travel to Tibet, bringing a video recording of the Dali Lama. Because the film was made without the consent of the Chinese government and the people speaking in the film could be persecuted, our film festival was careful to make sure no recording devices were brought into the theater. The film had a powerful and moving message about persecution and the post-film speakers from the Free Tibet group were equally engaging.

During my shift I was able to watch most of one film: Head-On (I couldn’t find an “official” english site on this film). I didn’t enjoy this film nearly as much as I had thought I would. It came to a point in the film, about half way through, when I just knew nothing good was going to come of the story line. Two 3rd generation Turkish immigrants in Germany marry for convenience. They are 20+ years apart, both hospitalized for attempted suicide. At the half-way point of the movie you know they are either going to fall in love (ewww) or they are going to kill themselves or each other (such a downer). I wonder how much of the subtlety of this film was lost in translation.

Whew! I became totally consumed by the film festival, only emerging today, post festival, to drag myself to work, exhausted. I’m going to try to do brief recounts of how the last 3 days of festing have gone. It’s already hard to remember all the films I saw, all the people I met or re-met or ran into.

Film Fest Day Two

My friday night shift started at 8pm. The theater volunteer team consisted of a few of the same people from the night before. We were able to assign roles and get the theater in order in no time. We were charged with showing two films that night, both of the film makers for the films were in house and both showings included a Q&A session afterwards.

The first film, The Writer of O (Écrivain d’O), was a documentary about a French author writing under a pseudonym, who in the 50′s shocked the world with the erotic book, The Story of O. In 1994 the writer revealed her true name. The movie contained a fair amount of nudity and suggestion, only fitting for a film about erotica. There were some film patrons who were offended and others who really enjoyed it. I was only able to watch small pieces of the film, as other responsibilities called.

For second film, My Big Fat Independent Movie, the writer/film maker and the producers had a great time presenting their film. They even stood at the door, greeting patrons as they entered the theater. The movie was a spoof on 30 recent independent films. The crowd reaction seemed to be extreme love or hate. After the show, they led a Q&A session, inviting the crowd out drinking with them. It was a perfect late night event.

Last night I put on my official volunteer shirt (blue on blue this year), donned my official volunteer badge and headed to the theater to begin my 5pm-Midnight shift. This is my fourth year volunteering for the Wisconsin Film Festival and my first year working at one of the main theaters.

We showed two movies at my theater, The Real Dirt on Farmer John and Travelers and Magicians. Both shows sold out the 350 seat theater a month ago.

Before each show, the movie goers line-up outside, waiting to get good seats or to gamble on purchasing a rush ticket. My favorite task is to work the line, answering people’s questions, directing them to the right location and feeling their excitement about the movie they are about to see. There’s always familiar faces in the crowd, or friendly new people to meet.

For the first show, The Real Dirt on Farmer John, the press were everywhere. The film was shot in Wisconsin, about a real Wisconsin farmer, and for the Madison premiere, the film maker, the farmer and a whole community of the farmer’s friends were on hand. The line for people wanting tickets stretched down the block.

The second show was Travelers and Magicians, the first full length film shot in Bhutan and a part of this year’s series The Roof of the World: Films from the Himalayas. The crowd was quieter but more determined and expectant.

There was one old lady in the rush ticket line who had come solo, cane in hand, and seemed to be watching me with particular intensity through her large glasses. I stopped to chat with her. She told me she had just been to Bhutan in the fall and this film had been all the talk over there. She hoped she would get in to see how the movie rendition compared to real life.

Then she told me a story of how many years ago she had been in London for the opening period of The Phantom of the Opera. She had stood in a rush ticket line similar to the one she was in now, and waited. As she stood there, The Royals started arriving, including Princess Diana who pulled up in a black Jaguar. She said she couldn’t believe how tall Princess Diana was. Later, back at her hotel she enjoyed watching the tv coverage of the premiere, especially the accent of the British men describing the fashions.

We found this lady a free ticket, so she was able to see the movie. I caught-up with her afterwards. Her reaction, “The roads I was on in Bhutan were just as bad as the one’s in the movie and the landscape was just as incredible.”

I was so happy that we were able to facilitate her seeing the film, for free even. This is why volunteering at the film festival is so great. Tonight I work 8pm to 1am. Can’t wait to see what the night brings.