By: Michael Joe Krainak
Issue: 7.04

Hollywood and indie filmmakers, several with Nebraska roots and ties, will once again be the main attraction at the fifth annual Omaha Film Festival and Conference, which opens this weekend and continues through March 14.

The filmmakers conference, held at Creighton University March 6-7 will feature such panelists as Omahan actor Chris Klein and writer/director Brian Miller of Klein’s current film, “Caught in the Crossfire.” Other notable speakers offering advice will include Oscar-winning editor Mike Hill, writer Dan Petrie, Jr., director Donald Petrie, writer/director Nik Fackler and producer Dana Altman.

Along with the 19 features and documentaries and 40-plus short films in competition, which will be screened at Great Escape 16 Theaters, March 8-14, OFF will also host special screenings of the Fackler/Altman production, “Lovely, Still” this Saturday and “The Greatest,” a 2009 Sundance Grand Jury Award winner. Film schedules, summaries and additional information can be found online at omahafilmfestival.org.

But while the above get virtually all the media attention while increasing OFF’s regional notoriety and credibility, one group of unheralded filmmakers will continue to show to SRO crowds, and that is just fine with the festival’s directors, Jeremy Decker, Jason Levering and Marc Longbrake.

The three began OFF in 2005 as a DIY effort because “no one else was doing it in Nebraska,” Longbrake said, so it is no surprise that the competition of Nebraska short films plays to packed screenings. “We began OFF not only to bring quality independent film to Nebraska,” he continued, “but to provide an opportunity for local filmmakers to learn more about their craft and get their films shown.

“We’re not doing anything different other than improve our conference and visibility. Each year attendance has increased and so does the quality of the films submitted. Omaha and Nebraska have really accepted us.”

Sponsorship by WOWT, recent interviews on NPR and an increased presence on the Internet would seem to bear this out, but does Longbrake’s claim of “increased quality” extend to the local short films, a major objective of this film fest? You’ll have to judge for yourself, especially as to the features and docs on display, but after reviewing the Nebraska shorts for the past five years, this critic can safely say, with some reservation, that work has significantly improved, and that is encouraging for local emerging artists and their audience.

Before we look at 10 of the 11 locally submitted shorts in competition, seven Nebraskan filmmakers submitted to questions by City Weekly regarding their film background, experience and aspirations, especially at OFF 2010. To a person, each entrant hopes their film will create a buzz that extends beyond the anticipated “family and friends.” Their motives are as varied as their films.

The youngest in this group is Millard West Senior Jordan Fountain (“Mindset of the Rolling One”) who said, “I don’t have that much experience, but I get better with every film I make. I just entered because (of the) motivation to make another film.” Next year Fountain hopes to take classes in digital cinema at Metro Community College.

Perhaps the most experienced filmmakers in this field are Holdredge native Michael Tringe (“Shattercane”) and Omahan Max Mentzer (“F. Word Pizza”) who have finished their formal education. Tringe works at a film finance company in California and Mentzer is a local freelance filmmaker specializing in comedies. Both share a hope that OFF will provide a network of opportunity for future projects above all.

“This will be my second film at OFF,” Mentzer said. “It’s a great outlet for local filmmakers wanting to have their film seen and get that refresher that there is support out there.” Tringe agrees but hopes that OFF’s recognition might help him “gain financing for my first feature film. If anyone has any connections to people who are interested in helping emerging filmmakers with their next project, I’d love to meet them.”

Several entrants are products of, or are currently enrolled in, UNL’s Film and New Media School including Josh Larsen (“At Sixes and Sevens”), Alex Jeffery (“Set in Stone”), Josie Azzam (“Jana”) and Nick Oberlander (“Vindication”). All of them benefited from their education and collaboration as their film credits often feature many similar names and familiar faces.

While Jeffery is still at UNL and is content to “milk the local scene for all it’s worth,” Larsen and Azzam are aware of Nebraska’s limited filmmaking support as the former plans to leave the state for New York or Los Angeles to continue his career, and the latter is already a grad student at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

“Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to follow my dreams in Nebraska,” Larsen said,” and it will remain that way for any aspiring filmmaker so long as Nebraska remains one of only eight states without tax incentives.” Azzam laments this as well because she says, “now that I am working in L.A., I miss the freedoms of creating in Nebraska, which is far more friendly and accessible to young and penniless talent. Nebraska filmmaking … is not only enjoyable, it is far more accommodating. OFF gives the kind of exposure these films deserve.”

Another participant, four times in all, who has taken advantage of his local (UNO) film-related education and experience (video production) is Mike Machian (“Ghosts of Guantanamo”). As with many of the others, OFF is more about participation for him than competition.

“Just getting in and seeing how an audience reacts is a victory itself,” Machian said. “OFF is a great way to get feedback and validation for your work. You also get the opportunity to hopefully get involved in each other’s work.”

Though this year’s entrants admit to a wide variety of filmmaking favorites and possible influences, perhaps Jeffery speaks for all when he says a good film “spawns from a good story … and a good director to shape the piece … it must have a certain polish. I don’t think you can record a good story with bad actors on handycam in your backyard.” Not bad criteria for a quick critique at their own films which follows in three tiers of overall quality.

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In the top tier are four films that mostly lived up to their promise and premise with sound production values and professionalism. They include: “F. Word Pizza,” a witty satire of a man who has never held or expressed an opinion, made in a pseudo self-examination, investigative style. Though an extending comedy sketch, ribald and R-rated, this well-made quirky alt film will resonate as a story of a man whose first opinion is a boner.

“Set in Stone,” visually arresting and shot in a manner and tone resembling director Wes Anderson, an admitted influence, this story of two brothers facing their mother’s tombstone as well as their own does more with its material than most in this category. Essentially an extended duet-acting scene, this comic vignette knows its limits, is nicely underwhelming and, as a result, is larger than the sum of its two parts.

With “Jana,” in what may be the best film in this series, the director has created a realistic human drama that doesn’t wear its emotion on its sleeves. A Czech family doctor administers to the needs of her poor countrymen while barely able to provide for her family. Shot in a doc-like, unselfconscious style befitting its theme, the director lets the action speak for itself with the aid of a red book bag.

“Shattercane,” nearly done in by too many pregnant pauses and an anti-climactic ending, this rural, family values tale of a young man who fears he doesn’t belong “there” anymore, nevertheless benefits from fine acting and production values. The director knows how to make a good film, but the viewer may find it too glossy, too carefully made, particularly for the film’s edgy subject matter.

The second tier contains three good films just a notch below in story, continuity, or production:

“Melodramas” presents three disparate silent, but musical films, that is, three whimsical vignettes, driven by their individual visual style and a classical march, etude or waltz, and less by story. These otherwise silent “music videos” are cleverly made and admirable, but not particularly engaging.

“Sixes and Sevens” works hard, maybe too hard for its audience’s empathy, with the plight of a young estranged couple torn apart when the husband suffers a sudden head trauma and memory loss. Well-acted, nicely shot and edited, it would benefit from more drama and a less easily resolved and abrupt “climax.”

“Vindication,” the story of one man’s pyrotechnical revenge on another responsible for the death of his lover, wastes no time in engaging its audience with strong editing and visuals in support of its dramatic premise, but is a bit let down by its acting and prosaic dialogue. The film tries to cram too much story and feeling into too short a time.

The third tier features films with more promise than realization or unity:

“Ghosts of Guantanomo” has a clever premise, a political satire on waterboarding and other forms of “non-torture,” but its sudden shift in tone at the end may only add to your nightmares of seeing poor Elmo waterboarded.“

Mindset of the Rolling One” reveals a young talent with a flair for the visual non-sequitor in this skateboarding take on “The Red Balloon” that proves that the illogical is often most interesting. It will be interesting to see what this filmmaker does with a film of any length whose closing lives up to its promise.

“Gaming by Design” is an R-rated, hyperbolic, entertaining mess of video game madness and genre-bending that benefits from its stylized digital effects, strobing color and thumping sound track. It’s a pot-boiler that ultimately boils down to too much steam and too little substance, but dude, hey, you’ll have fun anyway.

Omaha Film Festival 2010
March 6-14
Various times and prices
Great Escape Stadium 16
7440 Crown Point Ave.
omahafilmfestival.org

FROM:
http://www.omahacityweekly.com/article/2010/03/03/lead-story-showing-off