UNCW student attends Orlando Film Festival

Conner Keesling | Staff Writer

Over the weekend of Oct. 19, I had the pleasure of attending the Orlando Film Festival with my girlfriend and friend as filmmakers. A film that I directed, “Complimentary Breakfast,” was screening in the “Love & Heartache” short film block, which took place on Friday night at 9:30 p.m.

The Orlando Film Festival takes place in Downtown Orlando inside the fabulous Cobb Plaza Cinema Café 12. Due to school and classes, we were only able to attend Friday and Saturday.

Even though I was only there for a short period of time, I had a great experience and was able to see some interesting films.

We arrived at the festival early on Friday to receive our passes, but also to make sure we were there to attend a special presentation from LAIKA Studios, the animation company known for films such as, “Coraline,” “Paranorman,” and this year’s “Kubo and the Two Strings.” Mark Shapiro Marketing/Brand Management led the presentation.

Shapiro talked about LAIKA Studios as a company and how important it is for them to tell engaging stories. He gave everyone attending the presentation a quick overview of their pre-production and production processes. Showing photos of early concept drawings, to fully formed animatronics, Shapiro gave a spectacular look inside an innovative company.

Shapiro talked about the ways in which LAIKA feels that it is important for them as company to show the public how they do what they do. They like to show people how certain aspects of their films are made so they can become educated on how stop-motion animation works. They also believe in showing other aspiring filmmakers and animators how they execute specific film-making techniques so others can emulate them.

Directly following the LAIKA presentation, we attended a screening of the film “Occupy, Texas,” directed by Jeff Barry. Gene Gallerano, who also wrote the film, stars as Beau Baker, an ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protester who returns to Texas following his parents’ death to care for his two younger sisters.

Newcomer Catherine Elvir steals the show as Beau’s younger sister Arden. Elvir is authentic and funny throughout the film. Considering it is Elvir’s first onscreen role, it makes her performance that much more impressive.

Later that Friday, we attended the screening of “Auld Lang Syne,” a film about a married couple who invite their closest friends over for New Year’s Eve, creating a night of drama and comedy. The film was funded on the crowd funding website Seed & Spark and filmed in a cabin in West Virginia. The performances are the strongest element of “Auld Lang Syne” and lift the comedy of the screenplay to worthy heights.  

That Friday night I attended the “Love & Heartache” shorts block and got to see some great shorts. “OverAgain” was one of my favorite shorts of the block. The film is a collection of memories that the main character has of his previous relationship. Within those memories the audience sees how his relationship fell apart. The cinematography is gorgeous, and even though the film is fairly short, it packs an emotional punch.

On Saturday, we attended the “Kevin Smith Double Feature,” which was comprised of the films “Film Hawk” and “Shooting Clerks.” Being a giant fan of writer/director Kevin Smith, I knew that this was an event I did not want to miss.

“Film Hawk” kicked off the double feature in a strong way. The film is a documentary that focuses on the life and career of legendary producer and film consultant Bob Hawk. Hawk is credited with discovering Smith by attending a screening of Smith’s first ever feature “Clerks.”

Filmmakers JJ Garvine and Tai Parquet show Hawk’s extensive knowledge of film, his compassion for the people he works with and his love for film. The documentary is moving and immersive. “Film Hawk” should be watched by anyone who loves film and Hawk is someone who should definitely be known by more people.

Wrapping up the double feature, “Shooting Clerks” tells the story of the making of Smith’s indie hit “Clerks.” The film is quite fun for anyone who is a fan of “Clerks,” or Smith. It was great to see how Smith made a film that is now a cult classic.

“Shooting Clerks” is not out for cheap jokes or gags. It is clear that the filmmakers were out to try to tell Smith’s story as faithfully as they could as well as to entertain and make people laugh. “Shooting Clerks” succeeds in creating a funny and thoughtful biographical film. Later that night “Shooting Clerks” went on to win the Indie Spirit Award.

 I am so glad that I had the opportunity to attend the Orlando Film Festival this year. This was my first ever film festival as a director and I hope that it is not my last. Orlando Film Festival was a very good first film festival to be a part of. Even though it is a festival that is geared towards filmmakers, and as a result had light attendance from Orlando residents this year, this gave me a better opportunity to meet and talk with said filmmakers.

I look forward to more opportunities that will hopefully arise in the future.