gungho girl

Smokey & Brian prep the AV for the evening

This Wednesday marks the third week of Wednesday night indies. The first night started out strong. We had a large crowd of spectators. Though only two filmmakers (besides myself) showed films it was nice to have a large viewing audience and, just as I had hoped, after the screenings the filmmakers sat together, discussed their work, their experiences, and filmmaking in general. Those that showed films that night expressed a real appreciation for the indie night and hope that this venue continues. This made me feel that perhaps we were in fact hitting the right notes with this idea. Now it’s just a matter helping it grow.

That first evening I met actor and artist Serena Toxicat. She didn’t show any work that first night but promised to bring a horror film she was in to screen for the following week. I also asked the filmmakers to bring a filmmaking friend or two in hopes of increasing the number of films to screen and broaden the indie night network. Well, that next week, Serena was the only one to attend and spectatorship was low. I soon discovered something truly great about Serena. Despite the low turn out she was determined “the show must go on” and we screened her two pieces.

The first was a horror film titled Spek’ ter. When Serena told me she was going bring a horror flick, for some reason, I was under the impression it was going to be one of those campy teen thrillers. Uh. No. It was nothing of the sort. In fact, the story was quite disturbing. It details the suicide of a morbidly gothic artist. I was impressed with the storytelling and production quality of this short but it reinforced for me why I am NOT a horror genre fan.  Spek’ ter holds it own as an indie short. We will be showing it again in the future when the director is available to attend and attendance of filmmakers and spectators improves. Serena also screened her artist video, Propogandiva, which is one of the pieces currently on exhibit at Blow Gallery in Berkeley. Her work will be on display until June 7th. Check it out!

screening of Propogandiva

The third week Serena brought a film friend with her, John Ashton Keller. That night we watched John’s short, titled Bumped, as well as a repeat of Spek’ ter and Propogandiva, and a couple experimental films I shot back in the day. Afterwards, we discussed ways in which can increase the popularity of the event and again get more local filmmakers involved. It takes time to build a network and focus.

Every Wednesday I envision a full house (like what we had that first indie night) and the schedule for the evening is packed with films from various artists. The last couple of weeks haven’t met my expectations, however, these are the seeds that need the nurturance required for a full harvest. So on that note I continue to tend the garden and move this project forward.

If you’re a Bay Area filmmaker (or perhaps passing through) come show your work or if a filmmaker you are not, just come check out the screening.

Every Wednesday at 6:30pm
beginning April 29th
at the Café of the Dead
located at 3208 Grand Ave
(next to the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland)
For more information:
(510) 931 7945
http://www.gunghogirl.com/cafedeadscreening/
cafedeadscreening@gmail.com

Cafe of the Dead (510) 325 3113