“I believe that it’s better to be looked over than it is to be overlooked.” –Mae West
Dear Milwaukee Film,
I loved your Film Festival! Really couldn’t have had a better time! Since the film fest is more of a celebration for me than Christmas is (and since Santa no longer responds to my letters), I thought I’d send you my Christmas list instead.
1. Oriental Theater: We love you, too! We also don’t mind paying for food instead of sneaking it in. Could you throw us a bone during these two weeks and stock something mildly nutritious? Maybe partner with Beans and Barley to sell fresh fruit? Wraps? Burritos? We promise we won’t make a mess. (Thank you for adding beer, by the way!)
2. The Home Sweet Home short film program with Ken Wardrop was one of the best festival screenings I have ever attended. Sure, he’s probably the most charming filmmaker any of us will ever meet, but the format was fabulous, too: a few short films, some talking, a few more films, some talking, etc. I would love to see more of these — I would make a point to attend all of them, in fact.
3. I understand that you don’t always know which filmmakers will be in town when the program books go to press. But is there a way to advertise which filmmakers will be in attendance? It’s such a special experience to ask them questions after seeing their films, and I got the impression people aren’t aware of their opportunities to do so.
4. I am psyched about the Take One children’s portion of the festival and would have loved to attend. Is there any way you could show a couple later in the day as well? A number of people mentioned they wanted to see the shorts, just not at 10 a.m.
5. I’m also willing to admit I’m an anomaly in that I like rowdy movies and am rarely able to stay awake in films after 10 p.m. Any chance more of the midnight screenings could have an earlier screening time, too? (Clearly I want everything to start between 3 and 7 p.m.)
6. Please add another East Side theater, if only the Downer. People want to run around to different theaters: it’s part of the fun! But running around between Mequon and the Oriental is damned near impossible.
7. I miss having the Milwaukee Show on Thursday night, but I’m willing to forgive/forget if the local films aren’t programmed against one another. We want to support each other, and this year’s schedule made it very difficult.
8. Brent Gohde and Stamm Media did a fabulous job with the opening night party; keep them! Hire Kara Mulrooney and I to do more. (At 3 a.m., Lars Knudsen was totally on board with this idea.) Oh, and a few more bartenders wouldn’t hurt.
9. Speaking of parties, let’s talk about brunch. Kara, Drew, and I threw a hell of a party Saturday night, and many filmmakers celebrated until 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in the morning. I love the idea of brunch, I’m a big fan of eggs in general, and that fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice mimosa rocked my morning, but on fewer than four hours of sleep, the whole thing felt a bit like punishment for the night before. Waiting around for announcements nearly killed me. Perhaps a start time of noon?
10. Please invite Bruce Springsteen next year. I know it’s a long shot, but a girl can dream, right? Alternately, I’d settle for Kelly Reichardt. But really, I’m just rounding out this list with a No. 10.
Love you!
Susan
My Closing Film Festival Stats:
Films seen during the festival: 11
Additional films screened for committees or previously seen: 13
Number of these I absolutely adored: 6
And abhorred: 3
Number I need to see again because they involved glowing spirit monkeys: 1
Total pounds lost: 4
Total crushes gained: 2
Pet fish obtained: 1
Days she lived: 5
Total enjoyment on a scale of 1 to 10 despite the fish debacle: 11
