“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!” —All About Eve
This blog is mostly going to be about me. It will be about the Film Festival too, certainly, but filtered through my eyes and experiences, which basically still makes it all about me. I’m not one of those people who pretend to be unbiased. So let’s derail this train before it even gets on the tracks and make this blog all about everyone else and their excitement for the opening night party. What is it? Who designed it? In what ways will it make all your celluloid dreams come true?
The nuts and bolts:
Opening Night Film: Blue Valentine (starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams)
Showtimes: Mequon/Marcus Northshore – 6 p.m. or Oriental Theater – 7 p.m.
Admission is $10 or free with a film festival pass.
Opening Night Party at Discovery World
Admission is free with your Film Festival Blue Valentine ticket or festival pass. Otherwise, admission is $10 and includes two free drink tickets.
Doors: 8:30
Villagers: 9 p.m.
Four One Quartet: 10 – 11:30
Nation Beat: 11:30 – 12:30
DJs Jordan Lee and Nick Sanborn: 8:30 – 11:30
To recap — $10 gets you into the Milwaukee premiere of a film and the Film Festival’s opening night party where you’ll get to see great bands, and it includes two free drinks. This must be the best party value of the year. Anyway…
Brent Gohde of Cedar Block fame helped organized the event, and he is eager to see it come alive. “The Milwaukee Film Festival is definitely one of the coolest things this city has going for it, and Opening Night sets the tone. For 10 bucks you get to see a Mercury Prize nominee, one of the hottest bands in Brooklyn, and a quartet of some of the finest Milwaukee musicians, whose collective resume includes Collections of Colonies of Bees, Decibully, Volcano Choir, He Can Jog… Pret-ty cool. Throw in some cutting edge interactive technology, free food from Bartolotta restaurant group, and a gathering of filmmakers and Milwaukeeans who are making things happen just hanging out and making the scene. Only Milwaukee Film could pull off something like this on a Thursday night.”
(Brent hasn’t mentioned Villagers by name yet, so I will, as I’m pretty hot for that “Becoming a Jackal” song that’s all over 88.9 right now. I’ll include a link to the video below.)
Brent basically says this party is about excitement, excitement, excitement! “I don’t know anyone who isn’t completely stoked for at least a few films in this year’s program, and I really think the excitement is going to come through at this party. It’s all the best parts of Milwaukee on display and open to everyone.” He also mentions that they are trying to top last year’s event by including indoor and outdoor spaces, a Neroli relaxation area, dance areas, and the bands themselves. “There will be the laid-back indoor space where you can check out cool music, visuals, and exhibits… then there’s the show outside, which could be an event by itself. Radio Milwaukee brought Villagers in from Ireland for one of those shows you’ll regret missing. And Global Union is partnering to kick off its own festival with Nation Beat at the end of the night. There’s more food than last year, more bars, and more entertainment.” (Did I mention how psyched I am to see Villagers?)
Brent says he isn’t sure if he’s more excited to see the Four One Quartet play, or if they are to play the party. “Chris Rosenau (Collections of Colonies of Bees), Nick Sanborn (Decibully, Buffalo, Headlights, Made of Oak), Jim Schoenecker (CoCoBees, Volcano Choir), and Eric Schoster (He Can Jog) are going through a pile of screeners right now, picking out their favorite music and scenes from the films featured in MFF, and creating an evening-length performance of melodic improvisation based on those soundtracks for the Pilot House crowd, with accompanying visuals. It’ll follow Villagers, and precede Nation Beat, so you don’t need to miss a thing, and you can check out the entire party.”
Since Brent is one of the official voices of the party, I thought I’d ask some unofficial attendees what they’re looking forward to as well. Mark Metcalf, the actor most known for his one-named characters Neidermeyer (Animal House), The Master (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), The Maestro (Seinfeld), and The Mayor (Mad Men) has this to say about the opening night party: “That party is THE PARTY! I mean there is no other party. The Film Festival party will have the tightest women, the wackest music, and there’s going to be free rumaki or some kind of food and you can eat it all with your hands.” I first met Mark at an opening night party. I remember the conversation distinctly, but I won’t repeat it here because it doesn’t make me look very good. I’d had a couple and was wearing my potty mouth by that time of night.
The ever-generous Mark Foote of Flexible Films says his crew is looking forward to the party because, “This is the night we get to hear about the crimes and punishments, showmances and locationships, gorings and blood sucking of various kinds, happening with all the indie ‘players.’ Milwaukee and Wisconsin has a large, creative group of filmmakers, working in commercial areas by day, but as the weekend approaches, and the moon begins to rise, their true spirits are released, to reek havoc on the unsuspecting public.” (I wonder if he’s talking about last year’s award-winning filmmaker of “The Violinist” Vinnie Besasie. I’ve always suspected Vinnie must have a little American Werewolf in London in him, though I’ve never seen his dark side.)
Mark Foote adds, “The opening party is the high time before the next battle, where war tales are told from the likes of Blood Junkies and Modus Operandi hit men. We hear the latest about Resurrection Ferns and how they might relate to “The Funeral” or Gettin’ Grown. The party is all about making connections with our Milwaukee film family, and lamenting about the “Missed Connections” afforded us by the demise of our Wisconsin Film Incentives.” (Blood Junkie, directed by former-Milwaukeean Drew Rosas, and “The Funeral,” directed by film Professor Iverson White, are both screening this year, as is “Spare Change,” Milwaukee Film’s Collaborative Cinema short, which was directed by Gettin’ Grown’s Aaron Greer. Resurrection Ferns, written by yours truly, is the next feature due out from Tate Bunker in 2011. His short, “Mickey Burgermeister,” will play The Milwaukee Show October 2.)
Seriously, though, Mark Foote and his gorgeous partner Laurie note that they “never forget that the Milwaukee Film Festival started it all for our local production company, and the independent film community coming to this party is the reason we are still in business.”
In terms of film connections, the opening night party is one of the best networking events of the year. Filmmaker Karen Lindholm-Rynkiewicz, whose short “Gold Digger” will screen later this year in the Milwaukee Short Film Festival, explains that she likes to attend the party to befriend sponsors: “Last year, we met some people from Johnson Controls, some people from Time Warner Cable, and Independent. Paul (Rynkiewicz) and I have a lot of fun reconnecting with all of our film making friends.”
My Gal Friday Films collaborator, filmmaker Kara Mulrooney, says she’s excited about opening night, “because when I see the lobby of the Oriental packed, my heart grows three sizes!” I find that impossible to believe, as she’s pretty big-hearted to begin with. She loves the party itself because “it’s a film family reunion! I love hugging my film collaborators!” See what I mean?
Finally, filmmaker Karen Erbach, who won last year’s Journal-Sentinel Commercial contest, enjoys the party for more pragmatic reasons: “Last year I found a twenty dollar bill on the floor and I’m hoping to do it again this year!” She used that $20 to finance two commercials and a short film. Karen Erbach: low budg yet high class.
Also, Villagers.
