By Andrew W. Griffin
pop writer
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Before moving to Oklahoma nearly three years ago, I was working as an arts and entertainment reporter in Alexandria, Louisiana. This meant that I got to write about all sorts of amazing things like the amazing "Heart of Spain" art exhibit that came to our city in 2003 or play a round of golf with faded 80's rocker Eddie Money, who was appearing at the local casino.
But one of the best things I got to do during that time was help form the Cenla (Central Louisiana) Film Society. Basically, we rented out space in a performing arts theater and showed movies and talked about them.
Being an avid film buff, I really enjoyed this. But when it came time to leave Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, I chose to come to Oklahoma.
And now that I'm here I've been wanting to get involved in the local film scene. So far, it's been a little harder, since it's more established but this year I finally had a chance to volunteer for the deadCENTER Film Festival, in Oklahoma City and now in its eighth year.
Now, "volunteering" can mean any sort of thing. And when I offered my volunteer services to the deadCENTER staff earlier in the year, I was e-mailed a list of potential things I could do during the festival such as pick up directors at the airport or work at a table taking money or somesuch.
As it turned out, when I finally got a hold of festival director Kim Haywood I was told I could help out setting up tables at the five or so venues where screenings would be held.
Sure, I thought. That could be fun.
As it turned out, it kind of was. Michael, Taylor, Sarah and I set up the tables and related items at each location.
The highlight for me, of course, were the movies. Well, in my case, the dramatic shorts. These were the short films that really got my attention. All of them were terrific, from "Plainview," a 24-minute short about a restaurant manager who strip searches a socially-inept employee and feels bad about it. There was "Grand Wheel," a six-minute short about the anti-war movement and the intense "Light Years" about four different relationships in four different world cities. The only catch is that the sun is about to engulf the earth and incinerate them in the next eight minutes.
But the highlight among the dramatic shorts was an Illinois-based 13-minute film called "Manipulating Life."
Directed by Aaron Jenkin, this sci-fi film involves a scientist who has discovered how to "stretch" water molecules. But, despite his Nobel Prize-winning creation, the scientist, along with his autistic son, attempts to release it into the environment. Some colleagues catch on and try to stop him. This was the best of the dramatic shorts and had overtones of Terry Gilliam's 1995 film "12 Monkeys."
Alas, I wasn't able to make every film I wanted to see. There was "Christmas on Mars," the long-awaited Flaming Lips freakout and Bradley Beesley's "Okie Noodling 2." But there were smaller features that indicate there is a great amount of talent out there looking for a creative outlet.
For what I saw, and it wasn't as much as I wanted, this year's deadCENTER Film Festival was the best outing so far. Central Oklahoma should be proud and excited such a festival exists. Here's to hoping next year's is even better.
