IFFB Line-up

The Independent Film Festival of Boston, which runs from April 23 to 29, recently announced their line-up for this year's festival. Looking over the line-up, I'm both excited by what I see and disappointed by what I don't see. 

On the list for IFFB 2008: Azazel Jacobs "Mamma's Man," Barry Jenkin's "Medicine For Melancholy," the Zellner Brother's "Goliath," Jay Delaney's "Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie," and Lance Hammer's "Ballast," along with a few films that have  been around for sometime, such as Alex Orr's "Blood Car," Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg," and Ronnie Bronstein's "Frownland".

What's not on the list? Jake Mahaffy's "Wellness," Jonathan VanBallenberghe's "Ostrich Testimonies," Josh Safdie's "The Pleasure of Being Robbed," Frank Ross's "Present Company," Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard's "Beautiful Losers," and many others I was crossing my fingers for. (The Duplass Brother's "Baghead" and Joe Swanberg's "Nights and Weekends" are not at the fest this year either. But then again, they both have received distribution deals.)

Putting together a festival must be a daunting task, especially with so many films being made nowadays. The all-volunteer staff at IFFB has always put together a great event and I know I'll have a great time this year, even if many of the films I was hoping for this year didn't make it. 

A clarification: I do not mean to imply that any of the "What's not on the list" films were rejected by IFFB. In fact, I do not know if these films were even submitted to IFFB for consideration. These are merely films that have played at recent festivals that I was hoping would play at IFFB as well.  

-Eric

'00's Indie Film vs. '80's & '90's Indie Rock

I'm amazed at how often two events I want desperately to attend happen on the same day, at the same time. 

Case in point: I've been looking forward to the 2008 Independent Film Festival of Boston ever since, well, the 2007 Independent Film Festival of Boston. The festival runs from April 23 to April 29 this year, and if it's like previous years, the bulk of the films will play Friday, April 25, Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27. For months now, I've mentally reserved those days as "festival days" where I plan to do little more than see films, attend panels, and occasionally eat. 

Earlier this week, I found out that Buffalo Tom is playing a show at the Paradise in Boston on Friday, April 25. The last time I saw them I drove two hours each way, by myself, on a work night, to catch them in 1995. I don't know if it was the drive or the half-filled club in Cohoes, NY where they played, but it is still one of my ten favorite shows off all time. But I'll have to pass on them this time. Maybe I'll catch them next year. 

Now I hear that Big Dipper is playing at the Middle East, right here in Cambridge, on...wait for it...Saturday, April 26. In the late 1980s, I fell in love with their "Craps" LP, was similarly smitten with their previous records "Boo Boo" and "Heavens." (And like many of their fans, somewhat disappointed with their sole major label release, "Slam".) They broke up in 1992, and I've never seen them live. To celebrate the release of a three-CD retrospective from those saints at Merge Records, the Dippah' are reuniting for what is now a three-show tour of Hoboken on April 24, Brooklyn on April 25, and Cambridge on April 26. 

So do I go to the Big Dipper show, hoping it will live up to my probably unrealistic expectations, or settle for listening to "Ron Klaus Wrecked His House" on my iPod while standing in line outside the Somerville Theater? I just don't know.

-Eric

Selected by...Andrew Bujalski

The Brattle Theater latest repertory series, starting this Friday and running to Wednesday, March 19, is a series of films selected by Andrew Bujalski. It's a very interesting selection of films, from Wattstax to Vertigo, Minnie & Moskowitz to Written On The Wind. But what has me really excited is the March 14 showing of Frank Ross's Hohokam! I've missed my previous two chances to catch it, I don't intend to miss this one. The trailer is above.

-Eric