What do spiritual revelations, shirtless cowboys and the Hot Dog Man statue on Ninth Street all have in common? Nothing, really. That's the point.
This past Monday was Chapel Hill's most recent presentation of the Flicker Film Festival, an international program featuring shorts by aspiring filmmakers. Flicker has grown to include eleven different chapters--eight in the United States and three abroad--since founders Angie Grass and Lance Bangs introduced the festival to Athens, Georgia in the late '80s. The Chapel Hill program takes place on a bimonthly basis at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro.
For filmmakers, Flicker is a chance to make inroads into the local film community. For film lovers, it's a new perspective on the motion picture as an artistic medium and a means of encouraging the independent film movement. It's low-budget and low-key; no one's out to make money. Flicker is a venue for people who make film part of their lives, whether as profession, hobby or entertainment.
Monday's presentation included eight works, most of them submitted by Triangle filmmakers. Here, beauty lies in brevity: Each short piece is like a voyeuristic glimpse into an ongoing story, or a spotlight on the profundity of the unnoticed. One film featured footage of 1930s San Francisco, salvaged from a garage sale and set to jazz. Another, "The Flying Burrito," is the story of one man's revenge on a would-be car thief--with the aid of his would-be dinner. The most memorable, a team effort, was a case study/commentary on the man-sized hot dog statue in front of a Durham eatery.
Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis, and the only requirements are length (under fifteen minutes) and format (Super 8 or 16mm). Jen Ashlock, head of Chapel Hill's chapter of Flicker, says the festival is about two things: "Amateur filmmaking, and getting new people started in filmmaking." Ashlock herself first became involved after winning the Hat Trick drawing, a Flicker mainstay, in which an audience member is selected at random to receive a roll of film, video equipment and the tech support necessary to create a short film of his/her own. The winner then draws from a collection of creative topic suggestions submitted that evening by the audience, ranging from "Kitty Love" and "Fish food" to this show's winner: "What's with all that stuff in your trunk?"
In the true sprit of Flicker and the Hat Trick tradition, anything is fair game and anyone can enter. It's slightly esoteric, always intelligent and surprisingly accessible. Outsiders are welcomed and not merely tolerated. You don't have to know everyone--or anyone, for that matter. It's an open party and everyone's invited. The atmosphere's warm, the beer's cold and the show is great.
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