Fringe Festival captures hearts with 2011 theme
“Twitterpated: a Spring Love Comedy” was the theme filmmakers were given for the third annual Fringe Film Festival, presented by the Caine College of the Arts and the Logan Arthouse and Cinema. During the 2009 and 2010 festivals, filmmakers were required to include certain objects in their films. This year, the only requirement was to follow the theme.
Courtney Lewis, public relations coordinator for the Caine College of the Arts as well as the chair of the Fringe Film Festival Committee, said, “When you think of the word fringe, you think of things that are edgy and on the fringe. We want this to go beyond the university. We want it to expand.”
Jarrod Larsen, director of Production Services for the Caine College of the Arts, said, “Down the road we’d like to see it grow, and we’d like to increase the various categories,” Larsen said, “The whole idea was to have fun, involve students and bring recognition to USU that we’re doing things that are neat.”
Larsen said the people who are entering films in the festival now are exactly the type of people the Caine College of the Arts will need to hire in the future to help it reach a younger demographic. Larsen said the demographic which currently supports the arts most often is older women. He said that viral video marketing is the way to reach a new, younger audience.
“Maybe in the future the winner of the festival could produce and direct a commercial for the arts college,” Larsen said.
Travis Bourne, a sophomore working on an interdisciplinary studies degree, entered two films in the festival this year. His wife Emily produced his films, and his friend Tyler Woodbury was the director of photography for one of his films.
“I write, direct and edit most of my own movies, so for me it was the first time that I’ve had another filmmaker help me,” Bourne said.
Bourne’s first entry, “Romance For Dummies,” is about a woman who falls in love with her coworker. Bourne describes the film as a narrative on overcoming prejudices and social issues. Bourne calls his second entry “Page 173,” a romantic thriller. The film takes place in a library, and follows two people who find an unlikely similarity.
“It’s weird, creepy people doing things that they’re not supposed to do, but it’s fun because they’re in love,” Bourne said.
This year there were 21 films entered in the festival, with a four minute max time. All entries were uploaded to youtube.com and embedded on the Caine College of the Arts website, where the public could vote for their favorite film. The film with the most votes will win the award of “Fringe Fans Fave” and receive a $50 gift card to the USU Bookstore, as well as a drink named after them at the Logan Arthouse and Cinema. A critics’ choice runner-up will also be named.
The Fringe Film Festival Committee reviewed all of the entries and chose the top 15, which were then passed to a panel of three judges. The judges will choose a grand prize winner as well as a runner-up. The grand prize winner will go home with a check for $2,000, the biggest prize in Fringe Film Festival history.
In addition to the top two judge-selected films, the two films with the most online votes will be screened at 8 p.m. Friday at the Logan Arthouse and Cinema, located at 795 N. Main Street. At 7 p.m. there will be a “meet and mingle” in the lobby, as well as a showing of all 21 films entered in the festival. Tickets are $10 each or $15 for two.
Following the showing of the top four films, there will be a question and answer session with the filmmakers.
“The idea is to make it more audience-director interaction-based,” Lewis said.
Bourne said he loves the idea, and thinks it’s a good opportunity for the audience to find out what went on behind the scenes of the films.
“I like watching movies, but I want to know how they’re made,” Bourne said. “Filmmaking isn’t just running around with a camera and your roommates.”
– jamee.dyches@aggiemail.usu.edu