A Look Back With Dwight Edwards of The Filmcake: The 2004 Festival
In the Guest Spot today, we have Dwight Edwards, the man behind the very cool Okie-film website The Filmcake. Dwight has attended deadCENTER every year since 2002 (we’re willing to forget the two years he was absent, as he was there in spirit), and even contributed to our live blog of the festival in 2009. Every Wednesday until the festival, we’ll feature his look back at the deadCENTER film festivals of old, starting with 2002. This week: 2004
I may have missed the 2004 festival, but I don’t plan on missing another. I found three short films that screened at the 2004 festival that I figured I would take a look at now. All three were nice surprises and I would highly recommend them all. That I might never have seen any of these three if I hadn’t been doing this blog feature certainly makes it all worthwhile. This week: two documentaries (Banned in Oklahoma and Farmingville) and a short (Flip).
Banned in Oklahoma — This documentary, directed by OU professor Gary D. Rhodes, expertly summarizes the controversy surrounding the banning of The Tin Drum in Oklahoma City. In 1997, OKC Police confiscated copies of the Oscar-winning German film after a judge declared it to be child pornography. The issue was brought to the attention of the authorities at the behest of Bob Anderson and the now defunct Oklahomans for Children and Families. These Gestapo tactics might have been quietly successful had the police decided not to confiscate a copy Michael Camfield had rented from Blockbuster. Turns out, Camfield was the Development Director at ACLU of OK. Oops.
After taking up the role of moral arbiter for all of OKC, Anderson and OCAF slunk away. Camfield lost his illegal search and seizure case against the OKC Police officers but was eventually awarded damages for the city’s violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act. Rhodes lets his subjects illustrate the irony of banning a movie that itself features rampaging Nazis. Confiscating video tapes in Oklahoma City may not amount to Kristallnacht, but it nevertheless seems un-American.
What made this documentary especially compelling were the antics of Camfield. While he was certainly fighting the good fight, he appeared to be doing so in a manner that capitalized on the publicity that he clearly relished. We listen as Camfield picks up his guitar and sings a parody/protest song about the incident. And we are treated to some brief scenes of a performance he put on with the monetary award he received from the city. A performance that seems a bit too pretentious and self-indulgent. But that is exactly what is at stake here–the right to create and partake of art, even bad art. Moral crusaders shouldn’t get to decide what is art nor what our delicate little sensibilities can bear.
The 30-minute film can be seen as a special feature on The Criterion Collection release of The Tin Drum.
Farmingville – This film won Best Documentary at the 2004 dCFF. After a successful festival run, the film then made its way to PBS’s POV series. Directors Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini, the latter an OKC native and OU graduate, present the story of one blue-collar town’s experience with immigrant day laborers. Proving that it’s not just a border issue anymore, the filmmakers spent a year in the town of Farmingville on Long Island, New York looking at the tensions on all sides. While the film is not an advocacy documentary, it explores an issue that still continues to simmer at such a high temperature that many are not going to find it a fair examination. Nevertheless, the film does indicate a need for reform. Something needs to be done. In Tambini’s own words, the film is an attempt to “ameliorate the situation”:
I felt a strange affinity to the residents as well as the Mexicans. Growing up in Oklahoma City in the 60’s there was a lot of tension, violence, hatred and racism as a result of a shift in the African-American population. I witnessed “white flight” in my community as it quickly went from white to black. There were a lot of the same sentiments being expressed in Farmingville that I had heard in Oklahoma City. People in Farmingville were talking of selling their homes and leaving. Mexicans were being called all sorts of names. Violence was being perpetrated against them. There was victimization on both sides. I felt very strongly for both groups and wanted to do something to help ameliorate the situation. I wanted to help the individuals tell each of their own stories. I wanted it to be as personal for the audience as it was for me.
The doc looks at the influx of Latino immigrants into the town, many of whom support their families by working as day laborers. Sandoval and Tambini introduce us to members of the community who all have different perspectives. Suffolk County Legislator Paul Tonna understands the community’s concerns but is hamstrung by local limitations to a national (or even global) issue. Other locals are outspoken and unapologetic opponents of these immigrants. Their genuine concerns get drowned out by racist behavior and ideology. And still others are simply concerned with the economic toll that the influx of immigrants is taking on their families and their community.
It is clear that there are real frustrations. There are real economic issues at stake. But there is also real racism. And, most importantly, a real need for reform that is based on understanding and compromise rather than fear and hate. Whatever momentum President George W. Bush had built for immigration reform upon taking office was derailed by the 9/11 attacks and was never regained. This issue will have to be addressed in the near future. Hopefully, reasonable minds will prevail. It certainly couldn’t hurt if all involved took a look at Sandoval and Tambini’s Farmingville.
This 78-minute film is available on DVD.
Flip – A genuinely sweet and nostalgic look back at the boundless imagination contained in an eight-year old boy. Flip receives a one dollar bill from his grandmother with the admonition to “spend it wisely.” The movie playfully follows the boy as he ponders the different possibilities and finally makes his decision. With a few carefully selected props and shots, the filmmakers really manage to capture a sense of the time (the 1960’s universe of a young boy). I was also impressed with the music, which was apparently all culled from the public domain. Unlike some films where the music seems tacked on without intent, here it was purposeful and effective. There is a true authenticity to this film and given director Kirk Demarais’ background, it is clear where it comes from. Demarais has his hand in many things Retro Culture. He blogs about Retro Culture, he is the artist behind The Torrances family portrait, and he even has a blog devoted to The Phantasmagoria (by far my favorite ride at Bells Amusement Park).
The 15-minute short film can be seen on Vimeo.
–Dwight (www.thefilmcake.com)
Next Wednesday: The 2005 festival…
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