My Experience at the White Light City Film Festival

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the White Light City Film Festival held in Fremont, Nebraska. The festival was held from 12:00 to 8:30 on Saturday, and 1:00 to 4:00 on Sunday. Saturday featured documentaries, short films, and features from filmmakers all over the state of Nebraska. On Sunday, they screened another documentary, along with four films submitted by high school students.

   Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the entirety of the festival, as I had to work. However, I was there for a majority of the day on Saturday, and since it was held at the theater I work at, I was in the general atmosphere all weekend. It was fantastic.
   Saturday began with a screening of the documentary Once in a Lew Moon, directed by Lonnie Ray Senstock. It was a very well put together film that told that, on its surface, told the story of Lew Hunter. Hunter was a popular Hollywood screenwriter and professor at the University of California – Los Angeles. He was well known for his works on If Tomorrow Comes and Fallen Angel. That being said, the film was about much more than Lew Hunter. It was, in many ways, a love letter to the art of screenwriting. If you get a chance to see this film, I would highly recommend it.
   The day continued with a variety of different short films. The ones that stood out to me as being particularly intriguing were Flying Kites (directed by Carter Knopik), The Retirement of Mr. Jones (directed by Matt Townley), and The Regulars (unfortunately I missed the director’s name). Each of these films highlighted a different aspect of humanity as a whole.
   Flying Kites was a great look into how different people react in certain situations. It showed that being different isn’t a bad thing, in fact, it’s the opposite. The Retirement of Mr. Jones was a look into the career of someone who simply loves what they’re doing. It showed how somebody’s love for their job, and the people around them, can be one of the most powerful things we can experience. Finally, The Regulars. At first glance, this film is just fifteen minutes of people sitting in a café not doing anything, but once you actually look deeper, you see that there is much more going on. There are people from all sorts of situations that come into this café at different times throughout the day. Some people might have everything they’ve ever wanted, others may be struggling with alcoholism, or just wanting to get the girl. In this café, they have all reduced down to what we all really are, human beings. This café became a place of solitude, a place of relaxation, or a place of boredom, depending on who looked at it. There wasn’t a whole lot of plot, but that really worked well for this film. I feel bad that I didn’t catch the filmmaker’s name, but The Regulars was brilliant!
   The final two films that I saw were very different from one another. The first was a music video written and directed by Ishma Valenti and Zach Watkins. It featured the song “Charge” from the band AZP. The video was a great complement to the song, and it really taught something of great importance to our nation right now. We don’t need to meet violence with more violence. It’s ok to defend yourself, but there isn’t a need to increase the violence.
   The final film I saw was a feature-length documentary called Closure: Can It Really Be Possible?, directed by Stacy Heatherly. The film centered on the event of two peoples’ disappearances, and the effects it had on their families. This couple, that ended up missing for forty years, had mysteriously gone disappeared a long time ago. Closure focused on their families, and the different theories as to what happened. It was a very interesting film to watch, and I would definitely recommend watching it.
   There were many more short films and features that were screened on Saturday at the White Light City Film Festival. From what I heard from audience members, they were all very good. The other films shown were: Reversal, The Night She Came Back, Be Good Be Careful, Classified, Shortly After Nightfall, and The Holy Man. The last of which I actually caught the last fifteen minutes of and really enjoyed.
  Sunday, the Public Awareness Documentary entitled Taneycomo: PTSD – A Personal Story was shown. It was followed by four student films: Stellar, Run With The Best, One Youth Group’s Journey Through Stem, and Toaster Kaufen.
   The White Light City Film Festival was a great experience, and I would definitely recommend attending next year! There were many great films that anybody would be able to enjoy. It also gives students the opportunity to get their films out there for people to see! Thank you so much to the people everyone involved with the festival, The Digg Site Productions, and Pathfinder Motion Picture Co. for making this what it was.

   Did you attend the White Light City Film Festival? What did you enjoy about it? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
 
Thanks for stopping by!