By Brian Landa
@BrianLandaLawyer
Oak Cliff Film Festival. Year Fifteen. Keeping things lively on screen in North Texas. My early exposure to artsy and indie cinema was at the legendary Dallas Inwood. The Texas Theatre on Jefferson in the Oak Cliff area of West Dallas has filled that gap since my return to the city in 2006 after living out of state for many years, and very well. The Fifteenth Annual Oak Cliff Film Festival (OCFF) just concluded, with many screenings at what insiders affectionately call “The Texas” and it was a great one.
I’ve had street cred in the indie cinema world for quite a while. I know how to pronounce Laemmle (Lemm-Lee) because Greg used to sign my checks. Legendary family-owned arthouse chain in Los Angeles. I recently reconnected with Roger Christensen, longtime manager of the hip and beloved Sunset 5, because The Texas coincidentally showed a recent documentary about the family.
Due to my annual participation in a non-profit legal fundraiser stage show every summer, Bar None, the rehearsal period overlapped with OCFF the first several years. So I have only been able to attend regularly since Covid lockdown ended. The opening film that year was Questlove’s Oscar-winning Summer of Soul, and I was happy to be in the auditorium for that one. It may have been the live audience premiere, as SXSW still had streaming screenings. It was so well-received, and we were so happy to be among random humanity again, that the audience even applauded at the end of the songs.
The diversity of programming is great year to year. And you never know when synergy will hit. I was able to bring my mom, who would never venture to Jefferson or Oak Cliff otherwise, to see Marcel The Shell With Shoes On as one of the OCFF family film screenings. Her brother’s nephew is Dean Fleischer-Camp and our families have been close for decades. That film is very autobiographical, for those in the family who know. Small crazy world.
Experiencing film festivals from different perspectives gives you a real sense of what’s going on. I’ve now been to OCFF at least five times, as a VIP badge holder, Press and a general ticketholder. I always acknowledge the volunteers and the active crew. You never know what might happen. I remember a few years back, the transportation team (Chris and crew get filmmakers from accommodations to venues with great skill) was trying to spirit Udo Kier back to his hotel, but he was holding court at the legendary Texas Theatre bar with his Chardonnay. Swan Song from Todd Stephens had just screened as the final film of the festival. And Udo had already started with his Chardonnay on stage. It was a challenge for Stephens to keep the enthusiastic Udo from walking too far forward on that high stage, but it was shockingly memorable for all of us who were there.
The Sandusky, Ohio-based filmmaker has a special relationship with OCFF and had the closing film last year as well, Gypsy 83, which has been restored and is now getting a true theatrical release as a result. That night was even more uniquely fun because a group of goth culture film lovers who were at the screening were able to convince Kett/Clive to go out to the goth club as the closing night afterparty was winding down. Sunday night is a major goth club night here in Dallas. You never know what will happen at a fest as funky and eclectic as this one.
I was unable to make it to opening night this year, so I kicked my OCFF experience off with documentary shorts. One incredibly powerful short in the Friday afternoon block was Monster Slayer from Catie Skipp. It won a special prize, and the subject/artist was present for live Q&A. Having moved from Texas to LA, “Monty” decided to become a certain type of dancer because money can be made quickly. And being able to observe the human form in motion in that setting was invaluable to a creative such as herself. But she was swiftly assaulted by one of the most popular regulars, and decided that due to law-enforcement inaction, and even the female club management not caring, that she would create a large accusatory, yet artistic, billboard near the club for all to see. This film was about that. And the Q&A was emotional. All of the incredible artwork in the film is hers.
Another very powerful short documentary was McKinley Argyle’s A Place We Can Go, about how diverse and creative Texas is, with numerous art and music DIY spaces that are in danger of being targeted by fascists and haters. The emphasis was on 1919 Hemphill in Fort Worth, and a lot of people from that community were present for screening and Q&A.
This festival is always very strong with the music documentaries, from local interest to international. And this year was no exception. Two fantastic, and very different, music documentaries bookended my weekend. The Last Critic from Matty Wishnow, which screened at the legendary Kessler (Check out the new bust of Jeff Liles, commissioned by none other than Edie Brickell, in the back courtyard area) focuses on the career of Bob Christgau of legendary NYC paper The Village Voice. The spotlight is specifically on his time at The Voice and his wonderfully cutting prose. The fun of the film is in the montages of his capsule blurbs and letter grades. And the loving and sparring interplay he has with wife and longtime collaborator Carola Dibbell. You could hear audible gasps and chatter at some of the ratings. He loves The Ramones but finds Billy Joel intolerable. I happen to love both. And I loved this film. As did the jury. It won OCFF Best Documentary Feature.
My focus was mostly on documentaries this year, but I did fit one mock documentary in there. The 20th anniversary of the locally-produced Schtickmen, from Eric Jewell and Jeff Hays. A hilarious movie, certainly a product of its time in many ways, about a stand-up workshop for a fictional contest. It was nice to see the late Grant James as one of the contestants. He, along with late wife Julie, was a big supporter of local independent cinema. Burton Gilliam, best known for Blazing Saddles and numerous local car dealer commercials over the decades, was in the house for the Schtickmen Q&A. And he got emotional. And he got an ice cream cone. Apparently, part of an inside joke promise. This festival goes deep. Definitely a lot of weird wonderful films.
Saturday afternoon was Bart Vandever’s Fears of a Clown, a documentary that acts as both OCD awareness public service piece and tracks the fight to get a well-curated and well-stocked clown-themed museum opened in Barstow, which is the halfway point between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Another stand out was Boorman and the Devil from David Kittredge, a documentary about John Boorman’s making of The Exorcist II: The Heretic. Having just devoured every extra and supplement on the new arrow Excalibur box set, I had been in Boorman mode for a couple weeks. The sequel is not as bad as everybody remembers, but it is out there for sure, and it was definitely a Boorman labor of love in every respect. And what a filmography he has. Deliverance. Hope and Glory. With the less well-received Zardoz and this one in the mix.
I’m surprised Linda Blair was an active participant in this documentary, because she tends to get spicy at conventions and such. Louise Fletcher is the most delightful of all of the interview subjects. She deals with all of it with a lot of humor and grace. After all, you’re in a demon movie with Richard Burton. I had a memorable interaction with Blair at a convention in 2009. I had just been in DC and personally took a picture of the legendary infamous steps. She reluctantly signed it. She doesn’t really like to talk about horror, even at the horror conventions. But participating in these types of films brings it to the forefront again.
One of the main films Saturday afternoon was the new documentary Los Lobos: Native Sons. A band known for East LA roots, but they have some Texas connections as well. Lou Diamond Phillips has local Arlington connections and there was some technical magic used to get David Hidalgo doing vocals on the La Bamba soundtrack. Which is very much a part of their history and the documentary. And many people were in the auditorium with personal connections to the band.
I had actually met co-director Doug Blush at a film festival in Port Townsend, Washington ten years ago (An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed there) and I was actively making sure that he was getting clips of the OCFF Q&A with his co-director Piero F. Giunti as soon as they happened. He swiftly thanked me for my “hot coverage.” He has also won an Oscar or two since I first met him.
The final film of the festival, The Best Summer from Tamra Davis, follows a music tour across Europe and Asia in 1995. She had forgotten all about the footage from Summer 1995, but as she was evacuating her house from the recent Palisades fires, she discovered a box of one of the kind tapes. Davis didn’t even have the correct format of player to watch them at the time, but was able to get them viewable and created a fantastic film out of it. And it works great as found footage. Only evident additions are the captions for names of the subjects and song titles.
The main focus is Kathleen Hanna of the band Bikini Kill as she asks a series of questions to various people on the tour, including The Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth. Davis actually married Mike D in 1993. The segment with Dave Grohl is very insightful. He didn’t want to be the front man at that point. But circumstances changed things. Kurt Cobain’s death was fresh, but this was a joyous tour. from the found footage that we watch, you feel like you’re there. There was no audio cleanup. This is as it was. Worlds apart from something like brutal and violent like Woodstock ‘99. These people were enjoying life at the prime of their careers. Even with the recent tragedy, this film is about the joy.
Apparently, there was narration in an earlier cut, but it works better as pure found footage, with Hanna leading the charge enthusiastically. You feel like you are friends with these people as they answer the questions about what they love or hate about being on stage, favorite foods, and favorite colors. The conversation can get a lot deeper, as it did with Dave Grohl. That segment is essentially the centerpiece of the film. And we know he’s emerged from that shell spectacularly since then. This was 31 years ago. Everybody looked so young.
I attended screenings at the historic Texas Theatre and The Kessler. The two top OCFF winners literally played at the same exact time. I was at The Last Critic so I could not be at Cramps! A Period Piece from Brooke H. Cellars. That is the sign of a great festival. An embarrassment of riches. I was also at the Kessler during the Pulp Fiction screening at The Texas with live Roger Avary Q&A, which was packed, but so was the Kessler. Even with 110° heat, people were there supporting film and the arts and Oak Cliff.
Ashton Campbell and crew run a fantastic festival. He mentioned during the thank you segment before the final film that after years of begging the area to get involved, now they go out of their way to ask what they can do to help. This is a neighborhood festival, as well as regional. It helps that the venues are not your typical multiplex. They have character. Most people know by now that Lee Harvey Oswald was captured at the Texas Theatre, a Howard Hughes structure that is protected for the life of Texas now as a historical landmark. And many of us are there a lot. The regular programming is spectacular as well. Already have my ticket to Joe Bob Briggs Halloween. Last year’s was a fantastic once in a lifetime experience, as this one will be.
This festival definitely has repeaters wearing VIP badges. I see a lot of familiar faces year to year. And they say this is one of their favorites. I always see Ashton, Chris, Emily, Gabe, Barak, along with crew and volunteers in constant motion making it happen. I try to thank them as I can, or ask for a quick film recommendation, but sometimes they don’t even have time for that. It’s a well-oiled but hectic machine. And one that I hope continues for many more years. It’s certainly a highlight of my summer.
