By Brian Landa
@BrianLandaLawyer
Waco Independent Film Festival AKA Waco Indie. A jewel in the film festival crown globally. And certainly regionally. MovieMaker Magazine named this festival one of the “Top 25 Coolest in the World.” This was my third year. And coolness was pervasive throughout, with content, if not weather. The Texas heat was stifling, but we found refuge in various communal spaces to experience amazing shorts and features. The variety was fantastic. This festival programs for weirdness and the horror track goes deep.
The first film I saw when I arrived on Friday afternoon was from a filmmaker cryptically named Yana, called Seems Like Love, set in St. Petersburg, Russia. A young woman comes from a small town to search for her sister, who has been missing for months. It reminds me of La Dolce Vita and Before Sunrise in many ways because of the vignettes as she explores the city. Lackadaisical rich people partying in the afternoon is very much a Fellini trope. The plot involves moving a heavy antique bed on wheels across the city. The situations are identifiable, but in many ways uniquely Russian. It’s fascinating to see how normal people are surviving in a time of war when their country is the aggressor. Some people refuse to engage in Russian content altogether, but this film is important to show how that humanity continues. Enjoyable and fun for the most part, even with the darker moments.
The Russian theme continued into the weird shorts block with I Want to Go to Moscow from Sarah Baskin, a comedic one about a depressed failed actor obsessed with the Russian playwright Chekov who is tasked with substitute teaching a children’s theater class. Arielle Goldman’s hilariously unhinged performance takes root in just a few minutes of screen time, as the befuddled children react. It’s a delirious theatrical bookend to a much more serious work I saw later, Ado.
One of the most important moments of the weekend was the screening of locally-produced Ado, which even made the Oscar Short List, narrowed to the top fifteen. A student rehearsal of a Shakespeare play goes sideways when a school shooter enters the building, and eventually the rehearsal space. Essential filmmaking, and the Q&A was emotionally intense.
Lots of weird wild films in the strange and horror shorts blocks. One of the filmmakers, whose film deals with a physical relationship between woman and houseplant, is currently helping to develop a La La Land Broadway stage musical. Another film had a man engaging in relations with a motor vehicle. Again, this is Waco, but they do go there. Even for a smaller festival with everything centralized, there are still several things going on at once.
I had to leave a panel about getting your first feature made so I could get to the horror shorts. That panel was led by the editor of MovieMaker, and included director YaKe Smith. His submission is a PBS special about the black history of Austin and follows a monthly bike ride open to everybody who wants to participate. They make the ride leisurely and all ages are welcome. And the history is deep and detailed. A labor of love, and then some. Several of the people involved in the ride and in the film were present for Q&A and also present for other panels and parties.
A demonic mermaid short from writer-director Ali Cook, The Pearl Comb, is getting a lot of attention. Very well-made and set in the south of England in the same region where Sam Peckinpah set Straw Dogs. It’s England, but it’s certainly not tourist England. I had once spent five weeks traveling all over the big island by car and I saw the real England. There is a difference. It’s essentially the catalyst of a little film called An American Werewolf in London as well. But this is not that, although the DNA is somewhat there.
Another powerful horror short, Night Feeds from Rana Roy, focuses on a new mother and her concern for her child because of the volatile state of the world. Postpartum depression and projection. Another standout short focused on a very good looking South Asian Indian guy in Sydney, Australia who cannot escape his bullied past. But it’s told with humor and animation as he often wears a version of Borat’s infamous thong beach suit in his dreamworld.
Waco sometimes draws from various film races and contests. This is the second time I’ve seen a Taco Bell-themed film in a bizarre shorts block. They are all about making fun of themselves and that particular short film focused on how Taco Bell assists with digestion perhaps too swiftly. With art imitating life imitating art, the hilarity was even more pronounced. Zeitgeist capturing lightning in a bottle.
This was my third year at Waco and it was great to see the final product of a staged reading I attended last year. Meeting Your Maker. About a depressed puppet that failed a Muppets audition more than once, but is in an anniversary year of their other children’s entertainment. Jonathan Kite, who voices both himself and the puppet, also won an acting award. And he was present, as was puppet Otis, who was spotted everywhere from the lounge, to the parties, to his own screening.
The award-winning cinematographer Steven Poster was in the house for a presentation about developments in cinematic color and to present an anniversary screening of Donnie Darko itself. Live readings of screenplays are very much a part of this festival as well. And the winners of those awards may also get a cash prize to encourage the filming of their project locally in Waco. Every award is sponsored by a local entity. And the mayor himself presented the best film award. The Sunday luncheon is always a great time. It gets emotional because this is a labor of love above and beyond, but it’s reaching internationally. To have a laurel from Waco is a very big deal, but as festival co-director Samuel Thomas says every year, just being present, invited or as attendee or press is the “ice cream.” An award is the “cherry.”
Friday Game Night, always a highlight, was outrageous as usual. It’s very much like Cards Against Humanity, but even more obscene at times. Rebellion is the name of the game at this fest. Waco is home to Baylor University, which is an evangelical institution. But the city is not. The Balcones Distillery tasting room was the host of the festival lounge this year, along with various distillery tours.
Our ReelNewz team definitely got very involved in Game Night, which had some hands-on elements. At one point, our fearless ReelNewz leader Daniel and I were wrapping a filmmaker in gold crepe paper to look like an Oscar. I asked him what film he was representing and he told me Middle Grounds, from Kevin Smokler and Christopher Boone, which is about a coffeehouse in Portland, Oregon which got attacked because the indigenous owner engaged in outreach with the local law enforcement.
The perpetrators have not been caught as of this writing, even though the incident happened several years ago. The community, which crosses political lines and has come to see the space as a communal space, bonded together immediately. Coincidentally, I am going to Portland for the first time ever in the next few weeks and plan to visit the coffeehouse as one of my priorities. Wild small world. I love interesting synergies. And it turns out that the coffeehouse is very close to where I will be staying.
I struck up a conversation with a woman with a Filmmaker badge at the Saturday night party. Turned out she was invited to participate in a live staged reading of her short horror screenplay. She lives in Brooklyn and had never even been to Texas. It’s wild that Waco Indie would be someone’s first and possibly only experience in Texas, but hopefully she enjoyed it enough to return.
Saturday night was lively, with grill your own brats and a mechanical bull at a notable local brewpub, Brotherwell. The networking is extraordinary. Leave your attitude and elitism at the door for Waco. The award ceremony is always a kick. Many winners were present, but several were not. That’s the sign of a true film festival. This one is definitely the real deal. I see some pay to play elsewhere (but those festivals are not on my circuit) which dilutes the efforts of everybody. What Samuel and Louis Hunter do is so positive for the local community. A laurel for your PR from Waco is worthy. But just being invited to Waco is even more worthy.
I struck up a conversation with a married couple in the Balcones festival lounge, and it turned out that her podiatry business was sponsoring the horror shorts, which is firmly my wheelhouse. So I was definitely at that block. And The Pearl Comb won. Another notable and awarded film made by a Persian American, A.R. Ephraim, her first feature ever, A Woman’s Work, focuses on a coal mining woman in Kentucky. Ephraim was on the MovieMaker panel. The diversity and humanity of this festival is like no other.
Everything is very walkable and they have shuttles to get people from place to place. The Balcones Distillery lounge was always lively and they even had chair massages for VIPs and distillery tours. After the awards brunch, a lot of people had to get to their flights, but another large group of people decided to go to a waterpark, Waco Surf. One of the other main sponsors. I almost did that, but 35N isn’t always a picnic. Not even on a Sunday.
I plan to attend this festival every year. The films that are programmed are worthy of inclusion anywhere. The Waco Theatre Hippodrome is the centerpiece of the festival, with a historic auditorium. But screenings were also lively at the Waco Performing Arts Center and the Welcome to Waco Center hosted some panels. And the imposing yet welcoming Grand Lodge. You always knew you were in Waco, indeed. Branding and signage was everywhere.
This is Waco year ten. It was formally known as Deep In The Heart. But Waco Indie really captures what this is. Lots of awesome T-shirt designs, including a new one with King Kong climbing the iconic ALICO building. Of course, Waco is best known now for Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have various businesses and properties in town.
I recently learned Waco, Texas is the birthplace of Steve Martin and he lived there until he was five. Of course, it is also the birthplace of the greatest American soft drink, Dr Pepper, and the more niche red cream soda Big Red. Stubb’s Dr Pepper barbecue sauce is always something I will get a couple bottles of at the museum gift shop before leaving town because it’s not easy to find elsewhere.
It’s wonderful to see Texas continue to thrive as a creative Mecca. Diversity is humanity and Texas is as diverse as it gets. And this festival is no exception. With local, national and international reach, and attendees and guests who are fully present to make it happen, it’s definitely a highlight of my year.
