Jax Film Fest: The Wrap Up

Well, the festival is over and it was a good ride. I ended up not seeing as many films as I had originally intended, but I don't feel cheated. I saw plenty of great stuff and it's left me looking forward to next year. Some thoughts:

I'm considering volunteering at next year's festival. I don't know what capacity I would do it in, but I would like to perhaps have some input on the introductory clip they tacked at the beginning of every show. The purpose of the clip is to welcome everyone to the festival, mention the sponsors and command everyone to turn off their damn cellphones. The style of visuals and music, however, seems like a dreamy, art school Night of the Living Dead piece. After watching this for the seventh time on Sunday, I can say that this could definitely be improved.

Theater Jacksonville and the San Marco Theater, which are within a block of eachother, are the only two Festival venues I visited. This made for an easy Friday as I could just park and hang around the square all day. The last time I went to the San Marco Theater a year ago, their chairs were structured so that they slid forward, which is really uncomfortable for movie theater seats. This design flaw has since been fixed, and the seats are now mighty comfy. Add to this the fact that there are tables where every third seat should be and this pattern is staggered with each row. This results in seats with an aisle to one side and a table on the other. Suffice to say that I made quick claim of such seats for each showing.

The reason for the tables is the various foods that the place serves up. You can order a mini pizza and stay at your seat with one of those vibrating-LED-coasters to let you know when to pick it up. Very cool. The theater also serves up beer by the pitcher, which pleases a number of theater goers including the director of Murderball in the Q&A session after the film (He announced to the audience that was the first time he had ever had a beer in a movie theater).

I was happy to discover that one of the films I saw, Brothers, won the Audience award. That film and Murderball are my favorites from the festival, overall. I get the feeling these may be big films come later in the year.

And that's it. Slow posting for the rest of the week and no posting for the weekend as Mrs. Mosley and I attend a family reunion in town. I'll see you after Memorial Day.