Cannes, Sundance and Jacksonville. We would agree the first two listings are stellar film festivals full of Hollywood elite, the indie crew and foreign gems but what about the third, Jacksonville? Before you conjure up ideas of Sesame Street and “one of these things is not like the other,” you might reconsider.
Going out on a limb, I might say there is a whole lot of garbage/nonsense presented at festivals but to keep in line with my up bringing, you must look for the diamond in the ruff, both in films and in festivals.
Tonight is the opening night of the Jacksonville Film Festival and it is a well polished stone. This year will be my third year attending, and each year I become increasingly more impressed. What isn’t fun about watching a movie unseen by the world, in an old theater or café, with people from all walks of life? I simply love every second. I love movies in general, old movies, new movies, foreign films, musicals, Disney classics, etc. However, I will NOT see a scary movie. Risking a good night’s sleep over a “B” movie, well, is just not worth the effort.
A few movies of interest at this year’s festival include, “Crazy,” “A Nashville State of Mind,” “The Year of Getting to Know Us” (filmed in Jacksonville), and “Cracker – The Last Cowboys of Florida.” I am also extremely excited to see “The Linguists,” “The Tracey Fragments,” and “Skills Like This.”
The word, festival, is used loosely in reference to films and they appear in cities all over the country and world. Nevertheless, there is a little piece of me shrieking with delight, that my home city can boast of such events. Historically, film festivals are associated with the social climbers, the well to-do and were often used for political propaganda. I suppose not much has changed!
Quite a few southern cities are now hosting their own film festivals. Austin, Memphis, Charlotte, and Jackson are among the many cities hosting this year, so get out there and see something. My weekend is booked!
If this doesn’t seem southern enough for you, then sneak a bag of boiled peanuts and a gallon of sweet iced tea into your viewing and zip it! God bless America!
Sweet Iced Tea 