Watching a film about film festivals while we’re all covering our favorite festivals from our couch hits a little different. Never has the task of finding a place for your film to premiere been this fragile, and we won’t know the true effects of this pandemic on the indie circuit for some time. That said, film festivals — including Austin Film Festival — have been innovative with their access to digital screeners, events, and more. Festival coordinators are truly breaking the conventions of what a film festival is and what is in store for their future.
Marshall Cook’s Film Fest is an “insider” comedy. It will enlighten those who have never stepped near a film festival, but know that “Sundance” is something big, right? For indie films like the fictional Unknown Unknowns, premiering at the right film festival is vital. Once you are accepted, everything goes into promoting your project and finding the “buzz” it needs to be recognized in the industry.
Film Fest follows the journey of director, writer, actor, and part-time catering server Logan Clark (Matt Cook), producer Alex Davis (Diona Reasonover), cinematographer Tomas Jonsson (Laird Macintosh), and Kyle the PA (C.J. Vana) as they travel to the only film festival that would have them. Their wildest hopes at premiering at a large film festival have been dashed, and they are left with “Hollywide International Film Festival of Cinema”, hosted somewhere vaguely in the Northwest. Desperate for success, they all head out to this obscure festival in hopes of finding the praise and monetary relief that they need to continue in this industry.
Unfortunately, Film Fest suffers from what I call the “asshole guy is surrounded by strong supportive women that praise him at every turn yet he’s still an asshole” trope. And while this is commonplace in the comedy genre, it doesn’t make it more palatable. There’s something to be said about that asshole learning from his lessons and not winning it all in the end, but still succeeding just enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Logan’s story begins simple enough. He is a man who wants to be a full-time director, and it all depends on his first feature film, Unknown Unknowns. Despite his anxiety over this, he is blessed with a sweet and surprisingly supportive girlfriend. Each one of Amy’s (Ellen Wong) lines shows how much she believes in Logan’s work. She covers him in affection in every scene, physically and verbally, only to receive hardly any support in return. His producer and collaborator on his film, Alex, works her ass off to make sure his vision comes to life as he wants it and they stay financially afloat, yet he constantly complains that she is compromising on his vision. And the festival’s senior programmer, Kim (Allison Dunbar), strokes his fragile ego some more while showing genuine interest in him romantically, which he fails to turn down directly in any way. These multiple failings on Logan’s part don’t leave him looking very worthy of his achievements or the lesson he ends up learning by the film’s end.
The best parts of Film Fest are in its subplots. As the cinematographer Tomas tries to reinvent himself as “more Swedish” than he actually is, he finds a friend in a trendy 15-year-old filmmaker that initially infuriated him. This journey from him initially mocking the kid’s use of an iPhone to shoot his film, to him crying as his new friend jumps into the back of his mom’s car, was more heartfelt and comical than the main plot involving Logan. Even Kyle the PA’s much quieter subplot, where he finds a girlfriend and confidence despite Logan and Alex’s bad advice, has more payoff.
Missing the film festival circuit may skew my feelings, but despite some shoddy plot lines and character development, I found Film Fest to be a great comedic dive into the culture of film festivals. From the odd older volunteers making rules up as they go along to the eccentric and mysterious programmers that run each festival, Film Fest covers everything I miss and don’t miss about attending film festivals across the country. And while the story’s final message, that all filmmakers are struggling artists in an industry that doesn’t really do anything to help, isn’t quite the warm and happy ending we all want to hear — it tells a truth that many artists need to acknowledge, now more than ever. Creating a film all on your own is an amazing feat, and the obstacles created after that, just to get your film seen, can’t change that accomplishment.
